Mauna Loa, Mexico City, Mexico (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

K KoolRaul Member San Francisco, via Mexico City Joined: Jan 22, 2009 Posts: 1	K KoolRaul Posted posted on Thu, Jan 22, 2009 10:17 PM I have very vivid memories of Mauna Loa! My parents were swinging lawyers back in the early 1970's. They used to take me there when I was a kid. I remember that in order to go inside the restaurant you had to cross a little wooden bridge that creaked. The restaurant itself had different levels. The food was a combination of Polynesian and island=inspired Chinese food. We would get battered shrimp, roasted pork and Chinese vegetables with dry reconstituted mushrooms that my dad would playfully call "Dragon skin". The most impressive feature of the restaurant was a large window overlooking an enormous two story waterfall. You could see the lower part of the waterfall at the bar right below. The bar (and night club) was called "El Corsario". I don't think kids were allowed there, but I went there for a couple of private parties. The whole place was made to look like a pirate ship. I remember some of the floors leaned to one side, so it would "feel" like the ship was sinking - It was quite ridiculous, nowadays that would be against some type of safety code! You would get your drink served in a different mug depending on the kind of drink you ordered. Since I could only drink Shirley Temple I would always get a brown glazed tiki guy. My last memory of Mauna Loa was a New Years eve party at the Can Cun location. The Can Cun location was a scaled down version of the Mexico City restaurant. The party was quite fabulous. They had a live show with Polynesian dancers, and we got plenty of props (hats, sparklers, noise makers). As midnight approached the MC did a countdown and brought in a model dressed like a mermaid (two performers carried her inside a net) and also an enormous cake shaped like a volcano, complete with dry ice "smoke". At midnight there was dancing and a balloon drop. Anyway, my mother may have pictures. I'll ask her next time I see her!

I have very vivid memories of Mauna Loa! My parents were swinging lawyers back in the early 1970's. They used to take me there when I was a kid. I remember that in order to go inside the restaurant you had to cross a little wooden bridge that creaked. The restaurant itself had different levels. The food was a combination of Polynesian and island=inspired Chinese food. We would get battered shrimp, roasted pork and Chinese vegetables with dry reconstituted mushrooms that my dad would playfully call "Dragon skin". The most impressive feature of the restaurant was a large window overlooking an enormous two story waterfall. You could see the lower part of the waterfall at the bar right below.

The bar (and night club) was called "El Corsario". I don't think kids were allowed there, but I went there for a couple of private parties. The whole place was made to look like a pirate ship. I remember some of the floors leaned to one side, so it would "feel" like the ship was sinking - It was quite ridiculous, nowadays that would be against some type of safety code!
You would get your drink served in a different mug depending on the kind of drink you ordered. Since I could only drink Shirley Temple I would always get a brown glazed tiki guy.

My last memory of Mauna Loa was a New Years eve party at the Can Cun location. The Can Cun location was a scaled down version of the Mexico City restaurant. The party was quite fabulous. They had a live show with Polynesian dancers, and we got plenty of props (hats, sparklers, noise makers). As midnight approached the MC did a countdown and brought in a model dressed like a mermaid (two performers carried her inside a net) and also an enormous cake shaped like a volcano, complete with dry ice "smoke". At midnight there was dancing and a balloon drop.

Anyway, my mother may have pictures. I'll ask her next time I see her!

Post #430122 by KoolRaul on Thu, Jan 22, 2009 10:17 PM