After a day at AK, what more appropriate place for dinner than a restaurant at AKL?
We had a 5:00 ADR at Boma, but we decided to go around 4 to take the culinary tours or Boma and Jiko I found out about through Shenanigoat's DR. (Thanks for sharing!)
You just show up at the Boma podium at 4 and tell them you'd like to do the culinary tour. That's it - no reservations or payments required!
We were led in the tour by a guy from....oh darn, his country of origin and name escapes me...but he was at Disney on one of those 1 year cultural immersion kind of programs. He was very friendly and did a great job.
They tell you about the design inspirations behind the decor and how different sections represent different African countries.
Notice how the columns look like clay pots? Pretty nifty, huh?
Our guide was really informative and the information was interesting. But sorry, I didn't take notes and I don't recall much of it. Maybe I was just excited about the sampling I'd heard about!
Soup Sampling time!!
Our guide showed us the different 'pods' for the food at Boma. He told us about some of their signature items and how they're made. Then we got to try the soups! He let us go back several times and have a few spoonfuls of each kind.
Mmmm cookies...
After we told our guide we'd see him in an hour, we were dropped off to our Jiko guide, who again, I can't remember a name. I do however, recall that he was from Swaziland!
Here is he, explaining that rings around the columns in Jiko resprent the African tribes like the Ndebele, where the women wear rings around their necks according to their status - the more rings, the higher up she is in the tribe.
We got the same type of spiel at Jiko about the restaurant decor. I remember more details from here, maybe because I thought our guide was cute!
The things hanging from the ceiling are obviously birds. The back lighting on the walls changes color throughout the evening to mimic a sunset. A lot of the tables in Jiko are made of imported African Zebra wood. Our guide even showed us a hidden Mickey in the rocks outside the window at Jiko.
The wine list is exclusively South African. While we were having our culinary tour, most of the Jiko CM's were doing a wine tasting - so you can really trust your server's wine advice here!
Wine Tree -
Next we got to do some food tasting! We sat at the counter up by the huge wood burning ovens -
They had prepared for us the trio of dips and African breads appetizer. There were only 3 of us on the tour, and they had made 3 fullk servings, so we had lots to munch on!
Mmmm noms.
There were 3 different kinds of bread - Lentil Papadum, Flax Seed Naan, and Whole Wheat Lavosh. I wasn't wild over the Lavosh, but the Naan and Papadum are quite amazing.
Then there were the dips -
The left bowl is a Kalamata Olive Hummus. In the middle is Durban Tikka Masala. On the right is a spicy Malay Lentil and Spinach Dip.
I really liked all the dips, but the Tikka Masala and Lentil and Spinach are both quite spicy. I think the Lentil and Spinach also has some cilantro in it. I enjoyed dipping the Naan the most. The papadum has spices in it, so I enjoyed it best plain.
While we ate our bread and dips, this Jiko chef was pulling Naan out of the wood burning ovens.
He was talking up the restaurant and telling us how badly we needed to try it. He claims Jiko is the best signature. You could tell he really liked his job.
I assured him I would be making an ADR for Jiko on my next trip, and that he better have some Naan for me. Well buddy, I'll be there in about 2 weeks!
I also had a long conversation with our guide from Swaziland. He was impressed I had heard of and knew where the country was located. We talked about the cultural differences and how he was adjusting to life in the US. I told him I could relate, having lived in France for a while! We both agreed that everyone should spend some time in a few foreign countries. We think it would make the world a more peaceful place.
Around 4:30 we finally got ourselves to stop eating the bread and left so the poor guys could get back to work.
I highly recommend doing this tour if you're around AKL at 4pm! Great thing if you need a snack.
Coming up next: A DIS Meet Dinner at Boma!
DD and I have already viewed and bookmarked their web site!
We were seated right away. 
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