THE NIGHT STUFF
The Sauce at Chai's is hardly worth dipping into

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Mark Orimoto and Biancha Yalung hang out at The Sauce at Chai's Island Bistro in the Aloha Tower Marketplace. The service is excellent, but Night Stuff found the atmosphere leaves much to be desired. Right: Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Jennifer Smith and Michelle Mansker chat over beers at The Sauce.

DJ Psi, aka Kyle Iwamoto, spins for the outdoor tables at The Sauce. An intermittently rainy evening still attracted a crowd. The Sauce Chai's Island Bistro, Aloha Tower Marketplace 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Fridays $10 21 and older 585-0011, architechshawaii.com

The Sauce is essentially Feng Shui Ultralounge West. Enjoy one? You'll probably enjoy the other. Dislike one? You get the picture.

Architechs Entertainment, one of The Sauce's promotion teams, also puts together Saturday night Feng Shui weeklies at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. And The Sauce's following of dressy, sort-of monied and mostly local Asian twentysomethings is near identical to Feng Shui's, if you discount a noticeable dearth of tourist and military folk.

Feng Shui was kind of interesting, at first. Its location — within the Hyatt's spacious open-air atrium and mazelike Ciao Mein restaurant — offered a funky layout with intimate pockets of loungelike appeal. But with a huge crowd dropping by each week, Feng Shui's spotty — at times downright unfriendly — service grew increasingly difficult for me to forgive.

The Sauce — hosted each Friday since July at Chai's Island Bistro in Aloha Tower Marketplace — offers a less interesting, more generic indoor and outdoor layout.

Table settings are cleared out of the restaurant's interiors to accommodate a turntablist, dance floor and lighting rig. Chai's outdoor dining area is extended to accommodate more tables, two bars and another turntablist. Hip-hop, R&B and dancehall spins inside; anonymous house spins outside. Miniature hurricane lamps dot the tables.

Yawn.

Even the well-dressed and coiffed crowd on the night we stopped by seemed bored. The people on the two tables next to us made wireless phone calls to friends across the courtyard for kicks. A guy on another table studied flashcards for mid-terms while downing Coronas.

Conversations outside were drowned out by a way-too-loud sound mix. The indoor dancefloor went mostly unused until close to midnight.

In spite of this, The Sauce — even on an intermittently rainy evening — managed to draw a couple hundred patrons. Blame it on singles who need singles.

All wasn't a total loss. The Sauce's best ingredient is Chai's supremely attentive staff, our trio found. Servers always made sure we were well taken care of even as tables started to fill and the crowd swelled. We also appreciated the delicious and gratis pupu from an outdoor satay bar.

But a $10 cover still seemed excessive given the lack of anything else to recommend.

Hold The Sauce. I'll happily stick with the occasional Friday night dinner at Chai's instead.

Nightspotting

We're not saying this post-Halloween weekend is dead. But the dearth of fresh parties indicates recovery from a severe, weeklong hangover.

Slow weekend or not, On The River Gallery's Ape-**** On The River, on for Saturday, would be attractive any night. Featuring a mix of interactive live performances, visual arts and an outdoor vendor bazaar, the party's only drawback is its unprintable-in-a-family-newspaper name.

The evening promises performances by nu-jazz quartet Necklace of Skulls, Quadraphonix and Microscopic Syllables vocalist Maria with guitarist BRT. Expect DJ Kause and crew throwing down drum-n-bass grooves, graffiti artist Angry Woebot working on a fresh piece thru the evening, and a late night emcee/DJ battle. A moonlight marketplace will occupy the outdoor courtyard.

"It really should be called 'Up & Comers On The River,' " said gallery owner and Quadraphonix drummer Jonathan Heraux, of the line-up. "It's live performances, with vendors as part of an art show."

Heraux, by the way, says he wasn't responsible for the night's title. We believe him, too.

At On The River Gallery, 941 River St. (between King Street and Nimitz Highway), from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m Saturday. Entry is $10. All ages are welcome.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.