YH Magazine highly recommends FENG ASIAN BISTRO  to try out their Mai Tais.

Bright as a tropical moon, smooth as summer surf, rich as old Lurline passengers, cool and fresh as green limes, the Mai Tai is Hawaii's favorite drink. One sip and it's paradise. Or, should be.

On the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Mai Tai, the state of the most popular tropical cocktail in the Pacific is shaky. Most Mai Tais served in Hawaii today are too strong, too sweet and, at $7 and up, too expensive. They are pale imitations of the original.

Some taste like gasoline, others like cough syrup. They burn the throat, produce terrible headaches and generally give Hawaii a bad name. They should be served with a Surgeon General's warning.

The worst Mai Tais are served in Waikiki. They contain cheap rum, bottled pre-mixes, canned pineapple juice and orange juice concentrate. Weak and syrupy, they look murky in a plastic glass brightened only by a red maraschino cherry and pineapple wedge skewered on a plastic sword. These tacky concoctions have little in common with a real Mai Tai and should be avoided at all costs.

Some variations on the original theme are excellent because they don't alter the basic ingredients.

The classic Mai Tai is an unforgettable cocktail, an icy Jamaican rum and fresh lime juice drink with a subtle hint of oranges and almonds and a sprig of fresh mint for garnish.

Now, that's a Mai Tai.

The Mai Tai may be Polynesian in name, but it's American in origin, created not on a tropical lagoon but on the mudflats of San Franciso's East Bay in 1944, by a legendary California restaurateur, the late Vic Bergeron of Trader Vic's fame.

"There's been a lot of conversation over the beginning of the Mai Tai. And I want to get the record straight," Bergeron said before he died. "I originated the Mai Tai. Many others have claimed credit. All this aggravates my ulcer completely. Anyone who says I didn't create this drink is a dirty stinker."

Don the Beachcomber claimed he created the drink but circumstantial evidence favors the Trader, who, in a 1947 book, "The Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (Revised)," told how he originated the Mai Tai in his Oakland restaurant:

"In 1944 after success with several exotic rum drinks, I felt a new drink was needed. I thought about all the really successful drinks- martinis, manhattans, daiquiris, all basically simple drinks. "I took down a bottle of 17-year old rum. It was J. Wray & Nephew from Jamaica-surprisingly golden in color, medium bodied, but with the rich pungent flavor particular to the Jamaican blends.

"The flavor of this great rum wasn't meant to be overpowered with heavy addition of fruit juices and flavorings.

"I took a fresh lime, added some orange curacao from Holland, a dash of rock candy syrup, and a dollop of French orgeat for its subtle almond flavor.

"I added a generous amount of shaved ice and shook it vigorously by hand to produce the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went into each drink for color and I stuck in a branch of fresh mint.

"I gave the first two to Eastham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, 'Mai tai roa ae.'

"In Tahitian this means,'out of this world, the best.' Well, that was that. I named the drink 'Mai Tai.'"

The Mai Tai became popular at Trader Vic's restaurants in Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle. In 1953, Bergeron introduced the Mai Tai to Hawaii at the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Hotels whose well-heeled guests arrived by Matson Line steamships.

It was the right drink at the right place at the right time.

To celebrate the Mai Tai's 50th birthday, I went in search of the perfect Mai Tai, no small task since there are more than 6,000 drinking establishments in the islands today. Most serve a Mai Tai, not all of them are mai tai, if you know what I mean.

The decline of the classic Mai Tai began shortly after 1959, when Hawaii became a state and jets cut the flight time from the West Coastto 4.5 hours. Bartenders now had to hustle to serve the big new wave of tourists eager for a taste of the tropics.

"Everybody wanted a Mai Tai," said Harry K. Yee, former head barman at Hilton Hawaiian Village. "We served them as fast as we could make them." Made by the gallon, sold by the glass, a Mai Tai cost $1.25 back then. "They are sweeter, bigger, milder and more expensive now," Yee said. "They are not the same drink."

Seeking greater profit, Waikiki hoteliers diluted Mai Tais, used cheaper rum and substituted Hawaii's own pineapple juice for fresh lime juice.

While everyone was snorkeling, the Mai Tai slowly evolved into a sickly sweet, two-rum float with pineapple juice under a pink paper parasol. It began to fade in popularity as a new generation turned to Frozen Margaritas. To punch up the Mai Tai, bartenders added a 151 rum float which made it taste like boat varnish.

By the 1980s, the original version of the Mai Tai could be found in Waikiki only at the Halekulani, which takes great pride in serving classic cocktails by original recipes. New York bartender Danny DePamphillis reintroduced the original Mai Tai at the Moana Hotel in 1986. It was perfect-Trader Vic would have been proud- but at $5.50 its revival was short-lived.

Today, contemporary versions of the original Mai Tai may be found in Hawaii's finer drinking establishments. If you're a purist, like me, you will follow the original recipe and make your own. I guarantee it will be-out of this world, the best. Mai tai roa ae.

Trader Vic's Original Mai Tai

• Pour only 80 proof J. Wray & Nephew Rum over shaved ice.

• Add juice from half a fresh lime.

• Some orange curacao.

• A dash of rock candy syrup.

• A dollop of French orgeat.

• Shake vigorously.

• Add a sprig of fresh mint.