Molly Malone's: the latest addition to Irish pubs

By Christine Laskowski (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-20 11:06

Molly Malone's has a Victorian-style bar with a giant bronze whiskey kiln top. [China Daily]

While I imagine the literati will scoff at the omission of James Joyce, I think Ireland's single greatest export has to be the Irish pub. Almost every major city in the world has one and expats depend upon them for draft beer, greasy bar food, old-timey Irish kitsch, big screen TVs and satellite dishes for gotta-see sports events.

Beijing currently boasts four Irish pubs: The Irish Volunteer, Paddy O'Shea's, Danger Doyle's, and Durty Nellie's, and now it can expect its fifth - Molly Malone's, which will open on Nov 24 at the Legendale Hotel in Wangfujing.

As an American, I cannot speak for the Irish, but Dubliners will all know the song and the legend of Molly Malone, a notorious fishmonger and prostitute back in 17th century. Placed at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin is a famous statue of the woman known as "The Tart With The Cart".

A replica of the busty Miss Malone placed in front of her new Beijing location greets patrons.

What makes Molly Malone's different from the rest is that "we've twinned ourselves with a pub called Johnnie Fox's in Dublin, and it's the most traditional Irish pub you'll ever come across", said pub manager Denis Flatley.

Members of Johnnie Fox's staff, entertainers for the opening and an Irish-trained chef will assure the pub is "long-term authentic," Flatley promised.

With the Dublin-based design company John Duffy Design Group on board, the pub has the authentic look of an Irish pub - Victorian-style bar with a giant bronze whiskey kiln top, dark timber furniture and floors with mosaic tiling, beveled-edged mirrors and tiffany lamps hanging from the ceiling, black and white photos framed and hung on the walls to give it that contrived, but homey feel. It all fit - until I saw a sushi bar.

I don't know how a sushi bar in an Irish pub can be called authentic, but there it was. "We want to cater to local tastes," I was told.

Sushi bar aside, what we can expect from chef Zhou Gang, or Joe, is promising, but a bit hit-or-miss at this point. After working for many years at La Stampa Brasserie in Dublin before joining this team, Joe has built up a menu that offers fancy seafood dishes, but it does include shepherd's pie and Irish stew.

I sampled the smoked salmon plate (45 yuan), fresh rolled salmon with a lemon wedge served on a bed of rocket leaf salad along with soda bread. It was tasty and fresh, but nothing out-of-this-world.

The Molly Malone's Mussels (42 yuan), however, were excellent. Steamed in their shells and served in a creamy white wine sauce bursting with herbs and flavor, I must admit even after I had finished eating the mussels, I ate the sauce all by itself.

The fish and chips (80 yuan) were quite disappointing, especially considering this is staple Irish pub fare. Made with cod deep-fried in beer batter, the outside of the fish lacked crunch and the inside was wet, not flaky.

Heineken (35 yuan), Carlsberg (35 yuan), Kilkenny (55 yuan), and Guiness (55 yuan) are all available on tap.