Author Archives: The Tiki Chick

Tiki Luau Night at the Egyptian Theatre: The Mighty Uke

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Events and tagged with , , , , ,

Tiki Luau Night at the Egyptian Theatre

Every summer for the past five years, the American Cinematheque has hosted a Tiki Luau Night at the Egyptian Theatre with an alfresco dinner followed by a tiki-themed film. (Tickets are available for each part separately, but I’d definitely recommend going to both.)

Fun fact courtesy of Wikipedia: The Egyptian Theatre is the older sister of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and was the site of the first Hollywood premiere in 1922.

Courtyard of the Egyptian Theatre

The food was dished out buffet-style in the theater, while the courtyard lent itself for seating, the luau performances, and some shopping opportunities from folks like Eric October.

Yum!

Our plates were piled with Thai noodle salad with peanut dressing, cabbage/mandarin orange salad, somewhat stale Hawaiian roll, a big hunk of sweet glazed pulled pork, very tasty chicken pineapple sausage, and a big white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. Did I mention we each also got two glasses of rum punch?

King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis

The evening’s house band, King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis were great, and the Polynesian Paradise Dancers accompanied a few tunes. We especially enjoyed hearing “Hi’ilawe”—made us feel like we were in The Enchanted Tiki Room.

The Mighty Uke poster

A series of short clips from some of the films they’ve shown in the past preceded the main event: a screening of “The Mighty Uke” followed by a Q&A with director Tony Coleman, who flew in from Canada for the occasion.

Jake Shimabukuro - Photo by Ryota Mori, 2007

To be honest, I initially wasn’t all that jazzed about watching a documentary about ukuleles. But all that changed as soon as the film started with a recording of a live concert of virtuoso musician Jake Shimabukuro. He’s ridiculous!

Ukulele Lady

“The Mighty Uke” follows the ukulele’s origins in Portugal and Hawaii to its popularity in America in the 1920s to its subsequent decline as the guitar became the stringed instrument of choice for many.

Marilyn Monroe playing ukulele in Some Like it Hot

Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have been so quick to write off the subject matter, especially considering “Some Like it Hot” is one of my favorite movies, and the most memorable moment from seeing Paul McCartney at the Hollywood Bowl was when he brought out a ukulele to play “Something” as a tribute to George Harrison.

James Hill and Anne Davison - Photo from www.mightyukemovie.com

Anyway, along the way we were introduced to musicians like James Hill, who composes classical-style concerti featuring the ukulele, music educators who make the case for replacing elementary schools’ recorders with ukes, and lots of folks who just love to jam. (A bunch of cinema-goers even brought their ukes to do so after the movie!)

Uni & Her Ukelele - Photo from www.myspace.com/uniherukelele

Also making the much maligned instrument look cool was Uni & Her Ukelele, she struck me as an awesome mix of equal parts Lady Gaga and Rainbow Brite. I bet you that after watching “The Mighty Uke” you’ll be tempted to get a ukulele too. (Personally, I’d love this one.)

The Tonga Lei Room at The Beachcomber Malibu

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

I already like The Beachcomber Cafe in Malibu on its own merits, but its crown jewel is The Tonga Lei Room, located at the end of the bar in the building next to the restaurant.

This little enclave of tiki fabulousness can be reserved for private parties of up to 10, but we’ve had the pleasure of dining there for lunch and on slow winter nights. (The full menu is offered.)

This Bamboo Ben (Frankie’s Tiki Room, Forbidden Island) project pays tribute to the Tonga Lei, a tiki restaurant and motel from the ’60s portrayed in that framed picture. (He even incorporated the signature font into the signage.)

When I met Bamboo Ben last week, he told me that if you look out the window pictured above, you can actually see where the old Tonga Lei used to be before it was turned into a branch of Don the Beachcomber. It’s now the Malibu Beach Inn.

Towards the bottom of this Maori tiki it reads: “No Push Button – Make Tiki Gods Angry.” So what happens when you push the button? I guess you’ll just have to go and find out!

The whole room is wired with a sound system so you can set the mood with exotica music, though you’ll most likely have to make a special request to the staff. (On one visit it took a lot of tinkering for them to get it to switch from the sports station!)

As if there wasn’t already enough to look at, the glass tabletop displays shells and ephemera like postcards and swizzle sticks from various tiki spots and Hawaiian landmarks.

I love this place so much that we came here for my birthday lunch, and one of the new things I tried was The Bootlegger made with banana rum, orange and pineapple juices ($9). I’m not a banana fan so it wasn’t my favorite, what I really wanted was the accompanying mug, which is designed to look like a rum running crate. Crystal Cove, where the other Beachcomber Cafe can be found, has historical ties to that era. (For more, see my post on The Bootlegger Bar.)

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately the Beachcomber Cafe in Malibu, and therefore the Tonga Lei Room, closed at the end of 2011. The Beachcomber Cafe in Crystal Cove (Orange County) remains open.

The Beachcomber Cafe – Malibu Pier, CA

Posted by The Tiki Chick in Bar & Restaurant Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

It takes a lengthy, winding drive from The Valley to get to The Beachcomber in Malibu, but the trek is definitely worth it for me. It’s from the same owners as the nostalgic (but sorta cheesy) Ruby’s Diner chain—in fact there’s a branch at the opposite end of the Malibu Pier—but the food and atmosphere here is several notches better.

With the wooden interior, peaked ceiling and green and copper details back by the kitchen, the dining room has a similar old-school feel to its sister restaurant in Orange County, but on a much larger scale.

The Tonga Lei for two ($16) is the best cocktail I’ve tried on their menu so far. It’s apparently made with three kinds of rum, mango, orange and pineapple juices, but it’s the bit of bubbles from the champagne that makes it for me. This drink is normally served in a Tiki Farm-made bowl customized for these locations (you can spot them in my Bootlegger Bar photos).

The Beachcomber has a bit of a hedonistic history, which is underscored by the fun presentation of the lobster, tomato and mango martini ($14). I love the olive garnish! (And the kicky guacamole at the bottom of the glass.)

The wild mushroom and truffle macaroni and cheese ($17) and the baked blue cheese and tomato soup are my favorite things to order here. It’s a big bowlful of creamy, ‘shroomy goodness!

On one of our last visits we mixed it up and got the grilled chicken with “pineapple carpaccio” (fancy way of saying thinly sliced pineapple), yuzu sauce, rice and veggies ($18). Not bad but I’ll be sticking with my mac!

Mr. Hockey (I forgot that Mr. Baseball requested a name change after the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup) usually has the filet mignon ($29) with grilled veggies and potatoes.

The “Gimme S’mores”(Some more of what?…You’re killing me, Smalls!) dessert ($8) is yet another martini glass filled with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, toasted marshmallow and graham crackers. But even better is the…

Donut hole bread pudding! It’s topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce and it’s a study in decadence. If you’re one of those people that criticizes desserts for being too sweet then this is not for you. (All the more for me!)

Yep, the food is good and the view is great (especially from their swank outdoor patio), but the best (and truly tiki) part about The Beachcomber is The Tonga Lei room!

The Beachcomber at Malibu Pier
23000 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
310-456-9800

The Beachcomber Cafe on Urbanspoon

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately the Beachcomber Cafe in Malibu, and therefore the Tonga Lei Room, closed at the end of 2011. The Beachcomber Cafe in Crystal Cove (Orange County) remains open.