jesswindsor
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
Just caught up, nice reviews!!!
I've never had them at Kona, but I would think they are different since Yak n Yeti is a Landry's not disney owned restaurant.Those potstickers look yummy...do you know if they are the same as the ones at Kona Cafe? I could have lived on those. The egg rolls look good too! Oh and how come such crazy crowds at the entrance that day? Was there a reason?
You should definitely check it out. Especially if you are there when it is hot, its a great break from the parks.Yak and Yeti looks great! It almost made the list for last year's trip, after reading your review I think it's a must do for next March. Those wontons........yum, yum, yum!
Don't ya just love it when all the disboarding time pays off with a good order ; )Great review of Yak & Yeti. I too had heard a lot about those menu items and I'm glad you enjoyed them. I have to add another one to my must-try list.
Agreed. I'm not sure we would have even tried it had flame tree not been shut down.Glad you enjoyed Yak & Yeti so much! Its such a nice break while enjoying Animal Kingdom.
It was definitely nice to share a few things. Jason and I almost always split appetizers for our meals in the pre-Casey era. It was nice to get back to the adults we used to be ; )I do love Yak and Yeti! Their portions are large so we usually split some things there. Last time we just ordered a bunch of the appetizers and some drinks to share! Those wontons always look so delicious, but I don't like cream cheese I might have to make DH order them sometime so I can sneak a bite to make 100% sure that I don't like them
Woohoo another member of the AK #2 park!!!!!Yak and Yeti looks amazing! I really want to try it sometime but we haven't gotten around to it yet. AK has become my second favorite park (behind MK) as of last trip.
(Just had to use this emoji because I totally think this is a pole dancing thank you) But seriously, thanks!Loving your reviews and writing style, you've had me LOL a number of times! Have a wonderful trip next month!
Hey Adgie! No beignets at either resort. You must have some kinda restraint.So excited you're going back to WDW! I love POFQ and think you will, too. I can't comment on the beignets. Somehow, I've managed a stay at POFQ and POR and haven't tried them. They look incredible, though!
I've only been to Yak and Yeti once. I had the honey chicken and it was just okay, like you said. It seems the apps are where it's at, while the entrees seems to be pretty meh. I definitely agree that the break from the park is welcome, and think I'd probably try it again and order differently. Thanks for your input here!
Could totally kiss ya for that one! I like to think all the extra pounds I carry around keep the wrinkles at bay. At least that's the line I keep trying to get Jason to buy off on ; )For reals?!? You look great! I surely thought you were in your early 30's.
DUCK!!!!!!! Used to love Epcot, just disappointed its become so static lately. But ya know I still love the drinks they are serving ; )AGREED! Epcot is my favorite park duck but AK is almost passing up MK for me duck
Definitely a winning comboI was going to say, you should dip these in the potsticker sauce, but you beat me to it.
We are right there with ya. Between Sriacha and some random hot sauce we stole from our resort in Mexico, we find very little one of the two doesn't work on.I truly, truly believe that Sriracha makes EVERYTHING better. We go through one bottle a month. That's how gnarly we are about Sriracha
This wasn't the only time we'd encountered the issue. Had trouble trying to buy things too. Apparently disney hasn't cracked the code on that one too.No way, I would have tried talking to a manager or something. But glad that your meal ended up being a hit. I would love to try this place someday!
Go, run, wontons are waiting....You are making me want to go to Y&Y. Those wontons are on my list.
Oh no, I didn't realize the moderates didn't have queues too. We'll see how POFQ in the dead of summer goes in a few weeks. Makes no sense to me though.I've often said that one of the things that I prefer at the Value resorts is that their bus stops have queues. I don't like how the bus stops are a free-for-all at the Moderates and Deluxes.
It was beyond ridiculous and the cast member acted like I was crazy to even question waiting.Ugh, I might have had to bail on that too. Finding myself standing in the FP line for longer that the posted Stand-By time would set me off!
Go get um Billie!You totally just sold me on these! YUM!
You should pop into the bar sometime and just have them there. It was pretty large and I didn't see anyone eating there (as I was secretly wishing we were)Oh man. I've often come so close to booking at ADR here JUST for this dessert. I really gotta try this someday!
I thought I was too full for the wontons too and then I just couldn't resist. So glad I did. I'd love to know what they put in the potsticker sauce. I can still recall its exact taste it was so good. Where was your hubby's review before we ordered the chicken ; )We made a last minute reservation for Yak & Yeti, too, about 4 hours ahead of time. I had been wanting tor try the famous won ton dessert that everyone raves about, but we were just too full to eat another bite. We got the pot stickers and they were really good that night. The sauce is the best part, but the pot stickers were good, too. I devoured my Teriyaki Mahi Mahi. It was really good. My husband had the Crispy honey chicken and declared it just all right.
We have a five night trip booked for October so I'm not sure we have time to slip another last minute Yak & Yeti ADR there again, but you never know. I only have one dinner booked now. It turns out we kind of like it that way.
Heaven indeedI second those wontons, such heaven on a plate!!! I love Y&Y
You know another TiW card is in our future. We typically get 3 trips off the AP's and TiW card though they've been on different schedules. Probably won't be able to get it before our first meal, but should have it in hand soon there after.Yay for a surprise trip! Since you'll be going at least twice this year are you going to get another TiW card?
I love pork egg rolls and those ones sound especially good. I need to stop reading dining reports because then I want to eat all the foods. Your Jiko review is amazing. It's the signature that appeals to me the most.
I still have no idea what brought that crowd on, I'd never seen anything like it.Sorry to hear about your bus trouble. And that was a ridiculous crowd of people at AK. I wonder if they had some problems and opened a little a later. We weren't considering Yak & Yeti until we were waiting outside to place orders in the counter service and others were walking into the nice air conditioning. It might be a must-do in the future for that reason alone. The food looks fantastic also and it's a lot of things that I would eat especially those pot stickers.
Mmm, fried green means, don't know how I missed that one. Sounds like we may be sipping some lapu lapu's together ; ) Did you get a "magical" deal too?We ate at Y &Y for the first time last trip- the fried green bean app was good, honey chicken entree was just 'alright', but the wonton dessert was worth the price of the entire meal
According to your ticker, it looks like we have very similar plans at the beginning of September!
Thanks! More coming up soonJust caught up, nice reviews!!!
Since our trip was in April we would have needed a Time Turner or a Tardis to get you that dining review in time.Where was your hubby's review before we ordered the chicken ; )
I'm sure at disney that could be arrangedSince our trip was in April we would have needed a Time Turner or a Tardis to get you that dining review in time.
We'd just left MK and were headed for our "value" resort Animal Kingdom Lodge. In my warped mind it somehow offset the cost of WL if we moved to AKL for the last two days of our trip. Only I can justify a deluxe villa by "downgrading" to a standard deluxe ; ) #DisneyMath
We'd signed up for the text with direct to room, but never received anything. I was a little concerned that our room wouldn't be ready, but thankfully it was. Strange though they had no record of me checking in online (foreshadowing, this would come up again). But in fairly short order we were whisked off to our "standard" room and were shocked to find this outside our window...
As I understand there are some standard rooms with savannah views because they are over the people pens (aka where us mortals go in case of an emergency so we don't get eaten by the cute animals). I didn't know this before we left and was literally jumping with excitement. Casey on the other hand was more excited about this little bad boy...
We were also granted a bunk bed, which Casey thought was pure heaven. Here are a few more room pics.
We consulted our trusty AKL schedule of events and saw they had a musical instrument demonstration going on. We took Casey and had some fun learning to play African instruments. Then we explored the resort a bit and saw some wildlife in its "natural" habitat
Then we saw this most majestic beast in all of his glory.
And a blurry close-up
Ahh, the wonders of the savannah ; )
From there we swung by Mara for some provisions (aka some South African Pinotage for our nightcap) and then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. Earlier in the day we knew we were tired and wanted to take it easy this evening so we were happy to score a 7pm reservation to one of our Disney favorites, Jiko.
We were seated very quickly and soon was presented with some bread.
The bread was pretty standard issue, but the Tandoori spiced butter was delicious. I'm curious why they call it Tandoori though, because as far as I know that is a cooking method, but I think they just incorporate the spices inherent in Tandoori Chicken. For me I picked mostly picked up curry and some ginger in the background. Either way it compliment the otherwise bland bread.
While we contemplated our food choices, Casey and I showed off our spokesmodel sides. Our pretty catalog look...
And the not so pretty Mad magazine centerfolds...
Having not had lunch we were hungry so some appetizers were in order. Jason ordered the Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin
This was served with Mealie Pap, Chakalaka (South African vegetable relish, thank you google), Truffle Oil, and Micro Cilantro. This picture doesn't look all that good, but it was delicious. Wild boar as I understand has less fat than its domestic brethren which made this slightly tough, but it was cooked a perfect medium rare. The chakalaka added some nice spice and the pap (grit like substance) paired nicely with it. Only complaint is that neither Jason nor I could detect much truffle flavor.
I ordered the North African Carrot Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Ginger, Pink Lady Apples, and Black Garlic Ice Cream
This, hands down, was the best thing I ate in Disney all week and may very well be the best thing I've ever eaten at Disney. A deceptively simple soup, this was smooth and creamy and had a complexity of flavor to it that was simply amazing.. Carrots mixed with ginger and some cinnamon notes and a hint of sweetness, I literally could have bathed in this stuff would that not be frowned upon. The garlic "ice cream" added a subtle garlic flavor and some freshness to the soup. In case you can't tell I was in complete and utter soup love. If they ever take this off the menu I will personally lead the picket line ; )
For our entree's Jason decided to keep his pork-thing going and chose the Nigerian Spiced Berkshire Double-Cut Pork Chop with Braised Greens, Ancient Grain Risotto, and Apple Butter
Yes ladies and gentleman, this was as good as it looked. Hands down the best pork of the trip and his favorite entree. I'd never had a chop that big before and with the spiced char on the outside, it almost tasted like beef. It was tender and moist and the butter accompaniment added some sweetness. The risotto had a nice tomato flavor, though it wasn't as creamy as I like. The greens on the other hand were delicious. Well seasoned, with a slight spice the only issue was there wasn't enough of them ; )
Casey and I shared the Piri Piri Snapper
This is served with Truffled Mealie Pap, Cauliflower, Romanesca, and Roasted Tomato Beurre Monté. I know I'm really throwing down the superlatives tonight, but this was the single best fish dish I ever recall eating. The snapper itself was mild tasting, though a denser "meatier" fish and the beurre monte (an emulsified butter, thank you Chef Jason for the last minute assist) had a robust tomato flavor. Jason thinks they actually cooked the fish in the beurre monte to not just put the flavor on top, but deliver it throughout the fish. Unlike in Jason's appetizer, the pap had an amazing truffle flavor and I could have devoured a vat of the it alone. This was served with carrots and some green substance that I later deciphered was romanesca cauliflower. They were very good and complimented the fish nicely.
I didn't take any pictures, but for drinks (cause ya know those were flowing) I had some South African Sauvignon Blanc and Jason stared with a Tusker beer and then had a South African Pinotage, which taste very much like a Shiraz to me.
We elected to have dessert back in our room later and settled up the bill for what has become our legendary best Disney meal ever. From the service to the drinks to the appetizers and the entrees, each and every item built upon the next and it was a perfect evening. One that I'm not even sure could be topped, but we have Victoria and Albert's booked for our September trip so we'll see. With our Tables in Wonderland Card we saved $31.70.
After a long day, Casey was clearly tired so we retired to our room. As Casey slept in her bunk, Jason and I indulged in the Pinotage and zebra domes we'd picked up earlier at Mara in our bed.
I'd read about the legendary zebra domes for years and was excited to finally try them. They had a good chocolate mouse flavor and consistency to them, but they were a bit looser than I expected as I thought more cake was underneath the elusive dome. I'm also not a huge white chocolate fan, so these were not really for me. Of course that did not hinder me from eating my two ; )
Up next we yak it up in the Animal Kingdom, in only the best of ways....
Chip N Dale were inside too with no line whatsoever
Then it was time for one of Casey's favorite AK activities: The Dinoland Dance Party.
but unfortunately for anyone who hasn't done this, it is sadly now gone.
Very long explanation out of the way, this was FANTASTIC.
As neither of us knows much about South African wine this was a great way to explore some new tastes and more importantly help us zone in on what we wanted for a full bottle ;
Casey still has a few years before she can indulge in some mama juice (her name for wine)
The star of both dishes though was without question the chickpeas and potatoes. They had a depth of flavor from lots of garlic and corriander and also some sweetness from the tomato sauce that was in it. The chickpeas themselves were nice and tender. I could have eaten an entire vat of those for my meal.
We ended up ordering another 2 breads which we were charged $1.99 for.
So cute! I've never seen Chip & Dale without a line... Man, did you get lucky!
Oh, Kari.
I've never had any interest in the Nemo show, for all of the above reasons. But I have a first-timers and a Nemo fan with me on the next trip, so I have a feeling that I'm going to be subjected to it in December.Before we left for the day we caught a showing of the Nemo Show, which we'd never seen before. I'm sure I'll get some haters out there but I really didn't like this. I knew it was Avenue Q-esque and the puppetry was fantastic - especially Crush - but the music was just plain awful. Of course not the songs that were actually from Nemo, but the rest sounded like something even I could have written. I'm glad we tried it (Jason for the record is still bitter though), but we'll stick to the lion king show from now on. #EndRant
Seems legit.(I firmly blame all the wine for the photo quality)
"Mama juice." That's awesome.Casey still has a few years before she can indulge in some mama juice (her name for wine)