Last week I hosted a mahjong summer pool date for my Supper Club girls!
Our Supper Club breaks for summer, but we try to get together at least once for mahjong or some other fun activity. And I was very excited to host the girls for an afternoon of mahjong in the pool!
Before we jumped in to the pool, I served one of my favorite light and easy lunches — Make Your Own Jersey Mike’s Sub Bowls. I love this meal because I can prep everything ahead of time, and once everyone arrives I just pull all the bowls out of the fridge. And these are always a hit!
Homemade Jersey Mike’s Sub Bowl Ingredients
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- Bacon crumbles
- Diced tomatoes
- Sliced banana peppers
- Diced pickles
- Diced ham
- Diced turkey
- EVOO
- Red wine vinegar
- Oregano leaves
Start with a bowl of iceberg lettuce (the pre-shredded lettuce from the grocery store is perfect for this), then load up on toppings. The last step is drizzling some olive oil and red wine vinegar over top and then adding WAY more oregano than you think you’d need. Then mix it all up and enjoy.
Mahjong Summer Cocktails
For our cocktails I made a rose summer spritz! It was crisp, light, slightly sweet, slightly floral — perfect for a summer pool day. The night before I made huge ice cubes with lemon slices inside to use in our cocktails, and they looked really pretty and kept our drinks cold longer than regular ice. Oh, and I served our cocktails in the cutest cups from Mahji Mamas!
- 5 oz Rose
- 1 oz elderflower liqueur
- Soda water (just a splash)
- Frozen raspberries + lemon wedge
It was the perfect afternoon for summer mahjong in the pool!
Mahjong FAQ
Where is your floating Mahjong board from?
This is the game board I have, but last time I checked it was out of stock. I keep hoping it will restock. In the meantime, I found this one and this one as other options.
What is Mahjong?
The game of mahjong dates all the way back to the Qing dynasty, where its popularity spread throughout East and Southeast Asia, with a number of distinct rulesets emerging in different regions, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. The game is played, usually with four players seated around a table, with 144 tiles that are etched with unique symbols and designs that players draw and discard to create sets. The first player to match a hand of 14 tiles wins the game!
How many players do you need?
The game is most fun with a full table of 4 players. However, you can play the game slightly adapted with 3 players (no Charleston), or you can play Siamese mahjong with 2 players (winner has to declare a double mahjong to win)!
My friend Abby and I have been playing Siamese mahjong a few times a month together for a while now and this has really helped us both advance our game quite a bit. I also taught Matt how to play Siamese and we love to get a quick game in from time to time. It’s more challenging but also moves faster.
How did you learn to play?
You can read about how we learned to play in this post: Mahjong Girls Night.
If you’re local, I highly recommend reaching out to Mahj In The City to find out about available classes or to schedule a private lesson with friends. I also recommend following Mahjong Molly on Instagram! She has the best instructional videos and is always sharing great tips for players of all skill levels.
Louise Goldman
Friday 20th of September 2024
I learned to play Mah jongg in my mother's womb! It was the thing to do if you lived in Brooklyn, in the 1950's and Jewish! I always knew when the Mah jongg ladies were coming...you couldn't miss the sound of the coffee percolator and aroma of the cake as they permeated the house....although my mother advanced to wine and cheese in the 60's!! I would watch them play and "absorb" the game. I now live in Florida on a boat and have taught the Marina ladies the game! To me it's a game of wonderful memories and future laughter! If you live anywhere near Stuart, I would be happy to help you make fun memories!
Jennelle
Wednesday 19th of June 2024
I LOVE the hat on your friend on the far left in the top pic! Any insight on where it's from?