YIKES!!!! I gained 7 pounds in 12 days! COMPLETE...and going back!!!!

[DLo]

for some reason, I am now craving ice cream. awesome pics. peanut butter plus chocolate plus ice cream - yummmmmmmy

 

[iloveeeyore]

Thanks for a great report. Fantastic easy-to-use index with page & post # for each location.

Late to the party, but I am all caught up and awaiting more...

Oh, thank you for reminding me I forgot to update my first page index with EoS! And thanks for reading!

for some reason, I am now craving ice cream. awesome pics. peanut butter plus chocolate plus ice cream - yummmmmmmy

Me too! Only, not regular ice cream. Ghirardelli ice cream!

 

[Linda67]

I want some ice cream for breakfast now

 

[Tiffany507s]

I'm just now finding your reviews and I have three words:

BEST.REVIEWS.EVER!

After your Chefs review...I'm definitely going. I was on the fence and I couldn't decide, your review sold me. Also Kona wasn't even on my radar...I just booked my ADR for it and CAN'T WAIT!!!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I want some ice cream for breakfast now

Me, too!

I'm just now finding your reviews and I have three words:

BEST.REVIEWS.EVER!

After your Chefs review...I'm definitely going. I was on the fence and I couldn't decide, your review sold me. Also Kona wasn't even on my radar...I just booked my ADR for it and CAN'T WAIT!!!

Oh, thank you so much for the compliment! It has been sooo long since I checked back here...you're probably back from your trip already. Did you go to Les Chefs and Kona? Did you enjoy?

 

[iloveeeyore]

OK, everyone. I'm so sorry that I have been sooooo remiss about continuing my report! I am back in school working on an advanced degree, and I find that I am just not good enough at budgeting my time to work on this report AND do my school work. And I also have to admit that when I'm not planning a trip, it is hard for me to come to the DIS. Well, my semester just ended, and Aladdin told me that I'm not allowed to consider booking another trip until I finish this DR, so that's the best motivation I can think of!

So, here's my review of our dinner at Sanaa.

This was our first night at AKL, a beautiful, relaxing resort. Sanaa is a gorgeous, relaxing restaurant, so it really fits right in with the theme. We walked over to Kidani from Jambo leaving ourselves plenty of time to explore Kidani. The walk took a little longer than we had anticipated, but it was still so darn HOT, that all of the outside walking felt pretty arduous. We spent a little time out at the firepit, enjoying the view of the sunset savanna. This view was absolutely spectacular, much better than the view from our CL room; the animals were so close, and we were pretty enthralled by the zebra games.

I have to preface with this...we LOVE Indian food. We have a favorite place near home which has a mouth-watering lunch buffet for about $12.00 per person. It has a huge variety and the menu is always changing. We go there about once a month, and I would say we are very spoiled by this restaurant. Having said that, we still really enjoyed Sanaa. The setting could not be any more perfect, and the service could not have been better!

The kids started off with mango lassis:

They described these as super-yummy. Less mango-y and more yogurt-y than the ones they are used to, and therefore a little less sweet. They agree that this was not a bad thing, just different.

I had a Mojito Africa Star:

It was fine. I probably would have preferred a nice glass of wine. I like my mojitos really chewy (loaded with mint) and this was not.

For an appetizer, we shared the bread service:

This was absolutely delicious. We asked the waiter (Sessler) to pick his 3 favorite dips for us. I have to dig out a menu to remember which ones we had, because they're not listed on the bill. Aladdin and I enjoyed them all and would have a hard picking a favorite of the 3. Each kid had a favorite, and different from the other. I will try to find out what they were for you and edit this later.

Belle ordered the Fish and Shrimp entree:

It had a curried sauce, but not spicy. For her, it was a little too unspicy, but she thought it was really good and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it was salmon, and combined with the shrimp and scallops, it was a pretty huge portion!

Hercules ordered the Vegetarian Sampler:

This is spinach with cheese, rice pilaf, and cauliflower in tomato sauce. This was probably the weakest dish of the night, not that it was bad, but it remains a bit of a mystery why Herc ordered this? I think maybe he was full from lunch still and not really in the mood for something heavy? The spinach dish was a little more watery and less rich than what we are used to. The rice and the cauliflower were fine. I offered to trade dishes with him, but he just wasn't that hungry anyway. He took a few bites of everyone else's too.

Aladdin and I ordered the 2 entree winners!

Alladin had the Tandoori Lamb:

This dish was outstanding! Very tender and flavorful! I would have a hard time deciding between this and what I chose...

The Slow Cooked chicken in red curry and shrimp in green curry:

Absolutely scrumptious! I can't decide if I liked the chicken or the shrimp better, so I'm really glad I got to pick 2!

We were so full, but we just had to see what the place had to offer for dessert, so we had one dessert sampler to share:

Again, I have to go back to my menu to figure out what they all are, but I'm pretty sure that's the chai cream in the center. It was so light and delicious. I think that's a flourless chocolate cake on the right.

I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone! We probably won't go back next trip because of our Indain food habit, but it's definitely worth a trip to AKL for the overall experience.

Still under construction...

 

[PythonFan888]

Many thanks for the report and the pics. Looking forward to our July 22nd ADR to celebrate DW's birthday (the dreaded big 5-0).

 

[iloveeeyore]

Many thanks for the report and the pics. Looking forward to our July 22nd ADR to celebrate DW's birthday (the dreaded big 5-0).

You're welcome, PythonFan. I'm glad to help and thank you for reading. Where will you be going on July 22? Sanaa? Enjoy!

 

[TheNewMrsB]

Hi there!

Ugh, you're making me wish I hadn't abandoned my own food report!!

I had so much fun rereading your reviews. Back before my trip I asked you about the pork tenderloin @ CG and you recommended it. It was without a doubt the best entree I've ever eaten. Oh. My. God. And we DID start off wish sushi so I DID get the best of both worlds!

Ohana? We literally almost cried when we left, we were so painfully full. Like, we had to walk almost to the wedding pavilion and back just to feel slightly comfortable! But it was worth it. YUM!

When we go back (still no date in mind), we are definitely trying Sanaa - and you ordered exactly what I want to order when we go! I'm glad to see that you liked the chicken and shrimp so much.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hi there!

Ugh, you're making me wish I hadn't abandoned my own food report!!

I had so much fun rereading your reviews. Back before my trip I asked you about the pork tenderloin @ CG and you recommended it. It was without a doubt the best entree I've ever eaten. Oh. My. God. And we DID start off wish sushi so I DID get the best of both worlds!

Ohana? We literally almost cried when we left, we were so painfully full. Like, we had to walk almost to the wedding pavilion and back just to feel slightly comfortable! But it was worth it. YUM!

When we go back (still no date in mind), we are definitely trying Sanaa - and you ordered exactly what I want to order when we go! I'm glad to see that you liked the chicken and shrimp so much.

Haha! Hi, there! I know, it is hard to keep the report going, when you keep coming to the boards and seeing all the happy people people who are on their way to WDW! As you can see, I am also still tickerless! I'm glad you enjoyed that pork (*drooling at the thought*) and the sushi both! And 'Ohana...so dear to my heart...and thighs...and belly.

Yes, you must try Sanaa, and don't change your mind about what to order. It is so beautiful and peaceful in there! Try to go when it's still light out, so you can enjoy the great view of the animals. It's really something special. And maybe you can convince DH to order the lamb, so you can taste that one, too ? So yummy!

 

[iloveeeyore]

OK, so this is our rest day, because we have the Wanayama Safari for dinner. We all really wanted to try Mara for lunch. I have to say I am so sorry for the terribly poor quality of this photo. I considered not posting it:

We absolutely loved everything on this tray! Now to give you an idea of the scope of things, that African Stew in the lower left corner of the photo was BIG, though it looks like a tiny little thing in this pic. And it was delicious! Just the right amount of seasoning! Opposite the stew is the Chicken Pita with frenchfries. I'm confused about the flatbreads, because it looks like one has chicken with pesto and one has olives, but my bill says garden flatbread and chicken/olive flatbread. I can tell you both were yummy. I couldn't tell you which item I enjoyed most because everything was very, very good, but I guess I'd have to pick the stew, because it was the most "different." I highly recommend Mara for a unique kind of QS place, and if you're staying at AKL or just interested in wandering over to explore, don't miss this place!

Coming up soon...Wanayama Safari dinner at Jiko!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

thanks for posting the mara picture - sure we will try it in October

 

[DisneyMamato4]

We loved Mara too! We were staying at AKL and actually ate there more than anywhere else. My DD loved the African Stew and I was addicted to that flatbread, so yummy. I also ate more Zebra Domes than one human should actually consume.

 

[iloveeeyore]

thanks for posting the mara picture - sure we will try it in October

Glad to help. Yes, you gotta try it!

We loved Mara too! We were staying at AKL and actually ate there more than anywhere else. My DD loved the African Stew and I was addicted to that flatbread, so yummy. I also ate more Zebra Domes than one human should actually consume.

I think Disney does a wonderful job with their QS venues, mixing up standard stuff that everyone will eat, and adding something with a little "flair" to fit the theme of each place. Flatbreads are a great example. They are available at so many different places, but always with a little bit of a twist. I love the Hawaiian one at Captain Cook's at the Poly, and both of these at Mara were just as good. I'm not personally a fan of Zebra domes, so we didn't have any of those. In fact, come to think of it, we didn't taste any desserts at Mara. We did make up for it a few nights later at Boma!

 

[iloveeeyore]

This safari was one of the reasons we really decided to split our stay and spend some time at AKL. Boy, are we happy we did! Just to put things in perspective, this experience alone for the four of us cost about the same as it would have to stay at a value resort for a week (room only). Was it "worth it?" That is subjective! We think that for our very special occasion, yes, it was. In any case, we are VERY happy we did it! Are we rushing back next trip? No! A once-in-a-lifetime experience for us, most likely. We all were crazy about the safari part. Belle and I were blown away by the food at Jiko, Aladdin thought it was really, really good, and Hercules thought it was OK, but not that great.

We were together with two other families, and IIRC, they each had two kids with them, all in the pre-teen to teenage range, so I think there was a total of 12 of us, a nice sized group at any rate. The way we were seated at the table, it turned out that Herc and I could actually talk more easily with the dad and kids from another family than we could with Belle and Aladdin. This was actually nice, we welcomed the conversation, and overall it was a great experience.

The restaurant Jiko is absolutely gorgeous!

This first little treat is not on my menu, but was very welcome and refreshing after a few hours on the hot savanna:

It is either tomato or watermellon (sorry I can't remember and the pic is so bad ;() and cucumber salad, with some kind of toasted seed. It was wonderful and really prepared the palate for the wonderful flavors to come.

Then we enjoyed Taste of Africa: Trio of dips with assorted breads and house-made naan:

This was Hercules' favorite part of the meal, except for the red dip, because it had fennel, as did many of the items that night, which is why Herc wasn't a big fan! These dips were all wonderful and fragrant and full of flavor, and the naan was soft, warm and fresh.

Next came the appetizer plates:

Crispy Curried Beef Bobotie Roll with cucumber raita, green mango atjar, and honey-roasted groundnuts:

Tibs Watt in Pannekoeke stewed beef rolled in "crepes" with peppadew-olive tapenade:

Barbecue Chicken Flatbread with apple-jicama slaw, african bbq sauce and four cheeses:

These were served with a light and crisp Chenin Blanc (Graham Beck "The Game Reserve", Robertson) that I absolutely loved. My favorite of the appies was the crepes, but really, they were all great for me. Herc was getting a little turned off at this point, because he kept biting into fennel. Honestly, I never even noticed any fennel, but he is super-sensitive to the taste of it, because he dislikes it so much.

Intermezzo:
If I recall correctly, it was a sorbet that was minty and lemony and floating in some kind of vodka? I wish I had a photo.

Entrees:

Oak-grilled Filet Mignon with macaroni & cheese and red wine sauce:

Now, this was totally out-of-this-world. The beef was perfectly charred on the outside and red and juicy on the inside. Unfortunately, The tray that Aladdin and Herc took theirs from had more well-done steak on it. I kept trying to convince them to take a rarer piece from in front of me, but they refused. Sad, because I think they both would have enjoyed the whole meal if they had. There was plenty to go around, and we could ahve easily asked for more (in fact, the waiter asked several times if we wanted more of anything). I think because we were dining with strangers, they felt a little shy about that. Not me! I had seconds of this and I thought it was just scrumptious. Somehow, I refrained from licking the plate!

Chermoula Tanglewood Chicken with goat cheese potatoes, preserved lemons, and harissa:

Now I'm not a big chicken fan, I would not have odered this at all, but I'm so glad I had a chance to taste it in this case, because it was so moist and delicious, without a doubt, the BEST chicken I have ever tasted! And those potatoes were outstanding.

Maize-crusted Halibut with vegetables of the moment and tomato-butter sauce:

Oh, my goodness! That tomato-butter sauce *drool*! So good. The halibut itself was moist and so fresh!

The main course was served with Graham Beck "The Game Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon, Robertson. Yummy!

Dessert Platters (we each received our own):
Lemon-White Chocolate Mousse with spiced berry coulis, Flourless Tanzanian Chocolate Cake, and Pistachio Creme Brulee with a chocolate-layered bottom:

These were delectable, I ate every bite, and could not pick a favorite. Sadly, the waiter told us that the creme brulee would be taken off the menu and would only be available on the Wanayama.

Dessert was served with Kanu Kia-Ora Noble Late Harvest, Stellenbosch '05.

Just a note...all of our platters were wiped clean, and not only by me. Everyone (except Herc) really seemed to enjoy every bite. Herc loved his desserts, though. There were one or two people in another family at the other end of the table with some special dietary needs (I think maybe they were vegetarians?) They appeared to be very well accomodated and got their own large plate with each course and lots of attention from their server. I'm sorry I can't give you more details because I couldn't really converse with them from my seat without shouting, but it looked from my perpective that their needs were met to their satisfaction.

We also got a few plates of these:

I didn't taste them...there wasn't any room!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Thanks for the review of Wanayama, you just don't hear a lot about it! I'm considering staying at AKL for my next birthday trip, and am more interested in this then the Sunrise Safari.

Question - Do you have to stay club level for Wanayama?

 

[iloveeeyore]

Thanks for the review of Wanayama, you just don't hear a lot about it! I'm considering staying at AKL for my next birthday trip, and am more interested in this then the Sunrise Safari.

Question - Do you have to stay club level for Wanayama?

I think we don't hear too much about it because it is soooo expensive! And it's limited to 12-16 people, I believe, not that many choose the splurge. It used to be offered only 2 days per week and only to club level guests. I know that used to be the case, because we had to manipulate our days to make sure we caught both this and the sunrise. I believe it has changed, and now it is available daily and to all AKL guests...maybe even the general public.

Enjoy!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Saturday we were supposed to go back to DHS and eat lunch at 50's Prime Time, but we all decided that we'd rather have more time at Epcot than DHS, so we that's what we did.

Breakfast was in the CL lounge at AKL, and I have to say, the best thing they had was the mini chocolate croissants! (Sorry, I can't find a photo). Also the fruit and fresh juices there were delicious.

At Epcot, we weren't hungry for a big lunch, so we ducked into La Cava del Tequila for some snacks. I really wanted to try a Margarita Flight, but learned to my dismay that they only serve these on weekdays! As it was a Saturday, I had to choose just one margarita! Since I had already tasted the avocado, I decided to try the Blood Orange Margarita:

It was delicious, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I loved my avocado. As I was nearing the end of my vacation, I was wistfully wishing I had ordered another avocado...

Aladdin had his arm twisted by our lovely server, Nancy, and went for the "Limonero":

Inside that hollowed-out lime is a shot of tequila, so the tequila is all infused with fresh lime juice, and you sort of bite and sip at the same time to mix the flavors. On the right side is "salsa" which is actually spicy tomato juice used as a chaser, and on the left is a bowl of spices that could be used (instead of plain salt). I didn't taste this, but Aladdin loved it, and the experience of having it.

In the background of the above photo, you can also see one of our snacks, the Chips with Gualcamole. We all loved the guacamole, but agreed that I can make it just as delicious (too much work, though, I prefer to have it served to me...no shopping, no cutting, no mixing, no cleaning up). The chips were interesting...reminded me a little of pork rinds in consistency and pringles in taste. They were not greasy, however, and were more of a vehicle for the guacamole than a flavor-sensation alone.

For our other snacks, we had some Chicken Tostadas:

and some Flautas:

...which were very good. We all agree that we will absolutely go back to la cava...but will try to hit it on a weekday! I still really want to try that margarita flight!

Up next...dinner at Flying Fish!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I know I promised FF was up next, but I had forgotten about our snack at the France pavilion. We were getting ready to leave WS via the friendship boats to explore the Boardwalk resort before our dinner at FF, and we were sooooo hungry now, since we hadn't really had a proper lunch.

We decided on a cheese plate and some macaroons from the bakery.

The cheese was fine, nothing interesting or spectacular. The varieties were brie, swiss and camembert, I think. The baguette and the macaroons were delicious. This plate was just enough for each of us to have a little something and not be starving anymore, so we could enjoy our time between now and dinner. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way for this!

Up next for REAL, FF!

 

[iloveeeyore]

After a wonderful ride on a surrey bike around Crescent Lake, we checked in early for our dinner at FF. We were seated right away. This restaurant is very interesting and beautiful to look at, and we were treated to some celebratory menues that had "Happy Anniversary" on them.

We couldn't decide what to order to drink, and our fantastic server Tim indroduced us to a lovely beer called Estrella D Inedit. I am normally not a beer drinker, but this was in a huge bottle for Aladdin and me to share. I can tell you we didn't really share it...I liked it so much it really ended up that I allowed him to have some . Gleefully, we have found it at our local Stop & Shop and have enjoyed it several times since. I highly recommend this beer! It is somewhere between a beer and a champagne, so whether you are a beer, wine or cocktail drinker, you might like this. It is so light and refreshing, great for summer...or hot days in WDW!

All of the appetizers on the menu sounded so amazing, and I wish we had ordered more of these, but we decided to split 2 for the table. Sadly, we forgot to take photos of the appies...very sad indeed because these were definitely the BEST appies we had on the trip. In fact, they were simply perfect!

First, the Chardonnay-steamed Maine Acadian Farms Dutch Mussels (with fennel, chiles, pesto crema with grilled sourdough crostini). We told Tim that we only wanted these if they could be prepared without the fennel (since Hercules can't stand fennel). Fortunately for us, they could be made without the fennel, and we all agree that these were hands-down the best mussels any of us have ever tasted (and we eat a LOT of mussels, believe me!). They did not taste like anything was missing at all (being void of fennel )! We asked for soup spoons so we could share the broth without filling up on too much bread. It was a huge portion, and it's a good thing, because we all wanted more of these!

Our other appetizer was Our Signature Flying Fish Cafe "Crispy Maine Coast Jonah Crab Cake. This was so good, just the right amount of flavors accentuating the beautiful, plump, moist crab meat. We loved this, but to be honest, it paled in comparison to the mussels...we are STILL talking about those mussels!

For my main course, I ordered the Potato-wrapped Red Snapper:

This was the most disappointing entree of the night (maybe the trip), and I wished I had ordered anything else. I was so looking forward to and it turned out to be just OK. The snapper itself was very fresh and good, but I just didn't really get the combination of leeks (which I usually love) and veal sauce? I should have listened Kevin's podcast review. It was way weird, and I usually embrace weird, but this was just too odd, even for me.

Belle ordered the Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops:

These were delicious and this was a near-perfect dish. They were served with a mascarpone risotto that was very creamy and rich and yummy without being disgustingly heavy. Artist Point had set the bar with scallops for her several years ago, and she has been on a mission since then to find their equivalent. While the FF's were excellent, they didn't quite measure up to the nirvana level of AP's.

Hercules ordered the Salmon:

This was also quite good, but didn't live up to the bar set by the CG earlier in the week. He also says he likes my salmon better! (How sweet!) He liked it, but it wasn't the best salmon ever...

Aladdin ordered the NY Strip Steak:

He loved this, and was very reluctant to share more than one bite (maybe it was punishment for my drinking most of the beer ). For me, it was a tie between the scallops and the steak for the best entree of the night. This steak was prepared a perfect medium-rare; it was also wonderfully seasoned.

For dessert, Tim treated us to two free celebration desserts, also of which I apparently failed to take pics...and now I can't remember what they were. But I can promise you, they were delicious!