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.
  

RauDZ Regional Table

Restaurant: RauDZ Regional Table
Cuisine: Contemporary/West coast/Seafood
Last visited: August 14, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
1560 Water Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 5, mainly b/c of history and concept
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• To locals and tourists it's one of the best restaurant in Kelowna
• Reincarnation of a 4 diamond, award-winning fine dining restaurant - still same owner/chef
• All time favourites from Fresco are still on the menu
  
• Focus on organic, fresh, natural, all regional food
• Everything is from local bakeries/farms etc. in Kelowna
• Homemade sauces/condiments/dressings
• Very unique flavours and chef creations - but everything was missing a little salt and came across as a tad bland - yes, fresh ingredients, but when it all came together it was missing that punch
• Simple ingredients, but unique recipes and combination of flavours
  
• Excellent presentation with really decent portions - not huge, and not small
  
• Very reasonable prices for what you are getting - a gourmet bargain, however overall experience impressed me more than the food
• They offer a sample menu, but they don't advertise it and you need to ask your server
  
• They don't take reservations and open 5pm daily
• Drink specialties: Fresh fruit martinis
• Complimentary gourmet housemade lollipops when you get your bill eg: Tangerine & Thyme lollipop

**Recommendation: Crab Cappuccino, BLT, Arctic Char, Signature dessert, fresh fruit martinis

How I discovered this restaurant was completely by chance, luck was on my side...so I'm glad I fell upon it. If I were in Kelowna again I would go back to this restaurant to try other things are their menu.

I walked by the restaurant at around 5pm and stopped to take a look at their menu posted outside. There was a couple from Seattle waiting outside the restaurant for it to open and they strongly recommended us to try this restaurant. They said it was their favourite and that they dine here everytime they are in Kelowna. They said they come especially for their Crab Cappuccino which enticed my immediately. I took a quick look over their menu and saw the most creative dishes eg: hot dog with lavender mustard - right then and there I knew I had found my dinner spot for the night.

I went in to put my name down for a reservation but the hostess said it was so busy that reservations were not accepted...as if I wasn't convinced enough; now I knew I had to check out what the hype was all about. We basically ordered everything that was recommended on their menu, but I'll discuss the best out of those.

Overall, the experience was better than the food, although the food was by no means disappointing. It's comparable to great restaurants in Vancouver.

On the table:

• **Crab Cappuccino 4/6
• Dungeness crab, milk froth

• One of the most popular items on the menu. It actually originates from the old Fresco menu, the restaurant that came before RauDz...it's such a favourite it had to stay on.
• The presentation was lovely. It was good, but lacked a little bit of saltiness, it wasn't sweet either though...it was just a bit bland. The texture is not thick and creamy, it's the texture of a cappuccino made with whole milk, so it's not heavy or filling.
• It came with 2 larger pieces of dungeness crab which is a bit disappointing because I expected more. The dungeness crab flavour wasn't brewed into the cappuccino broth...it was more just 2 pieces of crab found in the broth. I found they should have chopped it up a bit more rather than just putting in 2 big chunks. I understand that they did this because it's called a "cappuccino" not a "soup"...but still.
• A nice subtle hint of cappuccino flavour and I think I tasted a little saffron which was great. It came with a nice frothy foam on top, and it's actually good as an appetizer or even order it for the end of your meal.
• It is a must try because it's unique and you can't find it anywhere, but I wouldn't need to order it again or anything. For $12 I found it on the expensive side, but because everyone orders it they can afford to keep it there.
• Calamari 4/6
• Another favourite item from the Fresco menu.
• Fresh calamari stuffed with sundried olive stuffing on a bed of roasted cauliflower salad.

• This calamari was very fresh and not the deep fried kind that you typically get served when you order a Calamari. You could really taste the freshness of these beautiful squids. Eat these little guys in one bite otherwise the stuffing oozes out and your ratio of calamari to stuffing is off. The stuffing is fabulous! Nice and salty, a great texture where you can taste the olives and the hint of sundried tomatoes. The squids don't taste salted, you get the saltiness from the olive stuffing. The olive stuffing was almost a spread - I would love to eat it with crostini or warm baguette.
• The cauliflower salad was very nice. Small pieces of roasted cauliflower, I think it could have used some capers in there because again it was a tad bland.
• ** BLT 5/6
• Grilled salmon, pancetta, fig anise toast, baked fries

• The fig anise toast made this sandwich! They order this fig & anise bread from the local bakery in Kelowna called The Bread Company - see my review on this bread and on this cafe because we tried it the next morning.
• Nice piece of fresh and moist salmon, you get a bit of saltiness from the pancetta and the sweetness of the figs. The taste is in the quality of ingredients.
• Fries - the fries they use made of Yukon Gold potatoes, and they aren't cut in house but they do bake them in house with their special infrared oven - these fries are really good and taste deep-fried...but they're not!
• I liked the little dish of salad it came with - that was actually not bland
  
• Fish & Chips 3/6
• Baked chickpea batter pacific rockfish, fennel spiced chips, cucumber tartar
• The picture for this was too blurry, so I didn't realize it at the time...so I apologize for having no picture.

• Nothing too spectacular, big pieces of fish and the fennel spiced chips are fries
  
• I'll repeat my fry message above - it's made of Yukon Gold potatoes and they're baked and are genuinely as good as deep fried ones.
• **Arctic Char 6/6
  
• Oat crusted, maple butter, potato, bacon & spinach sautee

• This was my favourite entree of the bunch. Another signature entree form the Fresco menu.
• For me the feature of your entree also known as the protein should be the stand out of your entree, for this dish - it was! The oat crust was amazing - I would order this again for sure.
• Halibut 4/6
• Raudz spice rub, grilled potato, and walla walla onion salad, blueberry and nectarine salsa

• Very good, but not excellent. What made this dish was the blueberry and nectarine salsa - I wish it was the halibut...but it wasn't. The Arctic char was better. The halibut was on the dry side for me and because it was such a thick piece and it was coated in this dry rub it became even more dry. I had to enjoy every bite with the salsa, and I think you should be able to enjoy your protein with or without condiments if it's done really well.
• Blueberry and nectarine salsa was excellent! Fresh local fruit, very well composed and great texture. You can see the quality and freshness. Could have used a squeeze of lime or maybe some lime zest to really bring out that fruity flavour. I'd ask for lime and do it myself next time. But I may not order this again, I would rather try something else.
• Best presentation out of all the entrees
• Lamb 5/6
• Bbq double chop and tenderloin, homemade gnocchi, oyster mushroom and arugula saute, tomato and molasses BBQ sauce

• This was better than the halibut, but not as good as the arctic char. Really decent sized portion and the lamb was very tender.
• The stand out of this dish was the homemade gnocchi, you could really taste the potato in it - best part of the dish, and one of the best gnocchi I've tried. It's easy to get the oyster mushrooms confused with the gnocchi though because they look the same and are same in size. The BBQ sauce was more tomato based, and it did have a unique homemade flavour - can really tell they put care into their sauces and the texture was perfect! - Not too runny and not too thick and bold enough to stand up to lamb, but subtle enough to not overpower the main ingredient.

Dessert

• **Signature 6/6
  
• Double chocolate mashed potato brioche, raspberry sorbet, warm chocolate sauce

• Holy crap...this was soooo good! We literally consumed it in under 45 seconds. This is a dessert I would dream about and what to go back for. This is SO their signature dessert and SHOULD NOT BE MISSED.
  
• It was $10 and I'd pay more for it.
  
• This potato brioche is amazing, it's so moist and decadent. The raspberry sorbet is made in house and was the perfect accompaniment to this dish.
• Blueberry Tart 4/6
  
• Apricot salad and sour cream ice cream

• This was good, but not the best tart I've had. The apricot salad was 2 apricots cut in half and I think they should have really chopped it up into smaller pieces. It would have been better and the apricots would have been more tender. The blueberries and apricots were all from local farmers and were fresh - so I think they wanted to let them stand out on their own...but they didn't. If I order it as a dessert I would prefer them to be used more creatively and then have them fresh as a garnish.
• Sour cream ice cream - homemade...and a great choice to match with this tart. This was my favourite part, you could tell that it was sour cream ice cream but it wasn't too sour or too pungent. Quality ice cream that was a perfect match for fruit.
• Hands down the Signature dessert was better

Drinks

• Must try their fresh fruit martinis - they have an extensive drink/wine menu, but their specials are their fresh fruit martinis.
  
• We tried their Blackberry martini made with a fresh blackberry puree and aloe - great texture and you can taste the aloe - brilliant ingredient to use with fresh fruit I have now discovered

The Melting Pot

Restaurant: The Melting Pot
Cuisine: Dessert/American
Last visited: August 8, 09

Area: US - Multiple
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 2
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 2
Additional comments:

• This entry focuses on dessert - chocolate fondue
• Specializes in fondue
• Variety of cheese and chocolate fondues
• Each table has its own melting pot in the centre
  
• Cooking style selections available
• Offers dinner, savoury fondues, salads etc.
• Tuesday - Ladies' Night Out - $25/per person
• Soon to be available in Edmonton and Vancouver
• Take-home products available

**Recommendation: Yin and Yang Martini

We came here strictly for dessert, so I'm curious to try their cheese fondue next time. Neat and fun idea, and great if you're into interactive dining. It was good, but fondue is fondue, so it was nothing spectacular, quite standard - felt and tasted like a chain restaurant, which it is, but it doesn't have to be so obvious. They should make their own chocolate...they actually do, but you can't tell! You're paying more for the experience than the food. You could probably throw this together at home. Pretty typical. unless you go for one of their specialty fondues featuring 4 different cooking style selections such as: Coq au Vin Fondue, Fondue Bourguignonne, Fondue Court Bouillon, or Mojo Fondue - a Caribbean- seasoned bouillon with fresh garlic and citrus flavours.

On the table:

• **Yin and Yang Martini 6/6
  
• Made with Godiva White Chocolate, Stoli Vanil Vodka, Creme de Cacao and a little ice cream.
• Voted "Best Signature Drink" - Cheers Magazine 2009
  
• This is worth it! A chocolate style martini with a white and milk chocolate mix.
  
• Great as a dessert cocktail. It tasted like a frothy chocolate milkshake and you couldn't really taste the alcohol. The presentation is nice as well with a yin yang design on top. The black part is done with shavings of dark chocolate. Yummy!

• Cookies n' Cream Marshmallow Dream (Small serves 1-2 $16USD) 2/6
  
• Dark chocolate topped with marshmallow cream, flambeed, swirled together and garnished with crushed Oreo cookies.
• Comes with:
• Fresh strawberries, bananas
• one piece of cheesecake - tasted like any cheesecake
• marshmallows coated with graham cracker crumbs, marshmallows coated with chocolate cookie crumbs
• Pound cake - tasted like the Sara Lee pound cake
• Rice Krispies - standard
  
• Brownie - the only one that could have been made in-house
  
• Nothing I didn't expect. Tasted almost like a s'more, but instead of graham crackers it was Oreos. I wish they made the chocolate into this falvour rather than melting dark chocolate and just mixing things into it...cause then I feel like I can do it at home.