Picture yourself with a tropical rum cocktail in hand, a light breeze blowing through that meticulous coif, warm water bathing your feet.
Alas, if only we had all this here. The closest you’ll get to an island escape in the city this November is a hot breeze coming from a heater. Unless of course you choose to head down to Tiki Moon, the city’s first waterside tiki bar.
Tucked away at the further end of Party Pier, this oddly charming watering hole is a bit like a scene out of Disney’s Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN, with old school vibes from the likes of Pearl of the South Pacific and Blue Hawaii, sans the beachcombers, Elvis and his lush hula dancers.
Complete with a circular bamboo-and-lauhala hut, the watchful eyes of hand-carved totem poles and faux fires in cauldrons, Tiki Moon offers plenty of staged authenticity, including a full menu of cocktails and liquors that seem to fit the bill of the kitsch tiki culture. There are comfy huts around the perimeter and bartenders in loud Hawaiian shirts who look like they’ve come from Waikiki when it was first dredged up from the marshes.
While this is not a hard-and-fast rule, it’s certainly an important one: the vast majority of tiki drinks are made with rum, and to deny that would be to bury our heads in the sand. Try a bottle of Zacapas 23 (RMB880), a premium, award-winning distillation that is best experienced neat or on the rocks.
Beyond Captain Jack Sparrow’s favorite beverage, presentation still tends to be a little extravagant when it comes to cocktails. You might find mermaids hanging out of your rim, fog or fire billowing out of your drink and Chinese lanterns and paper peacocks hiding amongst a forest of mint. Okay, we’re exaggerating just a little here, but you get the idea, right?
In rightfully tacky signature cups, one can choose from a MoloGini or a Voodoo (RMB68), a Tiki Island (RMB58) or a blue-ish drink called the Smokey Bottle (RMB58) that looks like it was washed up ashore with dry ice. However, the Del Boy (RMB68) won us over with layers of flavor from spiced rum, fresh pineapple, mango puree, and just-squeezed juices like guava, orange and lime. A few recipes call for Falernum, a sweet cordial made from an infusion of citrus, spices, nuts and sugar that is used to add more complexity and an irreplaceable zing to tiki classics.
Shisha abounds for those seeking a fruity drag; there are 12 flavors at RMB100 a pop. Snacks are commonplace barbecue and grill items, ranging from satays (RMB26) to chicken wings (RMB15). Come weekends, Tiki Moon puts on a mean ukulele and live pop music performance. It’s nothing too fancy, but works given the ambiance.
There are a few deciding factors that define a true tiki bar: It has to be a dive. There must be ample umbrellas in a cocktail. The kitsch factor should be through the (bamboo-thatched) roof. Tiki Moon appears to stage this fairly well, but only time will tell if it’s able to hold on in an industry known for changing hands as quickly as you can say “mahalo.”
Price: RMB80
Who’s going: island-life seekers and tiki-philes
Good for: sweeping city views, tropical libations
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