Last week was madness… Constant changes of locations, unexpected adventures and turns of events, visiting home for just a few hours to repack the suitcases and continue the trip. Barcelona, Spanish tapas, stolen bikes, police, late plane and the return on Thursday night. 12 hours at home and here we go to attend See Bloggers. From the very start we hoped to visit a new place of some kind while being in Tricity. A return to Good Morning Vietnam was a bit tempting but MALIKA turned out to be more attractive in the end.
let’s do it!
Ewa Malika Szyc Juchnowicz, the finalist of Top Chef’s 1st edition is the chef and the owner of Malika. We heard about Malika, but I have to admit, we haven’t watched Top Chef. But we knew that original flavours of northern Africa await us and that’s what we wanted. We craved for something intriguing and interesting and believed that we’ll get it in Malika since it’s supposed to serve a combination of Maghreb cuisine with French influences and good Polish products. We’re not familiar with this cuisine. Once, before the blog, Łukasz went to Morocco but it was a long time ago and he didn’t pay attention to new flavours – just the opposite – the first contact with Moroccan cuisine was nothing good. This time we’re hoping to get into Morocco.. but is it even possible in Poland?
We go through the menu and want almost EVERYTHING! The menu looks really tasty! We’re sitting with friends and all four of us start drooling. We all agree to take several meals to share and eat it as the Spanish do with tapas – para picar (everybody nibbles from one plate).
hummus with mutton, cashews, Polish cold pressed rapeseed and pomegranate – PLN 29
I quickly assure myself that I want hummus with mutton, cashews, Polish cold pressed rapeseed oil and pomegranate. I never had hummus combined with meet this way and it sounds exceptionally fragrant and intriguing. As for the cold starters, I really want zalook – grilled and chopped aubergine with baked tomatoes (PLN 12) but instead, the waiter suggests a dips set for PLN 14 with zalook and a lemon and harissa flavoured hummus – a traditional hot pepper paste. A great idea! We also get a a baked sweet potato filled with sheep’s cheese marinated in za’atar, Arab style olives and chili (PLN 24) as well as foul – fava beans with cumin, garlic, yoghurt and za’atar (PLN 14).
I try the mutton hummus as soon as the starters arrive and I’m having problems stopping eating it! I never had hummus served in such way and this combination is pure perfection! It’s a meal I will remember for a long time… a meal I missed on the very next day. We already managed to send our friends to the place and they loved it too! Other dips are also great – both hummus and the aubergine and harissa one. However the latter requires eating a lot of pita bread with it – a perfect choice for those who love spicy food! Łukasz and our friends also love the fava beans paste – I don’t like it that much but they say it’s tasty. What I do like is the sweet potato – the combination of sweet flavour and salty cheese works just great! And looks as good!
a baked sweet potato filled with sheep’s cheese marinated in za’atar, Arab style olives and chili – PLN 24
a dip set – PLN 14
foul – fava beans spiced up with cumin and garlic, served with yoghurt and za’atar – PLN 14
After so many starters we already know that we won’t be able to eat 4 main courses. Therefore we have to take 2 that everybody will like so we can eat them together. Couscous sounds tempting – a meal described as the most representative of Maghreb states served with mutton (PLN 43) or chicken, saffron and sweet almonds (PLN 31). But there’s something even more tempting – Malika’s tajines. Tajine is a typical way of preparing food in Morocco and in other Maghreb states too. Meat with vegetables is baked in a ceramic vessel over burning wood and coal. We also have a tajine like this at home but it’s more an ornament and a souvenir from Morocco :). We got for one with spicy beef cheeks, grilled aubergine and fresh red onion (PLN 46). We also take Merguez – grilled homemade sausages made from beef and prepared according to a traditional recipe (PLN 31). You can have each dish with pita bread or sweet rice. We take both. As you can see on the cover photo, beef cheeks turn out to be one of the most colourful dishes – the cheeks are tender and melt-in-your-mouth. Carrots are sweetish and the aubergine is baked properly. We wipe the tajine clean with our pitas. The sausages are tasty with a strong aroma. And the rice? What can I say, I wanted more but they ran out of it! It was great! First time I had sweet rice that was so good!
a tajine with beef cheeks inside
merguez and sweet rice – PLN 31
In the end we have to try the dessert. You cannot walk away from a victorious restaurant without the dessert! I mean, you have to follow some rules, right?! The case is easy – kadafiya cake filled with cheese and dactyls with a refreshing pineapple and lemon sorbet (PLN 18). I may sound boring but it was amazing too! The cake is not as sweet as most Arab sweets are. The cheese and dactyls make a perfect filling – four forks work quickly emptying the plate.
kadafiya cake filled with cheese and dactyls with a refreshing pineapple and lemon sorbet – PLN 18
It’s one of those entries that don’t need an ending. You already know, right? It’s a place to be! I will surely miss it for several months unless I visit Gdynia earlier. A nice place with perfect food, so rare in Polish restaurants. But there’s more: the owner and chef Ewa Malika Szyc Juchnowicz is super friendly and really knows a lot about the food she’s serving and about the world it comes from. A perfect combination.
PS. Also, a round of applause for the waiter who served us. He made suggestions for the better. He wasn’t afraid of going out into the rain to our table when the storm broke out over Gdynia. He could easily describe all of the meals. He even turned the glasses upside down on his tray before walking these three steps in the rain so that we want get rain inside. WOW! As you can see it’s possible to serve good food, have a place with a nice vibe and good service too. KEEP IT UP!
PS2. Malika is not only a restaurant but a shop and workshop too – more info can be found on their website.
the interior
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
FB profile – TU
ul. Świętojańska 69 b
GDYNIA
tel. 58 352 00 08
email: info@restauracjamalika.pl
open daily from 12.00
large lunch and dinner in one with wine for 4
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