Owner Jeff wants you to treat Mai like home. That’s partly why the name sounds like “My.” That’s also why the beer fridge is out front, El Nido-style – so you can grab your own drink. The beer selection isn’t huge, but offers a variety that has become essential for any aspiring bar: Rogue, Chimay, BrewDog and more. Mai is really about the cocktails, though. Try the Old Fashioned or Queen’s Park Swizzle. The whiskey list is also good for Gulou. The selection is comparable to Amilal’s, and marginally cheaper too. As a bonus, they make a sweet mijiu (rice wine), served hot in a pot. Bars like this wouldn’t exist without Apothecary (Jeff once worked there), and the debt is glaring. But if the “artisanal” cocktail bar risks quickly becoming a parody of itself, at least the bar for success has been raised high above the turgid Houhai blueprint of Tsingtao, moth-eaten sofas and Carpenters covers. winning.