Uptown Chinatown

With The Mandalay, high-end Chinese food comes to the city

THE MANDALAY 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily 1055 Alakea St. 525-8585

After having eaten there a couple of times, I'm still undecided as to whether The Mandalay has an ideal location or an unfortunate one. The Chinese restaurant sits along busy Alakea Street, shoulder to shoulder with some of Honolulu's largest and most successful companies. Within a quarter-mile radius of The Mandalay, there must be the highest concentration of power-lunching vice presidents in the whole state.

The palatial restaurant is gorgeous, designed along clean, contemporary lines and featuring a wide, elegant mezzanine dining area. With subtle, indirect lighting and carpet and gold-colored upholstery, the place seems to glow.

However, Chinatown, where you can still get a kick-ass cake noodle for about $5, is only about three or four blocks away. If you don't mind the clutter, crowds and the occasional obstinate waitress, I can't think of a better area in which to enjoy Dim Sum, Ginger Chicken or Peking Duck.

On my first visit to The Mandalay, I found the pace hectic, the service inattentive and the dim sum cold. But it was a very busy lunch hour and the restaurant was only a couple of weeks old, so I figured it was a temporary thing. I thought that an early weekend dinner would reveal The Mandalay's true character.

It did.

When we arrived, only a handful of tables were occupied and the atmosphere was decidedly more sedate. We were quickly seated at a table near the center of the restaurant's expansive floor. Since we were sitting in such an elegant setting, we decided to order upscale, starting with Birds' Nest Soup ($21.95), which turned out to be a little disappointing. It was silky smooth, with little bits of ground chicken, plenty of texture and a lot of visual appeal, but it had very little taste. Several of us at the table reached for the shoyu to liven things up.

Nut 'n' Honey: The Mandalay's very large Honey Walnut Prawns. photo: Jimmy Forrest

The Honey Walnut Prawns ($15.99) were large and plump, but they lacked the pleasing crunch and slight tanginess of others I've had in nearby Chinatown. The Peking Duck ($16 for a half) was flavorful and moist, but the accompanying buns were cold, and some hard. The Sliced Abalone with Vegetables ($38) featured silver-dollar-size cuts of the precious shellfish, black mushrooms and lettuce in a syrupy brown sauce. The abalone was soft and luxurious, the mushrooms powerfully tasty and the lettuce added a clean crispiness to everything. In addition, the sauce went well with rice.

However, the Fried E Mein with Crab ($11.95) was greasy and a little tired. The dish didn't have much color or texture, but it was fun trying to pick out the bits of fresh crab.

For most of the meal, the service was fast and attentive. But after all our food was served and the restaurant started to fill up, it seemed as if our waiter had fled the area. After a half-hour of watching our leftovers turn cold, I finally flagged down a different waiter who was racing by.

All in all, not a bad meal. Just one that was less than expected, even though it was more expensive than usual. I'm not a vice president yet, so for now, I'll take Chinatown and its clutter, crowds and kick-ass cake noodle.

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