Post #122238 by Kailuageoff on Thu, Oct 28, 2004 10:13 AM

Has anyone other than Neptunetiki heard of a Chinese restaurant on International Drive in Orlando called "MaiTiki"? (I especially wonder if Wayne Coombs knows about it.)

I had never heard of this place so when Neptune told me he had stumbled into and out of it awhile back, I had to check it out.

First off, it isn't a tiki bar -- but it does have some great vintage tiki decor including a couple of war clubs, some spears, a constellation of great old-style hanging lamps (puffer fish, fish traps, glass floats, seashell/tapa and several types of bamboo). There is a fair amount of bamboo and thatch roofs over the booth areas, a large aquarium, a huge Maori mask and a dragon mask, and a dugout canoe hanging from the ceiling. The only tikis, unfortunately, were fiberglass ones guarding the front doors.

The restaurant is actually part of a Kobe Japanese Steakhouse which is accessed through a side doorway. They have a sushi bar as well.

The waitress told me the restaurant has been there for twenty years and they remodeled the Chinese portion of it five years ago. She thought that is when they put up the tiki decor, but wasn't sure. I have an e-mail address for the owner, so I'm going to try and find out where they got the lamps, etc.

The drinks are served in white ceramic Japanese mugs which can be purchased. Our favorite tiki drinks were not on the menu, however. I had a Samurai Sansu which included gin, pineapple juice and coconut cream. It was pretty good. Then I asked if the bar tender could make a Mai-Tai. Big mistake on his part and mine. Yuck! Oh well. On the positive side, the food was decent and the portions huge.

This place is definitely tiki de-evolution, but well worth checking out if you are in the area.

Mr and Mrs. NeptuneTiki and us will be there Nov. 10, if anyone else wants to join us. I think we can be there around 7.
KG

PS -- I also found out there is another Hawaiian-themed mini-golf featuring a volcano on I-drive called "Hawaiian Rumble Golf". It's close to the MaiTiki restaurant, but the few tikis I saw looked like poorly done rip-offs of Wayne Coombs' style. Their volcano is awe-inspiring, however. It looked to be at least three stories high with a waterfall gushing from the top of it. Still, I think the Tiki Golf mentioned higher in this thread looks like a more enjoyable course, if anyone wants to do that after dinner.

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2004-10-28 10:19 ]