A quiet evening on the skydeck of the Arenui
By Tom Peyton
As dusk settles and the haunting melodies of Muslim hymns float through the air, our host and friend Luigi is hard at work in the tiny yet magical kitchen aboard his luxurious dive liveaboard, the Arenui.
Earlier that day, Luigi walked into the salon and showed me a steel bowl filled with different cuts of meat: Partrimi pork belly, fennel black pork sausage, and some regular beef. In his other hand, he carried carrots, onions, and chickpeas.
“Tonight we will have my famous Ragu!” he told Margo and me. He was right—his Ragu really is famous in our small foodie circle.
Resting before new clients’ arrival
The boat felt hushed, emptied of the first week’s guests who had already departed. Luigi slipped back into the kitchen, vanishing into his culinary world. He is a masterful chef, and we have often lost track of time together, creating feasts in each other’s kitchens in South Carolina or Kuala Lumpur.
Time with Luigi means savoring every stage of a dish, each taste accompanied by a new bottle of wine. Our conversations inevitably turn lively, swirling from politics to the economy, and always circling back to the food and wine before us.
That night aboard the Arenui, Margo, Luigi, and I let the aroma of his sumptuous Ragu seep into every nook of the ship as it lay peacefully in Tarakan Harbor.
The city lights of Tarakan
We walked up the steps to the ship’s upper deck and saw the table set for three, with a 2013 French Château Margaux breathing in a decanter.
The city lights of Tarakan traced the harbor’s edge, while the gentle putter of small fishing boats glided past our motionless liveaboard. The peace was a welcome contrast to the previous week’s bustle. This dinner felt like a deep breath before the next wave of divers arrived.
Margo and I sat waiting for Luigi and his Ragu. We enjoyed the night and the unique melodic rhythms of the Muslim chants. The “Adhan” is the call to prayer that invites Muslims to perform their mandatory prayers. Tonight, it sounded like five different hymns were playing at once.
Having grown up in a small Midwest town, I marveled at the strangeness and beauty of eating homemade Ragu with five kinds of meat, served by a true Italian chef on an Asian dive liveaboard in the heart of Indonesia, all while Islamic hymns echoed around us. The singular atmosphere filled me with gratitude for the extraordinary life Margo and I have created. I felt humbled and awestruck by the unexpected.
Lingering with Noodles
The Ragu was decadent and bursting with flavor, but the true revelation was the spaghetti, stewed gently in the sauce rather than simply boiled. Each time Luigi cooks, I discover a new technique or secret.
That night, as with so many spent with Luigi, nourished our spirits and bodies through the shared ritual of food. We were all weary from the week, but lingering over wine and home-cooked dishes reminded us of the deep bond that made us friends.
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