october 2012
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Nadimos
Order over 399 THB and get a FREE Falafel!
Indian Host
Red
Get 2 Chicken or Vegetable Somossa for FREE with every order over 450 THB
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Haagen-dazs
Buy 2 pints (473 ml) of any ice-cream flavor and get 1 cup of Secret Sensation Chocolate Fondant for FREE
Krua Rommai
Cafe Tartine
The Barbican
CHA CHA
Get a FREE portion of Vermicelli Larb [158-39] with every order over 699 THB
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Get a FREE portion of Tuna Salad [164-4] with every order over 699 THB
FEATURED RESTAURANT Arabesque Restaurant The owner of Arabesque, Ayman Naguid, an Egyptian businessman living in Bangkok, couldn’t find his ethnic cuisine anywhere in Bangkok. To be sure, there were restaurants in Nana claiming to serve Egyptian food, but Naguid felt the taste wasn’t authentic, and the area was too crowded.
So, with no previous experience he opened Arabesque, a restaurant serving the style of Egyptian food he so desperately missed. The restaurant is located on Sukhumvit Soi 2. When arriving at the Soi, go deep inside, the restaurant is near the end on the right hand side about 500 meters from Sukhumvit Road. It’s set in a former standalone house which has been converted in an artistically elegant Egyptian restaurant. The name ‘Arabesque’ comes from an Islamic decorative style that features rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils or plain lines and is a major feature in the decor of the restaurant. The interior of the front door is handmade mother of pearl as the elaborately framed mirror window shutters and surmounts. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >>
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FEATURED RESTAURANT Arabesque The walls are painted Mediterranean ochre yellow with chocolate brown beams, pillars and surrounds and a terracotta tiled floor. There is a family table seating up to 12 and the remainder of the tables are designed for two to four people. To ensure the food served has an authentic taste, Ayman Naguid brought an Egyptian chef to Bangkok with an impeccable culinary pedigree. Before coming here, Chef Yassar worked at the Grand Hyatt in Alexandria, the Hilton Ramses in Cairo and by the Red Sea at the Intercontinental in Sham al Shiek. Although there are similarities among Middle Eastern cuisines, there are differences that are especially noticeable to diners familiar with f o o d f ro m t h e re g i o n . E g y p t i a n s , f o r example, not only grill meats, they also roast it in the oven. Tajine, a popular Berber dish from North Africa named after the clay pot in which it is cooked, varies subtly from one country to another. Spicing also varies with d i f f e re n t c o m b i n a t i o n s o f s p i c e s l i k e cinnamon, parsley, cumin, sumac, nutmeg and cardamom being used. Arabesque is proud of its Egyptian heritage and makes a special effort to ensure the food served is authentic. The restaurant is, in fact, so passionate about authenticity, that many of the ingredients used are imported from Egypt. This includes Egyptian pigeon, many of the vegetables and items like tomato purĂŠe and olive oil. The first dish we tasted was a Chicken Tajine. It was made with piece of chicken on the the bone that had been stewed in the special pot reserved for tajine dishes. The result was a comfortable casserole served with Japanese rice, as its taste and texture are very similar to Egyptian rice.
Arabesque Restaurant 68/1 Sukhumvit Soi 2, Bangkok 10110 Tel: 0-2656-9440 www.facebook.com/arabequerestaurantbangkok
Opening hours
12.00pm.-10.30pm.
Credit cards
All major cards
Price per person without drinks THB 500-600 FBP partner since
2012
Then came Mesaka (the Egyptian spelling for moussaka) a minced lamb, onion and tomato rich casserole. Unlike the popular Greek version, this dish is not served with layers of aubergine or potato. Koushary, an Egyptian staple dish of rice, lentils, chickpeas and macaroni topped with a sauce, was our next dish. It was served with two sauces, one a spicy lemon garlic and the other a tomato sauce. Pour one or both into the bowl and toss the ingredients as if making a salad. Its best eaten with Egyptian bread rather than cutlery. Fattah, an Arabic word for crushed, refers several dishes served throughout the Middle East that use stale bread as an ingredient. In Egypt is served with rice and minced lamb cooked in a consommĂŠ and served on a piece of crispy pita bread. It is a popular dish to celebrate Eid. We also enjoyed Egyptian bread that was inflated like a pillow; mahshy, essentially rice stuffed vegetables ranging from zuchini to eggplant and peppers; and ful medames an Egyptian staple of cooked mashed fava beans served with olive oil and parsley that is often eaten at breakfast. We finished with the classic Egyptian pastry Om Ali, a puff pastry cooked in milk with a variety of nuts. Oven cooked, it was a fitting close to what had been a very enjoyable meal. It goes without saying that the food at Arabesque is 100% halal. Shish pipes are available to be smoked in the garden. They have a belly dancing buffet on Saturday night at THB 650 net person, reservations are compulsory. There is a small shop at the restaurant selling artefacts and clothing.
personality of the month Larisa Grajdieru Larisa is part Moldavian and part Romanian. During the last year of her university studies in Brussels, she was invited to come and work in Thailand by a carnival costume production company. Shortly after she arrived in Bangkok, the company relocated to Laos. She decided to remain in Thailand, and it was at her next job that she met her husband, a man who loves to eat well. “It was almost two years ago,” says Larisa, “that we discovered there was a lack of somewhere in Bangkok where we could find a good European-style sandwich. We decided to go into business for ourself and then spent the next six months researching recipes; the right fillings for our sandwiches; and most challenging in Bangkok, a source of freshly baked bread that met our quality needs and was baked in sufficient quantity.”
“We eventually found the right bread source. We offer three breads, a plain flour French baguette and sliced whole grain or white bread. Our customers’ choices in what they prefer vary greatly in both breads and fillings. As a result, all our fillings are available on all of our breads.” “I have noticed,” she continues, “an interesting pattern in ethnic preference as to what is the ideal sandwich. Our French customers like a simple filling of butter, ham and cheese. Whereas our British and American customers want their sandwiches overflowing; they love to mix bacon with almost any other meats, just as long as there is plenty of it. Our Thai customers prefer a softer white bread with a spicy filling, but I have noticed that as they become familiar with our products that some are converting to a crispy baguette.” “Making a good sandwich isn’t difficult,” she adds, “There are just three boxes to tick, good bread, freshly made mayonnaise and quality home-made fillings. We make our sandwiches using traditional recipes. Our meatballs are made using my Mum’s recipe and our Greek chicken filling is made with chunks of marinated grilled chicken layered with slices of tomato and lettuce.”
ru
Larisa Gradie
wner and Chef
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