Mai Tai Bar

As Ellie and I strolled through the Ala Moana shopping center, with swimsuits and cookies in mind, we came across an unexpected treat: Mai Tai Bar. Of course, this was too perfect to pass up. We took a look at the menu, which consisted of 4 different Mai Tai's. We noticed, too, that the Mai Tai gods blessed us with a generous, well-timed happy hour. 

I chose the "Traditional Mai Tai" because it is still early in the expedition; I do not have enough foundation in the standard cocktail to start introducing flavor variations. The Kraken spiced rum stood out as an interesting ingredient and I was curious how this would play with the other rums and juices. 

The first sip was definitely less palatable than was that of the Cuckoo MT. There was a distinct sour element, which I have previously associated with Mai Tai's, that I believe stems from a not-so-sweet orange juice mixing with the rums. The Mai Tai Bar's MT was more in line with my flavor expectations. Whereas Cuckoo Coconut's' tasted primarily of spiked pineapple juice, the Mai Tai Bar's had some of the missing elements to create a more complete feeling drink. Also noticeable upon the first few sips was the strong presence of the rum. My thought is that this is because of the inherently stronger flavor of the Kraken. Whether this is necessarily bad is up for debate, as a good Mai Tai should be a considerably strong drink. The drink was still crisp and refreshing, but the sourness did hold it back from being as smooth to drink steadily. The MT was pre-shaken without a floater and was served in a pint glass which, while a step up from the plastic cup, was disappointing because it didn't seem like the right choice for this tropical drink. Although it included a nice, color-contrasting orchid, it did not have any additional fruit garnishes or umbrellas. The ice was high quality, clear, and chopped into reasonably-sized chunks. Overall, this was a pretty good example of a Hawaiian Mai Tai. Though the sourness was a bit unpleasant compared its sweeter Cuckoo counterpart and its presentation left something to be desired, this was a solid Mai Tai that lives up to being the namesake of its bar. 

7/10

  Ellie's Corner

Mai Tai Bar was an amazing find on the second day of Eric's Mai Tai Expedition. My thoughts on their Mai Tai: disgusting. A classic sign that it's a good Mai Tai. Way too strong and a bit sour. I had the much more palatable Passion Fruit Mojito, which was deeeelish. I just love that we're somewhere where you can just walk into a place and they have a Passion Fruit Mojito on the menu, let alone for 5 bucks. I also got a new bathing suit and we went to the zoo and saw an especially great Fennec fox, penguin, elephant, and chimps, along with a bunch of other sweet animals. Today I saw an old man playing Pokemon Go in Japanese on his phone while waiting for breakfast.