Most expats and locals will remember the Babylon, a quirky little Italian
restaurant on Huay Kaew Road established in the 70’s by Magni Renato. Renato, as
most people knew him, was a larger than life personality whose food and charisma
attracted Royalty, as well as regular Thais and foreigners to enjoy his special
Italian recipes. One quirky bit that you had to love about the place was that
the light over a table was turned on only when it occupied with customers! As
the table emptied, out went the light! Renato was in his 80’s when he passed
away not long ago. Until nearly the end, he was helped to a chair at the back of
the Babylon where he could supervise, taste, and greet his guests with a wave
and a buongiorno as they entered the door. With Renato no longer there, the
family sold Babylon.
Arcoba’leno is the word for ‘rainbow’ in Italian. It is the name held in reserve
by Renato for the bigger and better restaurant that he had always dreamed of
opening. To honor the memory of her father and his famous recipes, his daughter,
Elena has opened Arcoba’leno in a former large residence with lots of room for
tables, lots of light, and oodles of parking. Mama Renato is the cook and no one
knows Renato’s recipes and secrets better. The crispy on the outside, soft on
the inside Italian rolls are baked daily. The fresh vegetables used at
Arcoba’leno are still grown on their farm. The pasta is home made, the wonderful
Italian salad dressing is home made, the gorgeous gelatos are home made. No, my
friends, Arcoba’leno is not just another Italian restaurant!
As you arrive at Arcoba’leno, you are greeted at the door by Rit, Renato’s long
time maitre ’de or his daughter, Elena. The décor is simple but pleasant with
Italian masquerade masks, wine bottles and a large collage of family photos. The
furnishings imitate rustic Italian and you feel comfortable right away. The menu
is amazing! It initiates with a front page of Ultra Specials and continues to
invite you to try anything from fresh Norwegian salmon to frog legs, to lamb
imported from France, to duck, to lasagnes, pastas and thin crust pizzas. There
is something for everyone, including vegetarians, on this menu which actually
makes a good read just trying to make a dinner decision!
Our party began with the wonderfully fresh, crisp Mixta salad with homemade
Italian dressing which arrives with hot rolls and herb butter. If you like the
dressing as well as we did, you can buy a bottle to take home with you. We found
that some of the best items are on the Insalata Antipasti section of the menu.
The Arcoba’leno signature dish, crab meat au gratin is exquisite and the crab
meat and fresh spinach crepes gratinee are just as heavenly. The excellent
calzone with ham, mushroom, fresh spinach and mozzarella cheese arrived hot and
crispy. The egg plant parmigiana and lasagne verde al forno were deliciously
perfect and more than we could eat, but somehow we managed to save room for
dessert! The tiramisu was creamy and tasty. The zablione for two, a luscious,
airy dessert of whipped eggs with Marsala wine is served warm and just right
after a heavy dinner. Nor can you go wrong by choosing among the eight flavors
of homemade gelatos. Dinner accompanied by a generous carafe of the satisfying
house red wine will usually cost from B600-B800 depending on how hungry you are.
Arcoba’leno accepts take-away orders for pizzas and most other items on the menu
with only a B5 charge for the container. They are open daily 11:00a.m. -
2:00p.m. and 5:30p.m. – 10:00 p.m. You will find Arcoba’leno at: 60 Na Watket
Rd., Phone: 086-672-1532, 089-700-2469, 053-306-254
Malaysian Coconut Soup
This Malaysian soup is not to be confused with the Thai Tom
Kha Gai. They are quite different, and this recipe calls for the coconut cream
from the can, not the thinner coconut milk. You can spice it up even a little
more by increasing the chilli paste, but first time, I would recommend leaving
it at one teaspoon. There are many Malaysian curry pastes which will do, Yeo’s
mild Malaysian curry paste is very suitable for this recipe.
Cooking Method
Slice the chicken breast into thin strips and put aside. In the wok
put the chicken stock, sliced onions, curry powder, chilli paste and dried
shrimps. Stir and boil for five minutes. Now put in the coconut milk and the
sliced chicken, stirring gently as the soup thickens.
Bring to the boil again, add the lemon juice and salt and serve immediately.
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Ingredients
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Serves 2-4 |
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Chicken stock
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200 ml |
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Sliced skinless chicken breast fillet
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200 gm |
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Sliced onions
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2 |
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Malaysian curry powder
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1 tspn |
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Chilli paste
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1 tspn |
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Dried shrimp
|
2 tspn |
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Coconut milk thick
|
300 ml |
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Lemon juice
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2 tspn |
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Salt to taste
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