WATCH: Maltese Restaurant Featured On Popular Japanese TV Programme
??? (aka ‘Malta’), an awesome little piece of Malta in Tokyo, has been featured on a spot on Japan’s Nippon TV’s popular evening show News Every. The six-minute spot is full of colourful graphics, popups, and excited exclamations.
A recording of the TV spot was uploaded by the restaurant’s Facebook page yesterday, and has already garnered over five thousand views.
Walking in, the presenter, Yanai Yuki claims that the place is “compact”, commenting on how it’s on the small side for a restaurant, but she’s quickly swayed by the food. The short clip introduced Maltese cuisine to the viewers, giving them a brief introduction about Malta and a short story of the development of the restaurant.
Yuki tries out a ftira, which owner and chef Takashi Takamiya explains has been prepared in a “Gozo pizza style” (hence the mozzarella) and bra?joli, which are presented as a very popular dish. At a point, the bra?joli are even compared to hamburgers. A definite highlight is watching the host trying to pronounce the names of the two dishes, which she actually manages to do quite successfully!
The clip also goes on to explain how Malta’s culture is very unique, and not exactly the same as Italy’s (which it says many people in Japan might initially think). Chef Takamiya comments on how, when he opened the restaurant, only a few customers visited his establishment, but the place is now getting more popular thanks to word of mouth and more awareness of Malta in Japan.
The spot finishes with the TV host asking Takamiya what the charm of Maltese cuisine is, with the chef explaining is that it evokes a certain “rustic and cosy” atmosphere and can be enjoyed in a relaxing ambient.
Lovin Malta would like to thank Andre Spiteri, the Ambassador of Malta to Japan, who helped us translate the TV spot.
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