Mouling, Hollywood, CA (restaurant)

Name:Mouling
Type:restaurant
Street:6530 Sunset Blvd
City:Hollywood
State:CA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:HOllywood 4-4141
Status:defunct

Description:
Owned by Loretta Mouling Hung, served Chinese and American cuisine. Tropical drinks; Zombie, Mai Tai, Mouling Special, Planters Punch, Scorpian, Navy Grog and the Fog Cutter served from the Lotus Room.

I found this cool postcard in the Los Angeles Public Library archives.

I also found these Menus in the same archive.

Great find Abstract!

I did some close-ups of the postcard, what an amazing place this was. Hard to figure it has been under the Tiki radar all of this time.

Great bar, PNG mask on the wall.

Some Tikis out front.

Nice use of Chinese tiles and lava rock in the dinning room.

Found a little more info online. The restaurant is now the Cat and the Fiddle Pub and is supposed to be haunted!

Over the decades, the space that The Cat And Fiddle Pub now occupies has been home to many restaurants, including a commissary for a nearby studio and the famous Mouling's Mandarin/Shanghai-style restaurant, where one could have the undisputed best "Peking Duck" in town while listening to "Mr. Tahiti" tickle the ivories at the piano bar.

Here is a current photo and the link to the haunting story.

http://ghoula.blogspot.com/2009/07/julys-spirits-with-spirits.html

DC

At one point it was also known as the Mauna Loa.

On 2011-02-20 10:19, Bora Boris wrote:
At one point it was also known as the Mauna Loa.

Yes it was Boris. Check these out! I found an old postcard on flickr from the Mauna Loa era with some great photos. This place really had it all going on.

From the signage, Tiki torches and flaming clam-shell drink welcoming you..

To the A-frame entrance flanked by Tikis..

To the entrance bridge with more Tikis..

To the Tiki bar, love those seldom seen red Chinese tiles and all of the Tiki art.

The thoroughness of the decor make me wonder if Bob and Leroy didn't have a hand in this one. Or maybe a set designer from a nearby studio? Still an amazing new find in the heart of Tiki Revival land this late in the game.

DC

I would love to see how the Mauna-Loa menu compared to the Mouling menu. Loretta Mouling Hung is my new hero with an incredibly gutsy menu. She has classic Tiki appetizers, but without the Tiki names. She serves fairly tame Chinese-American dishes, but then she runs some really deep items like preserved vegetable soup and sea cucumber right along side them. She doesn't even hide the fish stomach behind a Chinese name. It breaks my heart to know that I will never get to eat there.

I get really geeky about a good menu. Thanks so much for sharing it.

[ Edited by: Professor G 2011-12-28 21:09 ]

...and here is the caption to that postcard:

This Fu-joint came along a little late in the game and always seemed somewhat out of place to me in its Spanish Colonial Revival courtyard. Not that a British pub is any more appropriate, but the Polynesian decor looked very "propped on" here - which is not an unknown technique if I think about Billingsley's Outrigger, the Wan-Q, and other classic Tiki temples.

that sign is great!! I see a it being used for one of my sign replicas projects in the near future.... also, check out the 3-ku tiki lamp bases on the tables....

Bigbro, where did you get that postcard?? Well, I guess this location was not that "undiscovered" after all. Also had a listing in TR II.

Tipsy,

This would make a great sign reproduction. Here is a close up.

Triple Tiki Torch with a PNG style Tiki base, looks like a bit of work!

DC

So when did the place close? God knows I spent time at the "The Cat And Fiddle"
in the late 70s & 80s it was right accross the street from a few clubs back then
like Club Lingerie etc.

On 2011-12-29 15:23, Dustycajun wrote:
Bigbro, where did you get that postcard?? Well, I guess this location was not that "undiscovered" after all. Also had a listing in TR II.

This was indeed an Oceanic Arts job, they have had that postcard forever. I forgot when the place opened and closed, but it wasn't around for long. If my memory does not fail me, I remember them mentioning that the place came in at the tail end of the trend.

WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!
Now THIS is what Tiki Central is all about!!!!! (At least, for a few of us)
While others that clearly find the "social" aspect of this forum more interesting and/or entertaining continue to waste time and energy bickering through their self-indulgent rants, others are digging, exploring, researching and CARING about classic and modern Polynesian Pop--what this forum was created for in the first place!!!
Huge kudos to abstract, DC, Boris, and, of course, bigbro, for fighting the good fight and helping to keep the Tiki torch lit!!!

On 2011-12-29 15:55, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
So when did the place close? God knows I spent time at the "The Cat And Fiddle"
in the late 70s & 80s it was right accross the street from a few clubs back then
like Club Lingerie etc.

According to newspaper articles, it was still around in 1975 (as Mouling) and was the favorite restaurant of actor Gilbert Roland.

Thanks Tim.

Amazing!Just fantastic. I wonder if the three sided Ku tiki lamp on those tables is similar to this pink version Ku lamp. Athough this version has a Repro Kahiki shade compliments of Tiki Skip's fine craftmanship.

I've never seen this before.

That one went for some big dinero on ebay, well above my paygrade. Here is a close up.

Interesting that they used the logo girl from the Lanai, which later became the Hawaii Kai in New York.

DC

The Cat 'n the Fiddle aka former Mouling aka former Mauna Loa is closing this weekend...

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-the-cat-fiddle-restaurant-close-december-20141020-story.html

Would make a great tiki bar again! :wink: The entry would make a nice cave.

P.S. Kona Club in Oakland was an English Pup before I got hold of it.

This sucks. Love the Cat & the fiddle. Great English pub food and outdoor seating. If this turns into some chain restaurant it would be a damn shame.

A tiki bar would be awesome but I won't hold my breath for that!

I read this little mention from a Rolling Stones/The Doors/Music site: It was about how the Doors met The Stones. Ray Manzarek is being interviewed.

What was the feeling like just after the show?

We toasted each other with champagne at the Hollywood Bowl, to a great performance. It started subtly then climaxed. That show was like great sex! The Doors having sex with their Los Angeles audience.

There's a rumor that Mick Jagger can be seen in the audience on the DVD.

Jagger was there and, come of think of it, all of the Stones were there, as well. We all had dinner before the show with the Stones. Now I don't know where they were during the show, but there are rumors that Jim's girl was sitting on Jagger's lap. And I remember our meal with the band before the show, at Mouling's Chinese restaurant, a long-gone place that specialized in Navy Grog and special tropical drinks.

The opening acts that night were pretty special, too.

Wow, it was the Chamber Brothers and Steppenwolf. What a show, man! The Chambers Brothers were coming off "Time," their big hit. My soul had been psychedelized by the Chambers Brothers. And Steppenwolf, "Born to be Wild" -- head out on the highway. Amazing.

[ Edited by: ted tiki 2017-03-22 07:22 ]

Excellent urban archaeology.

Apparently, the new lease holders have a passing appreciation of the Polynesian past and are going to restore the gardens.

http://la.eater.com/2017/3/22/15022858/cat-fiddle-hollywood-ken-friedman-interview-coming