Mystique

There are clubs huddled together around an entertainment hub, clubs lined up on a street, and ones that stand alone in the city centre. Mystique is neither. Hidden on the ground floor of the Cineleisure building, its discretion reminds one of long-gone Tube at 1-Utama. Except that it's much larger, a tad less dodgy and doesn't stay open 'til 6am.

Although the interior is nothing to shout about, it's decently done up with different arenas catering to different socialising modes. An island bar sits in the middle with bar tables surrounding it right up to a huge elevated lounge area.

Dinner is served during the earlier portion of the night, with one side of the establishment glowing with cream chairs and dinnerware elegantly, arranged atop their matching cream dining tables. Three dinner set menus are available, ranging from Rm25.80 to Rm48.40 nett. If you wnat to be safe (and tame), go for the Grilled Sirloin served with mashed potato, shiitake mushroom and asparagus. If you're more of a daredevil fish fan, try the Wasabi Dory Fish, One of the desserts, Lemon Beer Sorbet, sounded too interesting to skip and wasn't to a letdown.

Jolly '80s and 90's tunes play during dinner and evolve into a typical mash of R&B and hip hop as the place fills up. When we say fill up, we mean fill up. If Laundry and Sanctuary have taken that Malay- and English- speaking crowds, Mystique capitalises on a predominantly Chinese-speaking clientele. Every Table was crowded with people spiling onto the next. The bar was crowded. The patio was crowded. It's amazing how a big empty place could fill up so quickly! And after opening only a few months. The way I see it, it's going to be an ongoing trend for some time to come. this is where you should go if you like dancing lost in a big karaoke session.

Thursdays are ladies' nights where wine coolers flow freely for the females from 10.30pm onwards in a strictly R&B environment, alongside some cashbox competition. Heaps of other promotions are available daily including daily Happy Hour ones (before 9pm) where bottles of Bombay Sapphirem Skyy and others go for RM230 nett, Those aside, the prices on weekends are relatively high with comments that their bottles of JD (at RM333 a bottle) fall a tad lower then Velvet of Zouk.

Be warned that it's the only club in The Curve with strict cover charge and a suffocating dress code: no caps allowed. What's up with that? What if removal of a Stalla McCartney mesh cap messed up one's sporty glam ensemble? Huff... perhaps it doesn't matter all that much to their target crowd. Also, be careful when you check in the powder room. The bathroom taps have a mind of their own. Either the water trickles out of the sink onto your feet, or sprays you at the waist. Ah... clubbing... can't win them all.

Text Joyce Wong

Published in Issue #105