Post #569351 by Club Nouméa on Sat, Dec 18, 2010 11:05 PM

I had the pleasure of visiting this fine establishment last night and will second those comments about the Latino music. There's nothing wrong with it per se, but Trader Vic's is not the place for it. Later on, they were even playing reggae music! Again, I love reggae, but where's the Pacific music for the love of Tiki!

Anyway, apart from that minor blemish, I was very impressed with Trader Vic's. Ms. Nouméa and I arrived at 9pm and sat in the bar area, which was quieter than the restaurant. Admiring the nice view of the marina while we drank and dined, we also took advantage of the post 9 pm half-price offers. For drinks, I had the 1944 Mai Tai and a Suffering Bastard. Both tasted just fine. Just a week before I had the same model of Mai Tai at the Matterhorn Bar in Wellington, which was recently voted the 15th best bar in the world, and there was no doubt about which was the superior drink (and no, it wasn't the Wellington version, which was too watery). For our meal, we had the fish and chips and the chicken fried rice, both of which were superb. Fish and chips is my toughest test of any US restaurant because, sadly, most of them don't know how to do 'em properly. Trader Vic's passed with flying colours. I also chose chicken fried rice, because I have had it in Asian restaurants all over the world, and although it is bog standard fare, it' s a sort of yardstick showing whether or not a restaurant really cares about its customers. Trader Vic's put most of the Chinese restaurants I have ever been in to shame. The chicken was just right, and nicely spicy, and the rice was delicately flavoured, with not a lump in sight.

Naturally, I took the opportunity to scout out the premises. The decor was wonderful. The Captain Cook room was both dignified and exotic at the same time, and I liked the little private function area with all the photos showing the restaurant's history on the walls. The wall with the PNG (and a few imposter) masks was also really cool.

To round the evening off, the waitress was even kind enough to wrap up a salt and pepper shaker set for me when I asked if I could buy it.

You tiki people who live in the Bay Area really are very lucky to have this place.

CN