Let's celebrate 15 years together by eating around the World! 12/11 Sanaa

[nanienamou]

Thursday, October 25th, was a special day. We officially became DVC members, buying at AKL. I am glad to say that we are trying to plan our first DVC trip, the first two weeks of November 2013.

Anyway, we had our DVC tour that early morning and had coffee, juice, cookies at the DVC center. After, we were driven in a shuttle to Downtown Disney - they actually drive you where you want after the trip.

We headed to Bongo's...


We are not really familiar with Cuban cuisine, so we were eager to try this place out! The menu is massive, there are plenty of choices for drinks and foods!

Let's celebrate with a coconut mojito! Delish!


We settled on a couple of appetizers.

First, the fish ceviche.


Very good and fresh, not too much cilantro taste, much to DH's delight. It came with a massive side of fried plantains which was not listed on the menu. This was kind of a bummer, because we had also ordered some separately as a side, so we had way too much!



These were good, fresh and crispy. The cuban mojo was out of this world, very garlicky with a little citrus taste, soooo good!

We also got the Bongos combo - fried stuff potatoes, pork tamales, stuffed yucca cup, mojo-marinated fried pork bites, ham croquettes.


This was a massive plate! And also lots of fried food, but not too greasy. We basically loved everything on this plate. Maybe the pork was a little less appealing, since the frying process made them a little tough, but had a wonderful flavor. Loved the yucca cups, especially the one with the spicy shrimp. The ham croquettes were good but not too "exotic" in flavor. The tamale was good, it was the first time we ate that. The onions were marinated and it also came with a side of mojo and lime wedges which added some nice acidity. We would go back for sure! The place was quiet and empty at lunchtime and the serving staff were nice and efficient.

[nanienamou]

We left Bongo's with a couple of doggie bags and made a pit stop at Goofy's for some sweet for later.

I got a red velvet Mickey cake pop.


Good but sweeet! The cake part is fudgey and dense, permitting only a bite at a time so you can stretch this snack out. The ears were marshmallow, which I don't really like, so I did not eat those. The chocolate coating was good, standard milk chocolate.

DH got the cashew mammoth.


Milk chocolate, cashews and caramel - a sweet tooth can't go wrong with this. I did not taste it, but DH had no difficulty eating this and was very satisfied.

[jmm476]

I don't see too many reviews of Bongos. The appetizers look and sound really good.

[Linda67]

Congratulations on becoming a DVC Member

Great review of Bongos, we really must try this place some time

[nanienamou]

Originally Posted by jmm476

I don't see too many reviews of Bongos. The appetizers look and sound really good.

Originally Posted by Linda67

Congratulations on becoming a DVC Member

Great review of Bongos, we really must try this place some time

Bongos is really like a hidden gem. Great variety and great food! We were really impressed!

[wiigirl]

OMG...That mojito looks so good!

[nanienamou]

We had a lazy afternoon and decided to visit Kidani and try a walk-up to Sanaa.



They told us it would be a 45-60 minutes wait, but it was ok. We explored a bit and headed to the bar. I got a Kande Coconut Cooler - refreshing combination of Starr African Run, coconut, vanilla ice cream and orange juice. So good!



We were seated in about 30 minutes. We had an awesome server here, but I don't recall her name.

DH had a mango lassi that he enjoyed very much. I'm not sure it's authentic, it seemed more like a smoothie. Anyway, it was good, so DH was happy!



I had the white sangria, which was disappointing. It seemed watered down (maybe there was too much ice) and didn't have much flavor, especially if compared to the Kande Cooler.



I chose two appetizers for my main. First, the mustard seed crusted scallops with a coconut cream sauce.



These were as big as the ones at Flying Fish and were cooked perfectly with a nice sear. The mustard seeds added a nice taste and texture and the sauce was mellow, not very coconut-y and did not overpower the scallops. A bargain at 9 bucks!

I also had the salad trio.



This was watermelon, cucumber and fennel. Very fresh tasting with the tang of the fennel. Interesting and different.



The roasted beets. They still had a nice bite to them and were nice and sweet. A nice choice but a little boring.



The bhel puri. This was like a party in my mouth. Love the crunchy texture of the fried noodles, the punch of the onion and the spices in the dressing. It was my favorite. Again, great value, the trio is 7$.

DH had the slow-cooked in gravy. He selected the spicy durban chicken and the butter chicken with basmati.



He was in awe over this. He likes currys and braised meats, so this was a great choice for him. The chicken was moist and flavourful. The butter chicken was rich and the sauce was silky. The durban was spicier with a nice heat. He mixed the rice with the sauce.

We then shared a pot of pressed Kenyan coffee - nice and strong.



We were really satisfied with the French presses at Disney. Very good coffee.

And we shared a dessert.



The banana kulfi sundae. This was nice and not to big a portion. It had a little bit of chocolate sauce on top which was in my opinion, not necessary. The kulfi had a nice dense texture and was exploding with banana flavor. The spiced cashews were so good with the berry sauce. Very nice dessert!

And that concludes our meal at Sanaa. It ranked really highly, we will be back, the value is exceptional, the food is awesome, the service was spot on! I can't say enough good of this little jewel!

[Tracerr00]

Your meals at Bongo's and Sanaa look fabulous!!! I"m going in February for the Princess Half Marathon and on the first day, my friend will be arriving at a different time. So I'm going to make a solo ADR for myself for the first night - and Sanaa sounds great! I think it's between this and Jiko. I just can't decide! For some reason I'm looking a lot at your drinks today. That Kande Coconut Cooler seems to be calling my name.

[Leslieann1024]

Are you serious re:the weight loss ? You are beautiful ! Congrats to you on the weight loss, that is not an easy obstacle ! Y'all are a great looking couple !

[ellie'smom]

I'm loving your review.
Merci