New England Chinese Bar Mai Tai

I am sure there have been tons of posts about the ever popular Mai Tai, and I have read tons of Mai Tai recipes (trader vics, etc...) but I have never been able to reproduce the amazingly delicious Mai Tai that any Chinese restaurant in suburban Massachusetts makes. When I make a mai tai it always ends up looking like lemonade. The Mai Tai at my favorite place near home (jade east) is WAY darker and tastes so much better.

Every time I ask how they make it I get a similar answer (haha, you take glass add rum and put in lot of ice).

My question... Is the Mai Tai that I have grown to love different here in Boston than the rest of the country? I have never been able to reproduce it and I have tried a few different recipes with no success.

Anybody live near Boston and know what I am talking about?

Thanks!!

Jade East in Tewksbury?

Yup!

I don't think I agree that they're all good. This seems about as good a place as any to say this: Sully and I went to the Empire Garden in Boston. The site is impressive; it's an old movie theater. We got the two worst drinks you could imagine. I'd classify mine as the worst drink I've ever had anywhere. I was afraid to drink it so I didn't. It tasted like Janitor in a Drum. Sully drank his and was sick all night (we didn't eat there).

Anyway, the best Mai Tai in NE is made by Judy Chin at Ken Chin's in Worcester. (I'm going on record here.)

Why not just come right out and ask how they make it at Jade East?

On 2008-02-11 16:45, The Granite Tiki wrote:
Jade East in Tewksbury?

Just drove by there on the way home maybe I should try the Mai Tai and see if it passes the non-drinker test?

Welcome to TC, to another local person redbeardmcg!

Beth

On 2008-02-11 17:03, pappythesailor wrote:
Anyway, the best Mai Tai in NE is made by Judy Chin at Ken Chin's in Worcester. (I'm going on record here.)

This I gotta try. PLEASE tell me this place is going to be part of the NETT (or at least NETT Jr.)?

I'm not an alcoholic, I'm an enthusiast.

[ Edited by: leisure master 2008-02-11 19:23 ]

Damn, that's 2 new places I have to try. Well, at least the Jade East is close to home...

Jay, we are going to have to plan a meeting at Ken Chin's, just to test you and keep you honest.

Not sure of all the ingredients. Never cared to really pursue it, but the owner of a Chinese restaurant I used to frequent in Bethesda told me that the key ingredient in his Mai Tais was Coca-Cola syrup.

I think if you want to match the Chinese restaurant Mai Tai flavor, you'll have to get yourself some Coca-Cola syrup before you start your experiments.

On 2008-02-11 19:22, leisure master wrote:
PLEASE tell me this place is going to be part of the NETT (or at least NETT Jr.)?

Sorry LM, not on either. We gotta do something to get you up here for NETT3 right? heh heh (next time you get up here give a heads up & we'll take you out)

Actually I think NETT3 is gonna more focused down your way, but I have an idea for another deal next year, starting in central mass, and heading west...out to the Tiki Hotel in Lake George.

Hmm, the coca cola syrup thing is interesting. BTW what is NETT? Am I correct in guessing it is New England Tiki Tour?

Am I missing something here, or is it too obvious for the aficionados so they don't chime in... I cannot speak for those New England establishments, but the reason MY homemade Mai Tais look dark, and not like lemonade, is because I put PLENTY of dark Myer's Rum in them. Only bleach could lighten mine up!

Myers'?? Oh, that is SO 1986. Nobody puts it in a Mai Tai anymore.
Just kidding. Yeah, that would be the obvious answer but there's nothing obvious about these Chinese Mai Tais. They're inscrutable. Much like the Chinese themselves...

Yeah. NETT is the Northeast Tiki Tour.

I've seen ingredients coming out of bottles with Asian markings on them here in New England as well.

Hmm...I seeee...seeclet inglidient

Could it be...-a jiao zh (ass hide glue pellets) ? ...or -bi hu ( house lizard) ?

... I do believe we can rule out -can sha (silkworm droppings) or -qiu shi (processed urine deposit) for they would make it lean more towards lemonade again, but

-tu bie chong (wingless cockroach), -wang yue sha (hare's droppings), and -wu ling zhi (flying squirrel's droppings) could very well be effective darkening agents.

I think its got something to do with the "secret sauce".

Pappy & I noticed at the Mon Kou, that pretty much EVERY cocktail got at least a partial ladle-full of this strange yellow juice, kept in a wine bucket. It definately ISNT sour mix, nor is it lemon juice....

one of the mysteries of New England tiki. And while not a traditional Mai Tai....they sure are gooooood!!

Ping was very up-front about the secret sauce. He said it was called "Poly Mix" and is sour mix, pineapple juice and OJ.

On 2008-02-12 14:45, bigbrotiki wrote:
Hmm...I seeee...seeclet inglidient

Could it be...-a jiao zh (ass hide glue pellets) ? ...or -bi hu ( house lizard) ?

... I do believe we can rule out -can sha (silkworm droppings) or -qiu shi (processed urine deposit) for they would make it lean more towards lemonade again...

Please, urine deposits lose so much of their flavor after processing.

On 2008-02-13 06:29, pappythesailor wrote:
Ping was very up-front about the secret sauce. He said it was called "Poly Mix" and is sour mix, pineapple juice and OJ.

Well, so much for the mysterious mystery. Party pooper.

Yes, I am sure there is sour mix, I can taste the corn syrupy acidic flavor-enhanced goodness it produces. That, mixed with a couple Bacardi rums should give you a nice NE Mai Tai. Don't forget the grenadine! And the pineapple and cherry garnish.

Chef Chang's on Beacon St in Brookline has a menu full of great drinks. No tiki decor, but you can't miss the drinks!!!

So that's what is in the vat eh Pappy? At least it isn't lizard piss or yesterday's dishwater with some leftover oyster sauce.

The Mai Tai is a risky drink to order in NE. I would never order one in my favorite local place, House of Wu, but I'd order their Zombie or Scorpion Bowl any day.

Sadly enough there's a place in Coventry called "Mai Tai". You would think they could at least serve and average NE Mai Tai but all you get is pineapple, grenadine and a splash of Bacardi. Syrupy sweet and nasty would describe it best.

My fave local joint on Hampton Beach, NH is the Ocean Wok(No tiki decor, but they do serve in mugs) has unbelievable chinese food (known by locals to be the freshest and tastiest chines/szechuan joint around) and they have a fantastic Mai Tai. It is served in a traditional glass bucket (no mint) and they even will serve you a tall! Very Strong! They put their recipe on their website - check it out.

Watch the flash opening page, click enter, go to menu, go to exotic cocktails, click on the Mai Tai recipe box!
http://www.oceanwok.com

Their Mai Tai as well as their food is amazingly good - No tiki, bamboo or thatch though! Damn

[ Edited by: jpmartdog 2008-02-13 19:32 ]

On 2008-02-11 17:03, pappythesailor wrote:
I don't think I agree that they're all good. This seems about as good a place as any to say this: Sully and I went to the Empire Garden in Boston. The site is impressive; it's an old movie theater. We got the two worst drinks you could imagine. I'd classify mine as the worst drink I've ever had anywhere. I was afraid to drink it so I didn't. It tasted like Janitor in a Drum. Sully drank his and was sick all night (we didn't eat there).

I went to Empire Garden last week, for dim sum. The dim sum was fine. I was wondering about the decor because it was indeed impressive and I was very curious what the building had been used for previously - a movie theatre makes sense. I ordered a scorpion bowl there and it tasted basically like pineapple juice and nothing else. I don't think it had much, if any, rum in it at all.

I'll second the Mayor on the drinks at Chef Chang's though. The one I had there was great.

Suzanne

On 2008-02-11 16:27, redbeardmcg wrote:
I am sure there have been tons of posts about the ever popular Mai Tai, and I have read tons of Mai Tai recipes (trader vics, etc...) but I have never been able to reproduce the amazingly delicious Mai Tai that any Chinese restaurant in suburban Massachusetts makes. When I make a mai tai it always ends up looking like lemonade.

My question... Is the Mai Tai that I have grown to love different here in Boston than the rest of the country? I have never been able to reproduce it and I have tried a few different recipes with no success.

I am just another biased Yankee-tikiphile, but I do think the average NE Mai Tai is generally better than any I get elsewhere. My theory for this is that I think that the tikification of the nation started on the west coast with the godfathers of the genre, Trader Vic and Donn Beach. Like most fads, it started on one coast and picked up on the other before moving into the center. I think the the east coast and New England picked up on the Polynesian wave next, so we ended up home to some of the biggest and best of the genre (Trader Vic's for one). I'm further betting that because of the fame and success of Trader Vic's, many of the places in the region worked hard at duplicating the classic TV Mai Tai. Many of the largest places in NE even had the benefit of former Trader Vic's bar staff taking residence at their bars. Even here in DC, the best and former best places to get a Mai Tai are those who had a working connection to Washington's Trader Vic's.

[ Edited by: jwtiki 2008-07-01 20:25 ]

The Mai Tais at Bamboo (good Chinese/Japanese in Westford and Burlington, and I think a couple other locations as well) are definitely more in the Trader Vic's neighborhood than most of the others around here. The one I had tonight needed more lime juice, but wasn't too far off.

And a few weeks back I ordered a Zombie at the Bamboo in Burlington... and got a very good drink, complete with 151 float and served in a tiki mug!

For those in the Bay State, if you find yourself out on Rt. 2 past 495, cruising past Fitchburg, you'll be just two minutes from one of the best Mai Tais I've had in good ol' Mass. The place is the Singapore Restaurant on the Fitchburg/Leominster line.

The head bartender there, Sammy, makes one hellava Mai Tai. It is his house recipe, and he's the only one who makes their "mix". I've long since moved away, but it is always the first stop I make the moment I get into town. There is no longer any tiki-factor after several renovations, but the Mai Tai is memorable.

Although I left MA over 30 years ago, I still have the mug from the Kowloon in Saugus where I celebrated my 21st birthday . . . .back in 1967!

My favorite spot on ol' Rt. 1 was Weylu's. Terrific food and drink. I am so sorry that they went for broke with their "Forbidden Palace" replica. I know that one or two restaurants went in (and out) afterwards. Question for the New England locals: Is anything worthwhile in the old Weylu's palace, or is it just lying there.

I passed by there last year, and it is open, parts of it. There has been some remodeling, and I think that is still going on. We had some drinks at the bar, and the bartender was a guy who commutes from NYC. The whole thing has the feel of a Chinese Mafia joint. None of the food places were open at the time, but there were employees around getting things ready. I think it's called "Jin" now. Drinkswise, nothing worth writing about here. So I won't.

On 2008-02-13 05:44, Bargoyle wrote:
I think its got something to do with the "secret sauce".

Pappy & I noticed at the Mon Kou, that pretty much EVERY cocktail got at least a partial ladle-full of this strange yellow juice, kept in a wine bucket. It definately ISNT sour mix, nor is it lemon juice....

one of the mysteries of New England tiki. And while not a traditional Mai Tai....they sure are gooooood!!

good ol mon kou. home away from home. never sat close enough to the bar to figure that one out.

On 2008-02-13 19:20, jpmartdog wrote:
...They put their recipe on their website - check it out.

Watch the flash opening page, click enter, go to menu, go to exotic cocktails, click on the Mai Tai recipe box!
http://www.oceanwok.com

Their Mai Tai as well as their food is amazingly good...

...So I'm having "issues" trying to get this damn recipe. :D I tried IE browser, no luck. Opera browser, nope?! Went to my optometrist. He says, "read this eye chart for me..."

Jesus. Just reel me in like a trout, why doncha?!