ANOTHER 21 days in WDW+DXDDP=hundreds of food pics (COMPLETED 3/2!)

[iluvpluto27]

Breakfast today was at Artists Palette. We split another cheese omlette and a Cherry Turnover, which was very good. I liked the tart cherry filling and the pastry tasted crisp and fresh.

We spent the morning in Animal Kingdom and around 11 stopped to use up another snack credit at Dino Bite Snacks. We split an Old-Fashioned Hot Fudge Sundae - Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, walnuts and a cherry. This was delicious and at $3.99 great value for a snack credit.

We originally planned to have lunch today at ESPN but when I hurt my ankle a couple of days ago, we re-arranged our Tokyo Dining reservation for 1:30 today.

We checked in a few minutes early and were seated immediately. The restaurant was very quiet, and emptied out almost completely by the time we'd finished our meal.
Empty restaurant:

Service here was very good, our server was incredibly polite and efficient. To drink I had a Tokyo Sunset made with coconut rum, orange and pineapple juice. It was good but a little too sweet for me.

We skipped apps and I decided to have sushi. I was given a choice of two sushi dishes on the plan, and chose the sushi deluxe.

All the fish was incredibly fresh and tasty, the tuna, salmon and omlette nigri were my favourites. I wasn't too keen on the salmon roe and squid, which had nothing to do with the sushi, it just wasn't to my personal taste. The rice was well cooked and flavourful. Overall a good dish with some interesting selections.

DH chose the Yasai Tempura. He really enjoyed this, the batter was very light and not at all greasy. There was a good selection of well cooked vegetables including carrots, mushrooms, onions, courgettes and some sort of carrot, onion, potato rosti. It was served with a seaweed salad which he liked, sticky rice and a dipping sauce. It was a huge portion however, and as much as he enjoyed it he wasn't able to finish the dish.

For dessert I tried the Green Tea pudding. This tasted a lot nicer than it looked, it had a custardy almost creme caramel type texture, a smooth sweet taste and a caramel style sauce. You could taste green tea but it wasn't overpowering.

DH had the chocolate ginger cake which he liked. It was a typical sponge cake with a chocolate buttercream filling, he could taste a hint of ginger but the predominant flavour was chocolate.

Overall we both really enjoyed our meal here. I like everything about this restaurant, the decor, the peaceful quiet atmosphere, the service and the food. I'm really glad we were able to reschedule our reservation here as I would have been very disappointed to miss the opportunity to dine here.

Coming next - Jiko.

 

[klacey1]

Glad you were able to visit Tokyo Dining! Looks yummy!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Service here was very good, our server was incredibly polite and efficient. To drink I had a Tokyo Sunset made with coconut rum, orange and pineapple juice. It was good but a little too sweet for me.

Coconut rum, OJ and Pineapple juice is one of my favorite cocktails but I must say that looks like the orange drink that you get at McDonalds which of course would be way too sweet.

As always, nice review.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Thanks for the Tokyo Dining review, it's one of the ADRs I'm most looking forward to. That's the first pic I've ever seen of the vegetarian entrée! It looks great, I'm glad your DH enjoyed it.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Glad you were able to visit Tokyo Dining! Looks yummy!

Thanks, it was really good.

Coconut rum, OJ and Pineapple juice is one of my favorite cocktails but I must say that looks like the orange drink that you get at McDonalds which of course would be way too sweet.

As always, nice review.

I forgot it was actually articifical orange juice, rather than fresh orange, which probably contributed to the sweetness.

Thanks for the Tokyo Dining review, it's one of the ADRs I'm most looking forward to. That's the first pic I've ever seen of the vegetarian entrée! It looks great, I'm glad your DH enjoyed it.

Glad it was helpful, and I hope you enjoy your meal there.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We've always had very good meals at Jiko so we were looking forward to tonights dinner. We had an 8:30 reservation, but arrived really early so had a pre-dinner drink in Victoria Falls.

I had a tropical mango mojito which was very good, you could taste the mint and the rum, but the mango made it sweeter than a normal mojito. DH was boring and just had a beer.

We checked in just before 8:30 and were seated around 10 minutes later. It took well over ten minutes to be greeted by our waiter, and service tonight just wasn't good. He seemed totally disinterested, disappeared for long periods of time and even though we were his only table by the time we were ready to leave, it took forever to find him to ask for the check.

For an appetiser I chose the Crispy Savanna Rolls - with sweet corn, bitter greens, goat cheese and curry vinaigrette, mainly because I love goats cheese. These were pretty good, however there wasn't enough goats cheese for my tastes. When you took a bite which had goats cheese and sweetcorn it was divine, but there were too many bites with no cheese, and then the rolls tended to lack flavour.

DH once again chose the Artisan cheese selection. He really enjoyed this, as it was a great selection of cheese but felt the accompaniments were lacking, with only including dried apricots (he can't stand apricots) and blackcurrant jam/compote. His favourite cheese was the Purple Haze Goats cheese, as the fennel/lavender complimented the sharp goats cheese perfectly.

For my entree I chose the Maize Crusted Halibut with vegetables and a tomato butter sauce. The halibut was perfectly cooked and the maize crusted added both flavour and a crunchy texture. The sauce was almost silky in texture, and again very flavourful. It was served on a bed of potatoes which were pretty much raw and very hard, this was a shame as they let down what was otherwise a great dish.

DH had the Seared Maize Pudding - with chakalaka and basil beurre blanc. We weren't sure what this was going to be like but it was a very tasty and different vegetarian option. The pudding was almost creamy, but with a very dense/thick texture, it went well with the sauce, and was a flavourful, spicy dish. It looked a small portion but it was very rich so it was just the right size.

For dessert I had the House-Made Meyer Lemon Curd - With pomegranate and blueberry compote, white chocolate biscotti, and sour cream ice cream. DH had this last year and I loved it then, and it was just as good this year. The thick, tangy lemon curd was complimented beautifully with the blueberries, and the ice cream was sour enough to cut through the sweetness. The biscotti added a bit of crunch, overall a very good, reasonably light dessert.

DH had the Kenyan Coffee Ice-cream and Koestickers. The ice cream was really cleverly done, with a layer of milky flavoured icecream (to represent the cream) and a layer of intense coffee flavoured ice cream, served in a cute little cup. The donuts were lovely, one was overcooked and hard, but the other two were perfect, and sweet to contrast with the ice cream. He really enjoyed this dessert.

Overall we enjoyed our meal here, but felt the service was disappointing. The restaurant was quiet, with mostly adult parties and had a good atmosphere, the food was good and it's nice that they do something a bit different for vegetarians, with some unique selections.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for a wonderful update. We love eating at Jiko. My husband loves the cheese samples there. Sorry about a bad service. Great pictures

 

[klacey1]

Sorry your service at Jiko wasn't so hot-- sometimes that will annoy me more than bad food.
Your DH looks like he had a great meal, though. His entree seems very unique (which I'm sure he appreciated as a vegetarian) and his dessert looked terrific!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Love the review of Jiko! DS loved the Kenyan Coffee Ice-cream and Koestickers. He refused to even share!

I wanted to fit Tokyo dining in on our last trip and couldn't. Looks like a must for our next trip (whenever that may be!)

 

[iluvpluto27]

Sorry your service at Jiko wasn't so hot-- sometimes that will annoy me more than bad food.
Your DH looks like he had a great meal, though. His entree seems very unique (which I'm sure he appreciated as a vegetarian) and his dessert looked terrific!

I always think it's disappointing when poor service lets down what would otherwise be a really fantastic meal. DH really enjoyed his and liked his entree, it was unique and it's great when the chef really thinks about a vegetarian entree, rather than simply making a pasta dish.

Thanks for a wonderful update. We love eating at Jiko. My husband loves the cheese samples there. Sorry about a bad service. Great pictures

Thanks, DH has always enjoyed the cheese plate at Jiko, even though there's normally a few veggie appetisers, he finds it difficult to choose anything but the cheese plate!

Love the review of Jiko! DS loved the Kenyan Coffee Ice-cream and Koestickers. He refused to even share!

I wanted to fit Tokyo dining in on our last trip and couldn't. Looks like a must for our next trip (whenever that may be!)

Dh really liked his dessert, it was a bit different and well thought out dessert. Hope you get to give Tokyo Dining a go, and I hate not knowing when our next trip is too. I'm hoping for September 2011, but it's just so far away!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Today was our last day at SSR, and although I really liked SSR I was excited about moving to the Boardwalk Inn. We'd picked up breakfast from Boulangerie Patisserie the previous afternoon, as we still had tons of snack credits left.
DH chose a Pithivier which was really nice, thick buttery pastry, with a sweet almond filling.

For some reason I chose a chocolate mousse, which got a little bit wrecked on the trip back to the hotel (it looks much prettier in the shop!). This was very good, creamy mousse but was way too rich for breakfast and I only managed a few bites.

We finished packing, left our luggage with SSR bell services who transferred it to BWI for us, and grabbed a cab. At BWI we were taken up to the club lounge to check in, and a room was ready for us immediately. I was thrilled with this as it was only around 10 am at this point.

The lounge was still serving breakfast so we sampled a couple of pastries. I had an apple turnover and chocolate crossiant, both were excellent.

We walked across to Epcot, for an amble round world showcase as we had a 12pm lunch reservation at Tutto. We were seated immediately and the restuarant was less than half full.

The service here was excellent, we had our main server to take our orders, but there was an additional waitress who kept our water glasses re-filled, brought bread etc. They worked as a very efficient team, and provided some of the best service of the trip.

I ordered a Bellini to drink which was very nice. Thick peach puree and sparkling wine, one of my favourite cocktails (I forgot to take a picture before having a few sips).

We weren't massively hungry so decided to go for the mozerella tastings, one with marinated mushrooms and one with roasted red pepper. Both of these were excellent, the mozerella was soft and fresh, drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt to bring out the flavours. The peppers had a sweet flavour to them, while the mushrooms had been marinated in herbs and were delicious.

I thought a pasta dish would be too heavy, so for my entree I chose the Bruschetta Gamberi e Fagioli - toast topped with cannellini beans, shrimp, red onions, arugula, drizzled with olive oil. This was a very tasty dish, there was plenty of butterflied shrimp and cannellini beans which combined well together in terms of flavours. The toast was a bit chewy for my taste, so I used some bread from the bread basket instead. Overall though I enjoyed the flavours of this dish.

DH chose the Asparagi Grigliati Soncino e Pecorino "Tartufato" - asparagus, arugula, curly endive, mache lettuce, truffled Pecorino cheese. This was a very good asparagus salad, the cheese, asparagus and dressing combined well together and had tons of flavour, and the asparagus was perfectly cooked. A nice, light lunch dish.

For dessert I chose the Copetta Sotto Bosco. The zabaglione gelato was very tasty, and combined well with the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. It was topped with cream and a little chocolate sauce which added a sweeter taste, but was still a reasonably light dessert.

DH had the tiramisu, which is one of his favourite desserts back in the UK. He said it seemed quite authentic and couldn't find fault with it. The sponge was light and packed with coffee flavour, you could taste the alcohol and had a good creamy topping. He said it was up there with some of the tiramisu's he's had in our favourite Italian restaurants back home.

We both really enjoyed our lunch here, and we'd definitely return. Everything seemed to use good quality, fresh ingredients, service was excellent and although it was expensive, it's good value on the ddp.

After lunch we walked back to the Boardwalk and found a little welcome gift in our room. We ate these chocolates over the course of the next few days and they were actually pretty nice truffles.

Coming up next - Flying Fish.

 

[darthtatty]

Lots of great reviews there. Shame some of the vegetarian options werent up to standard.
cant wait to read the rest

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

great update on Tutto... a resturant that we haven't tried yet and still going back and forth with this one.

 

[Miffy2003]

More fantastic reviews - thank you

We have experienced inconsistent service both times we've eaten at Jiko - but uncooked potatoes are inexcusable

 

[cbg1027]

I've been hesitant to book an ADR for Tutto Italia since I've spent 2 weeks in Italy, but everything you had looked amazing!

 

[creativeamanda]

We love Tutto Italia--it also has one of the best kids' menus on site!

I can't wait for Flying Fish!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Lots of great reviews there. Shame some of the vegetarian options werent up to standard.
cant wait to read the rest

Thank you very much. On the whole DH really enjoyed the veggie options at wdw, there were just a few really bad entrees.

great update on Tutto... a resturant that we haven't tried yet and still going back and forth with this one.

Thank you. We've always had really good meals at Tutto, it is expensive but that doesn't matter as much if you're on the dining plan.

More fantastic reviews - thank you

We have experienced inconsistent service both times we've eaten at Jiko - but uncooked potatoes are inexcusable

Thank you. Yeah the potates weren't good, I assume the chef just forgot to check they were cooked but never mind, the rest of the meal was good.

I've been hesitant to book an ADR for Tutto Italia since I've spent 2 weeks in Italy, but everything you had looked amazing!

I've never been to Italy but like almost everything else in the world showcase, I imagine it doesn't compare favourably to the real thing. However we've always had very good food there so it may be worth a try.

We love Tutto Italia--it also has one of the best kids' menus on site!

I can't wait for Flying Fish!

Thank you, we love Tutto too. Flying fish coming right up!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Tonight we had a 7:40 reservation at Flying Fish. The restaurant was very busy, we checked in at 7:30 and were seated at 7:50.

Our server tonight was actually really excellent for most of the meal. He was an older, obviously experienced server, kept our water re-filled and paced the apps and entree's nicely. Towards the end of the meal though he was simply too busy to provide stellar service, he was tending to 5 tables, 3 in our section and 2 in another section, and two parties had just been sat around the same time, so he had to spend most of his time bringing them drinks and taking their orders. I got the impression he was having to cover for someone else, so it took ages to get dessert and the check, he kept apologising for the wait but it wasn't really his fault, he was just swamped.

To drink I had another Magical Star cocktail as we'd already had a couple of glasses of wine in the club lounge, before the meal.

I chose the soup of the day which was Smokey Mushroom and leek bisque to start. This was absoloutely excellent, it was very creamy but had a deep smokey flavour similar to Artist Points Smokey Portobello soup. There was arbario rice in it to add a different texture and topped with chive cream. Probably the best soup I've ever tasted.

DH once again had the cheese plate. He really enjoyed this as the cheese ranged from mild to a strong blue cheese. It included Saint Andre which was like a brie, Beemster Gouda, Idiazabal (a spanish hard cheese), Montchevre montrachet (goats cheese) and Point Reyes Blue. The accompaniments were also very good consisting of raisins of the vine, honeycomb, spanish membrillo and plum/raisin chutney in filo pastry.

My entree was the Scallops with Sundried tomato and mascarpone risotto. The scallops were perfectly cooked and very flavourful with the seared top and bottom, the risotto was again well cooked, creamy, with pieces of sundried and cherry tomatoes at add a little bit of bite. It was a very good dish but quite a rich dish, and I couldn't finish it.

The vegetarian option was a pasta dish with vegetables and pesto sauce. The pasta was well cooked, the sauce was light but had a strong pesto flavour, the vegetables were mostly tomatoes but well cooked. DH felt there was something in the dish that was oversalted, but he couldn't tell what it was. Overall he thought this was ok but nothing special.

For dessert I chose the Key Lime Delice with Key Lime Pineapple sorbet and chocolate accents. The Delice was a very smooth, creamy tart with a chocolate sponge base, it was a light dessert. The sorbet was way too tart for me, and I genuinely couldn't eat it, it was so bitter which was a little disappointing.

DH chose the Study in Chocolate: Frangelico, caramel and chocolate delice; Rich chocolate and raspberry torta; petite white chocolate creme brulee. the creme brulee was tasty and well cooked but you couldn't taste any white chocolate in it, the chocolate torte had a good flavour and texture and when paired with the raspberry was delicious. The delice was like a chocolate mousse with sponge base, by itself it didn't taste particularly great but when paired with the nut brittle with was good. A nice dessert, with the torte being the best of the three.

In summary this is still one of my favourite restuarants, but on food alone we probably preferred Jiko this trip (whereas normally Flying Fish comes out on top). The service was very good until our waiter become very overstretched, the food was good and my soup was excellent, though neither of us loved our desserts.

We had to use all of our snack credits by midnight tonight, and at 9:50 when we finished our meal we still had 12 left! When we checked out of SSR the previous day we'd used 7 credits on boxes of biscuits to give to work colleagues when we returned.

We headed to the Boardwalk Bakery to use the remainder. I grabbed 4 bottles of water and we picked up a chocolate eclair and a fruit tart to eat the next day (both were really good).

We also chose 4 pieces of fudge, a chocolate covered pretzel and a m&m cup (most of which didn't get eaten by the way) but somehow I have lost the pictures of these goodies.

Coming next - F&W festival samplings and BWI Club Level offerings.

 

[Miffy2003]

Oh my that soup sounds devine. The scallops too!

 

[klacey1]

Ohhhhh what I would do for those scallops right now!