Flu season is here, but it’s hard to stay down and out when there are so many friends, work and chores to manage within the brief holiday period. That’s why I ended up shopping at Ala Moana Center in the midst of ailment last week while on vacation from work. I was lucky enough to run into some friends who said they were heading to the Mermaid Bar at Neiman Marcus for oxtail soup.

Huh? I tend to think of the second-floor Mermaid Bar as a place for sandwiches and salads.

The oxtail soup turns out to be one of those best-kept secrets, available in limited quantities every Thursday. I was supposed to meet another friend for lunch in Chinatown, but oxtail soup sounded like the perfect salve for a sore throat. I had to try it, and ended up eating two lunches that day.

The Mermaid Bar’s oxtail soup is one of the most elegant versions of this local specialty, generous with the oxtails and peanuts, topped off with choy sum, watercress and shiitake, and accompanied by a second plate bearing two scoops rice, mustard, soy sauce, cilantro and ginger. Dump all the condiments in your soup, or mix them together to create your own dipping sauce to taste.

It’s $12 but so satisfying it seems like they could charge more. Call 951-3428.

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