Yesterday evening I was lounging around the apartment, sore from a couple classes I had taken throughout the week at my gym, and unmotivated to make dinner. While I was debating what to do, Brendan called as he was leaving work to say that he had a great day and also wasn't feeling dinner at home. So to celebrate his new job, we headed to one of our local favorites, Ma'kai.
Ma'kai is just down the street from us and has a fabulous happy hour. They have extended it by an hour, so it now runs from 4pm-7pm Sunday through Thursday. After a quick change and getting dolled up (it's rare these days, working from home and all), we got there around 6:35 and grabbed a quick seat at the bar. Most of the food on the menu is Asian-themed with a few other items thrown in there. We ordered our staples - edamame, spicy tuna roll, and salmon mango roll. Then decided we were still hungry, so just before 7:00 we got a shrimp tempura roll and island sliders.
They also have a fantastic drink selection with great bartenders to match. One of the first times that Brendan and I went here together, he discovered that one of his best friends from elementary school had just moved to Santa Monica from NYC and was bartending at Ma'kai. This guy seriously knows his drinks and if you tell him what liquor you're drinking that night, he'll whip you up an amazing cocktail every time, and usually something you've never seen before.
He wasn't working last night so I decided to try one of Ma'kai's signature cocktails - the Kama Sutra Martini, which combined mango-infused rum, sake, and lychee puree. I don't usually care for sweet drinks, but this was perfectly refreshing, not too sweet, and exactly what I was looking for.
This was a perfect way to end the day (and a great excuse to throw on a fantastic pair of heels)!
Fun fact 1: After going to Ma'kai for over two years now, I never thought about its name. When we were in Hawaii, I learned that "kai" means "ocean". This is very fitting, since the restaurant is at the corner of Ocean and Broadway and about 1 block from the Pacific!
Fun fact 2: We are leaving this afternoon for Sonoma to spend the weekend wine tasting with my parents! I'm looking forward to trying lots of new wines and eating great food!
What is your favorite cocktail?
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