Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse - Drink review

Apple Crunch
Pear Cobbler

Restaurant: Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse - Drink Review

Cuisine: European/American/EuroAsian/Fusion/West coast

Last visited: August 28, 09

Area: Richmond, BC (Steveston Village)

140-3900 Bayview Street

Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Drinks: 6

Service: 4

Ambiance: 4

Overall: 5

Additional comments:

• Drinks are amazing - professional mixologist
• Very creative drinks, you can't find anywhere
• Very affordable, about $7 for a "gourmet" style cocktail
  
• Sister restaurant to higher end Correlis next door
• Attracts 30-40 crowd
• Outdoor patio dining - all white Las Vegas/Miami feel
• Upscale lounge feel
  
• Waterfront view
  
• Upstairs lounge and balcony
  
• Open for lunch and dinner at 11am - close
  
• Late night crowd
• Sports lounge

**Recommendation: Apple Crunch, Pear Cobbler, Asian Mary

I came here for drinks with some friends late Friday afternoon. Wow! I was so impressed with their drinks. I can't drink much myself, but the friends I was with can...and they sure made a dent in the menu. All the drinks are so creative it made you want to try them all. Everything sounded so good - and it was. The mixologist is a genius, I don't know how he does it but everything tasted like juice - and all cocktails were at least doubles; if you couldn't taste it, you could feel it ;) There's so many ingredients in each drink and he balances them out so well - perfect ratio. He uses real fresh fruit puree where possible and all the fruit is so ripe it adds a natural sweetness and texture to the drinks. I hope he gets paid really well, because I'm sure he'll be in high demand once people discover this new restaurant. It's around $7 for a cocktail - which is really cheap...and it tastes like something that should be $10-12 especially in a restaurant with this kind of upscale lounge decor. The patio is the best place to dine here - all white sofas and beautiful waterfront view. Outside more impressive than inside. It's a new restaurant and they're still playing around with their menu. I have no idea how they'll narrow down their drink menu because the selection is huge and we didn't have one bad drink. Try them all before they narrow it down.

On the table:

• Tropical Cyclone 5/6
• Absolute, hypnotiq, malibu, fresh pineapple juice and a swirl of blue caracao with a sweet slushy cloud (the slush kind of floats on top) - 6.95
  
• This drink is one of their popular signature drinks. This is yummy, it's more of girl drink (sweeter) and you get a really strong pineapple and coconut taste. Malibu stands out in this one. You feel like you're in Miami sipping on one of these - especially when you're sitting outside on their patio that is Miami inspired - all white lounge couches etc.
  
• The 22 5/6
• Raspberry absolut, malibu, banana liquer, fresh pineapple and cranberry juice, soda with a hint of champagne and a fresh raspberry slush - 6.95
• Another popular signature drink. De-licious. This one tastes like a raspberry slurpee. It's sweet and tangy at the same time. The raspberry stands out the most in this for sure. The fresh pineapple adds that special note that completes this fruity drink. More of a girl drink - sweeter again, and you can't taste the alcohol. I prefer this over the Tropical Cyclone.
  
• **Apple Crunch 6/6
• Apple liquor, butter ripple, with fresh pineapple and apple juices with a touch of real honey 6.95
  
• Holy crap...this is amazing. Want to know what apple pie tastes like as a drink? This is it! This is a dessert and drink all in one. If you like apple and apple pie you'll love this! It's like a blended McDonald's apple pie. The real honey shines through and there's even a hint of cinnamon I tasted. It comes with this fruit skewer of melon ball sized apples and it's coated in this brown sugar cinnamon syrup...the perfect garnish for this amazing drink. One of the best drinks and garnishes I've had...ever. One of their most popular signature drinks. A girl drink a guy would appreciate.
  
• **Pear Cobbler 6/6
  
• U'livka, pear liquer, triple sec, pear puree, topped with brown sugar. 7.75
• This is dangerous...you would never know there's alcohol. This was my favourite! This tastes like eating a frozen pear blended up - a real pear slushy! He uses fresh pear puree and you can totally taste it in the drink. It's all blended up and it adds this natural sweetness. Pears have a grainy texture so it gives this drink a really unique texture I've never experienced before. Truly incredible. If you love pears, don't leave without trying one. It comes with a fruit skewer made up of melon ball sized pear coated with the same brown sugar syrup the apple crunch skewer was in. This is a dessert/drink/treat...everything! It's their most popular and creative belnded cocktail on the menu.
  
• Fresh mojito 4/6
  
• We had the kiwi lime 7.50
  
• All the mojito's are twisted and built on a combination of 2 flavours eg: strawberry kiwi, vanilla pear etc.
  
• This was really fresh and really light tasting. You can actually see the fresh kiwi puree, but you couldn't taste the kiwi as much. The actual fruit isn't that flavourful and there's no "kiwi" flavoured alcohol so this drink tastes all natural. The lime really comes through. I prefer the blended mojito at Earl's - if it's done right, by an actual bartender.
  
• Smashed Pinata 5/6
  
• Jose Cuervo, Bacardi 151, fresh lime, pear liquer, pear puree 7.45
• A man's drink. You can taste the alcohol in this one and it's pretty strong. But again it's mixed well, so if you like the taste of these liquers you'll enjoy this drink. The pear again adds this natural sweetness. I based my rating on people that like these alcohols.
  
• Mandalay Fiesta 3/6
• Jose Cuervo, fresh lime, chili sauce, soda and raspberry puree 7.45
  
• I didn't get to try this one, but my friends said the other stuff I tried was better. They said it was good, but because everything else was AMAZING - this was just good.
  
• **Asian Mary 6/6
  
• A twist on a Bloody Mary/Caesar - sake, tomato, soy sauce, Tobasco, with freshly crushed dry wasabi rim 7.00
  
• Wow! This is genius. So creative. I prefer this to any ordinary Caesar/Bloody Mary anywhere. What a brilliant twist! It's the perfect amount of spiciness too. He really nailed this one. The wasabi rim is real wasabi, which don't even come across at a Japanese restaurant. The best Caesar I've had.
  
• Tequila Moon 3/6
  
• A twist on a Tequila Sunrise with Jose Cuervo, Absolute raspberry, sake, triple sec, watermelon puree, and orange juice 7.45
• I'm not a fan of Tequila or Tequila Sunrises - but if I had to have a Tequila Sunrise, I'll drink it this way. Again taking an ordinary cocktail to the next level. This was the most Tequila tasting drink that we tried from their Tequila cocktails section.
  
• The Wet Poncho 4/6
  
• Jose Cuervo, triple sec, blue curacao, orange juice, soda with a hint of vanilla 7.45
• In between a girl and guy drink. I thought the blue curacao stood out the most in this.
  
• Giddy Down 4/6
  
• Wild Turkey, absolut vanilla, shaken with fresh pear, fresh apple juice 7.00
• This was strong on the alcohol which was a bit surprising seeing the ingredients. It's the Wild Turkey - if you like whiskey then try this. The flavours complement the whiskey well.