Mokihi has balls. Balls… of… ice. These hand-carved orbs fit perfectly in the wide whiskey glass on the bar’s counter – and melt slower in comparison to smaller cubes, meaning the last sip of firewater isn’t diluted.
The bar sits in the heart of Futian’s CBD, near the Shangri-La hotel, across from a Starbucks and beside a Family Mart. Its small sign is easy to miss, and inside the bar is tastefully unassuming.
Real candles glow on the tables, polished wood shines under dimmed lights and a spiral staircase leads to a cozy, carpeted second floor with leather love seats.
Mokihi’s size is right: small enough to feel intimate, but big enough that you won’t be forced into chatting with unwelcome neighbors.
Twenty-six-year-old bar manager and cocktail guru Ben Qiang explains that Mokihi infuses alcohol with flavors in large glass jars. He uses a cocktail mixer to leave a drop of the special espresso martini (RMB108) on his hand, licking the liquid before pushing the drink forward, ready. The martini’s glass comes coated with coco powder and topped with a candied cherry from Italy. The contrast of limoncello and espresso is somewhat smoothed over by Absolut vodka.
If espresso isn’t what you want in a martini, there are plenty of other options. The cocktail menu lists 20 drinks, but after time on the Beijing and Shanghai bar circuit, Qiang says he can probably whip up whatever you ask him for. The Moscow mule (RMB88) comes in a chilled bronze cup and has the bar’s own ginger-infused Absolut mixed with lime juice and ginger beer.
Like the cocktails at Mokihi, the excellent presentation and mixed drinks come at a premium. A glass of Glennfiddich single-malt Scotch sells for RMB88, while the price hovers around RMB35 at most regular drinking holes.
But Qiang is right. The fist-size ice chunk does make a difference; the last sip of whiskey isn’t watered down. Another? Not tonight. There’s a great place nearby that serves it a lot cheaper.
Price: RMB200-300
Good for: Expensive drinks, making an impression
Who’s going: Business people, cocktail lovers
> See listing for Mokihi.
[Images via Daniel MH Chun]
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