Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/224217
44 Events maltatoday, Sunday, 8 December 2013 The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants Survey Winners Winners of the The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants 2013 Survey sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and supported by HSBC were recently presented with fantastic prizes including first prize of two nights for two persons on bed and breakfast basis in a deluxe room at the Hilton Malta, St Julians to Michelle Caruana, second prize, a one night stay for two persons in a Deluxe room at InterContinenatl Malta including breakfast at Waterbiscuit to Revel Barker and third prize, a lavish gourmet hamper to the value of €200 from Dical House Fine Foods & Wellbeing to Claude Sapiano. Prizes of the stunning coffee table book 'The Definitive(ly) Best Restaurants in Malta & Gozo' with photog- Maria Gatt, Martha Conti, Nick Tonna, Alexander Farrugia and Alan Micallef, who returned their surveys with ratings and included the funniest, relevant and most informative comments. The fourtheenth edition of the Restaurant Guide incorporating results of the 2013 Restaurant Left to right: Julian Diacono (Director Business Survey will be published Developments, Hilton Malta) presenting voucher beginning of December to first prize winner, Michelle Caruana and Andrea and will include the top Critien (The Definitive(ly) Good Guide) survey rated 150 restaurants out of over 1,800 raphy by Kurt Arrigo were given to restaurants on the Maltese Islands. the next ten best reviewers Derek Bolt, There was an overwhelming response Gabi Mizzi, Ivan Zammit, Pat Attard, to the survey with 1,980 people dining BOV VISA Platinum Card holders gain access to a world of luxury Bank of Valletta VISA Platinum cardholders now have access to the Visa Luxury Hotel Collection. This collection opens up a whole new world of privileges to BOV customers who use their VISA Platinum card when booking their accommodation. The VISA Luxury Hotel Collection offers cardholders access to a host of perks including VIP guest status, room upgrade, complimentary continental breakfast and in-room internet at more than 900 luxury hotels around the world, when booking accommodation through the relative website at some of the world's most prestigious and intriguing hotels. Bank of Valletta continuously strives to offer an enhanced experience to its customers. The VISA Luxury Hotel Collection is being offered to BOV VISA Platinum cardholders in addition to the BOV Cards Loyalty Rewards Programme to which all BOV premium cardholders are automatically eligible. In addition, the BOV card suite offers its customers a whole range of benefits that includes travel, purchase protection, Priority Pass and global customer assistance. BOV VISA Platinum cardholders can avail themselves from the exclusive VISA Hotel Luxury Collection by simply booking their accommodation with their BOV VISA Platinum card through the VISA Luxury Hotel Collection website. Cardholders are receiving more detailed information by means of a personalised letter. For further information regarding your BOV Visa Platinum Card and the Visa Luxu- ry Hotel Collection please visit HYPERLINK "http://www.visaluxuryhotelcollection.com" www.visaluxuryhotelcollection.com or HYPERLINK "http://www.bov.com" www.bov. com. You may also contact BOV Customer Service Centre on 21 312020 out on average of twice weekly to an equivalent of 205,920 dining experiences in a year. On Monday, 9 December a Restaurant Award Ceremony Gala Dinner will be held at the Xara Lodge, l/o Rabat, whereupon the top rated restaurants for food, service, ambience and overall will be presented with awards. Also awards will be presented for the following categories including the top rated Best Food Award sponsored by Airmalta, Best Ambience Award sponsored by Francis Busuttil & Sons Marketing Ltd., Best Service sponsored by Charles Grech Ltd, top rated Maltese food restaurant sponsored by the Ministry for Tourism and Culture, Wine Awards sponsored by Marsovin Ltd, top rated Business Entertainment restaurant sponsored by The Catering Centre, top rated Best Value for Money restaurant sponsored by Meats & Eats Gourmet Butcher, Most Romantic restaurant sponsored by Vivian Corporation, restaurant offering the best Vegetarian Options sponsored by Good Earth Distributors Ltd, top rated Best Restaurant Restroom/Cloakroom, top rated restaurant for Lively Entertainment, top rated 'Children Friendly' restaurant award sponsored by The Malta Baby & Kids Directory, top rated Best Newcomer sponsored by Vini e Capricci and Most Mentioned Restaurant sponsored by SmartCity, Malta and the Colin Best award for the Most Consistently Outstanding Restaurant. Alfa Romeo 4C Wins 'Auto Trophy 2013' Readers of the specialized German magazine 'Auto Zeitung' named the new Alfa Romeo 4C winner of the "Sportscars/Imported" category of the 26th edition of 'Auto Trophy' with 17.2% of the votes. The 4C beat prestigious and even considerably more expensive models such as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage (16.6%) and the Jaguar F Type (15.8%). The 'Auto Trophy 2013' award is the latest valuable addition to a string of prestigious awards and accolades won by the 4C. These include 'Design Award 2013' awarded by AutoBild (Austria), 'Best Sports Car 2013' according to 'El Economista' (Spain) and the 'Most Exciting Car of 2013' title proclaimed by 'What Car?' (UK). 'Auto Zeitung' readers had already voted the Alfa Romeo 4C the 'Best Lightweight Car' on the occasion of the 1st Green Mobility Trophy edition, which the magazine announced in August. Extraordinary performance, unique handling, extreme aerodynamics and amongst the best stylistic design keep the 4C in line with the Alfa Romeo tradition. In short, this is the new lightweight supercar that marks the return of the brand to the world of lightweight sports coupés. Designed by Alfa Romeo engineers and built at the Maserati plant in Modena, the fascinating mid-engined rear-wheel drive coupé with '2 bucket seats' represents the essential sportiness embedded in the 'Alfa Romeo DNA': performance and technical excellence for maximum driving pleasure combined with a breathtaking style. The Alfa Romeo 4C is a true driving machine without compromise that delivers its best precisely on the track, where speed, short braking distances and transverse acceleration are es- sential to get first-rate lap times: from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds flat, 258 km/h of top speed, deceleration peaks in the range of 1.2 g and lateral acceleration peaks over 1.1 g. All this is achieved also owing to an optimum weight distribution – 40% on the front axle and 60% of the rear axle – and to a total dry weight of just 895 kg - for the most part made up of carbon fibre, aluminium, steel and SMC – in addition to an extraordinary weight to power ratio of less than 4 kg/HP. The first-rate performance is also due to the combination of the new 240 HP 1750 Turbo Petrol engine with the latest-generation 'Alfa TCT' dry twin clutch transmission and the advanced Alfa DNA selector with the brand-new Race mode. More specifically, the new '4 cylinder' 1750 Turbo Petrol with direct injection at 200 bar and aluminium block achieves amazing performance. Torque and specific power set new records for this category, at over 200 Nm/l and 137 HP/l respectively, while maximum power of 240 HP (176 kW) is reached at 6000 rpm. Renewed support for the LadyBird Foundation from Mediterranean Bank Symbolic initiative marks 20 years of local councils in Malta Dreams make life better for children with life-threatening medical conditions. This simple but powerful conviction is what inspired the founding of The Ladybird Foundation. The Ladybird Foundation has been making wishes come true for terminally, critically or seriously ill children based in Malta for a few years now. With funds collected throughout a series of initiatives, events and donations, terminally ill children and their families are given the opportunity to see a dream materialise while also giving the families the opportunity to spend quality time with each other. In its ongoing endeavours of support and as one of the Foundation's main benefactors, Mediterranean Bank will be giving another generous donation this December. For the second consecutive year Mediterranean Bank is launch- ing a special Christmas campaign whereby the bank will make a substantial contribution to The Ladybird Foundation for business generated during December. "We really believe in the valid work that The Ladybird Foundation has been undertaking in fulfilling the dreams of children who really deserve a break and we are proud to continue building this partnership with them," said Mark Watson, CEO, Mediterranean Bank. Following a highly eventful year with regards to fundraising, The Labybird Foundation is currently focusing on streamlining the administrative side of the organisation. It is also creating further awareness of what the organisation is all about and is more importantly tending to the wishes of applicants with family vacations being currently scheduled for 2014. Left to right: Steve Apap Bologna, Ladybird Foundation and Mark Watson , CEO Mediterranean Bank