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!