9 Anchor Drive, Emeryville, Ca. 94608
(510) 653-3400
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Trader Vic’s Emeryville is the first Trader Vic’s to be built in the USA. It opened it’s doors in 1973.
After entering and to the left is the bar area with a fantastic view of the marina.
I’ve been to Trader Vic’s in London and Munich. While the interior decoration is distinctly Trader Vic’s I like that each differs architecturally.
I knew that I’d see tapa covered walls with huge Marquesan tiki’s, fish traps and canoe’s donning the ceiling. Seeing them layed out and arranged differently with high ceilings was a welcome treat.
There were more rooms for private celebrations and gatherings. I didn’t want to impede.
All the Trader Vic’s have many separate dining areas.
On Friday and Saturday, January 29 & 30 2022, Trader Vic’s celebrated the Chinese New Year which is the year of the Tiger. This was a dining experience not to missed!
Before I get ahead of myself regarding the Chinese New Year celebration I’ll cover some of the delectable items on the menu.
Trader Vic’s the home of the Mai Tai has an assortment of libations to help you get from where you are to a place that you’d rather be. Don’t believe me, checkout this menu.
http://tradervicsemeryville.com/drink/
To start things off right the Zombie (top right), Trader Vic’s take on Don the Beachcomber’s legendary lethal libations…light and dark rums, grenadine and curacao. Top left is Trader Vic’s take on the painkiller. Concocted with creamy house made coconut blend, orange and pineapple juice and plenty of rums to ease those pesky daily pains.
A special menu was created for the evenings celebration. An appetizer of Duck Spring Rolls, shredded duck, cabbage mushrooms, choy sum rolled in a crispy wrapper. Served with a sweet dipping sauce. Paired the mind altering cocktails with the appetizer, they were just teasers for what was about to come.
The dining area was already spacious. The huge glass walls, view of the marina filled with sea vessels capable of extending your minds eye to further away escapes just beyond the horizon and at sunset enhanced the dining experience.
Classic island music from days gone by helped create an even better dining experience.
This is starting out to be a fantastic evening.
Although the menu created for the New Year celebration was enticing, the regular menu was just as salivating.
On the left is the Beef & Reef, a Trader Vic’s favorite. Created with a masterful blend of beef tenderloin, stir fried with tiger prawns, sweet pepper, bermuda onion and Trader Vic’s signature sauce, accompanied by jasmine rice. It’s no surprise that this dish was delicious!
Cooked to perfection from the wood fired oven is the Honolulu Salmon. Hot smoked salmon, shiitake vinaigrette salad and wasabi potatoes. The salmon was deliciously moist, had a hint of smoke and delivered in a light teriyaki sauce. The mashed potatoes were a welcomed delight. Instead of the wasabi being over powering there was only a hint of wasabi.
*I was a waiter for many years. Before making your dining selections always ask your waiter/waitress what they recommend and why. The staff has tasted everything on the menu and knows which items stand apart from the rest. The staff regularly purchased the best tasting dishes as take home after an active shift. This insight has proven to be very valuable to me through the years.
http://tradervicsemeryville.com/eat/
By the time the main entrees had arrived so did the second selection of drinks. The drink above is the Drunken Monkey. There was no monkeying around with this drink. This tequila and cachaca spiked cocktail has hints of grapefruit and banana. When this mixture hit my taste buds I almost went bananas! I was skeptical about the taste of tequila in a tiki drink. It was eye opening delicious!
The Vic & Dotty was Vic’s version of the famous Three Dots and a Dash. A daring blend of rums, citrus, honey and spices to rally the troops! This was tasty and enjoyable, just what I expected.
Since this was a venturous night on the town why not keep the feeling going. In staying in true tiki / exotic fashion the Chocolate Lava Cake was ordered. A dark chocolate cake with spiced lava center, cooled by rum spiked ice cream. I’m sure this dish is usually a hit but tonight it missed the mark. The cake proved to be dry even when mixed with rum, and was dry in the middle (no lava). The rum infused ice cream was a hit though.
The Snowball, rolled all over the lava cake. Made with vanilla ice cream rolled in toasted coconut. Served with a chocolate sauce drizzled over it and topped with more roasted coconut bits. This was tantalizing to the taste buds. This is a culinary hit! I’ll be recreating this at home and pairing it with a tiki drink… or two.
By this time the evening atmosphere was buzzing. You could hear other diners feeling the spirits that they had consumed. Now the spirits were consuming them. Or maybe it was the presence of the Chinese New Year celebration about to begin.
I love experiencing other cultures especially when they are celebrating a holiday. This was by far the most wonderful evening dinner entertainment that I’ve experienced. The dragons ventured to every dining area of the establishment taking their time to entertain and express well wishes to everyone for the New Year ahead. They were followed by a host of members playing musical instruments. The dragons danced together, stood tall (8+ feet) at times, leaped up high in the air putting on a fabulous show for all. They even ventured into the kitchen spreading New Year well wishes to the working staff. When they were done they unfurled their tongues (banners) expressing best wishes to everyone. After the nights entertainment they took their time while customers took pictures with them. It was a dining experience not to be missed.
If you ever get the chance to view something like this I highly recommend that you do so. Life’s too short to just get caught up in the rat race and not make memories with loved ones.
While the dragons ventured throughout the restaurant I witnessed many diners feeding them red envelopes. I wondered if the red envelops contained secret wishes for the New Year ahead or were they a ceremonial gesture. I later found out what they were. I wish I’d known beforehand.
https:www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/red-envelope.htm
To cap the evening off before venturing back to reality, after dinner drinks were in order. The Northwest Passage served in a skull was a sign that the hot buttered rum with a kick of 151 is to die for. “Phenomenal” was the word that I used.
The Tahitian Coffee, a delectable blend of rum and coffee topped with hand whipped cream was enjoyable but didn’t come close to the Northwest Passage.
As you head back to reality all the tiki mugs that drinks were served in, additional collector tiki mugs, apparel, barware, cocktail syrups, books, drink coasters and more are all available for purchase. They are all displayed in display cases located by the hostess station.
Of course I added to my Trader Vic’s collection!
Until the next adventure, thanks for joining me on this voyage.
Tiki Republic 