Mela started with a very specific question: where can I find genuinely good sourdough or slow-fermented pizza in Malta?
It sounds simple. But finding a confident answer meant opening menus, reading reviews, searching maps and recommendations, and piecing the answer together myself.
The pizza was just the spark.
After living in eight countries over six years, I'd encountered versions of the same problem again and again. Where should we eat tonight? Which beach will actually be good in today's wind? Where can we swim somewhere quiet? What's worth doing nearby? Which places genuinely suit what we're looking for — rather than simply being popular?
The information was usually out there somewhere. The problem was getting from information to a decision.
Search gives us more places to look. Reviews give us hundreds of opinions. Social media gives us inspiration. Local groups and forums often have the answer buried somewhere in a conversation.
But when you're standing somewhere wondering what to do next, you don't necessarily want more options. You want to ask a normal question and get an answer you can trust.
That's what Mela is being built to do.
To understand not only what you're asking, but the situation around it — where you are, when you're asking and what matters to you.
And over time, to understand the way you like to experience a place.
One question. One clear answer.