Conservative Hippie
Ravenclaw
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2006
DH and I had dinner at Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) this past Thursday for our anniversary. It was the first time back since our very first Disney trip on our honeymoon.
We had a 7:00 ADR and checked in at about 6:50. We had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated, and when we finally walked in the restaurant I could see why! Four years ago we were almost the only people in the whole restaurant. This time the place was completely crowded with lots of children. Jiko is a Signature Dining restaurant, and is supposed to have a sort of business casual dress code, but obviously hardly anyone was following it. We were seated at a very quiet table in the back, which made me totally forget about the rest of the crowd.
Our waiter was Lucius, and as we were being seated, he handed us a beautiful card signed by the Jiko staff to celebrate our anniversary--I loved it! We started with the Kenyan Coffee Barbequed Chicken Flatbread. This. Was. Amazing. A crispy flatbread topped with cheese and barbequed chicken, then a sweet sauce and apple julienne. Seriously, it was wonderful, and big enough for three people to share (although I had no problem finishing it!). Then we shared a bowl of Green Asparagus Soup. The waiter brought out a bowl with a few spears of asparagus and some crispy pancetta in the bottom. Then the soup is poured over it from a pitcher. DH thought the soup was good, but forgettable, but I was again very impressed. I really like asparagus, and this soup was creamy and peppery and really great.
For entrees, DH had the Berbere-Braised Lamb Shank, served with couscous, baby spinach, and a berbere sauce. Honestly, we have no idea what berbere is. DH gave this dish 6.5 stars out of 10. I do not like lamb, and the bite I had was very lamby, so unfortunately I can't give much feedback on this! I had the Pan-Roasted Jumbo Scallops, which were served with grilled or maybe pan fried cornmeal and a tomato and onion chutney. The scallops had a little bit of a kick to them, and after eating four of the five, my mouth was very tingly from the spiciness! The cornmeal was the perfect side. I would definitely get this again.
When we finished and asked to see the dessert menu, Lucius instead brought us a complimentary Pistachio Creme Brulee for our anniversary. I LOVE creme brulee (on our DDP trip last year, I had a brulee at every place that offered one). I thought pistachio creme brulee sounded a little weird, and sure enough, it was green. But this was one of the best I have had! It is served in a shallow dish with lots of burnt sugar on top, and there is a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom. It was the perfect finish!
Overall, we had a wonderful, romantic experience at Jiko. DH gives the entire meal 8 out of 10 stars, I give it 9 (it would have been 10 if we didn't have to wait so long). I will definitely send a thank you card over there this week!
We had a 7:00 ADR and checked in at about 6:50. We had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated, and when we finally walked in the restaurant I could see why! Four years ago we were almost the only people in the whole restaurant. This time the place was completely crowded with lots of children. Jiko is a Signature Dining restaurant, and is supposed to have a sort of business casual dress code, but obviously hardly anyone was following it. We were seated at a very quiet table in the back, which made me totally forget about the rest of the crowd.
Our waiter was Lucius, and as we were being seated, he handed us a beautiful card signed by the Jiko staff to celebrate our anniversary--I loved it! We started with the Kenyan Coffee Barbequed Chicken Flatbread. This. Was. Amazing. A crispy flatbread topped with cheese and barbequed chicken, then a sweet sauce and apple julienne. Seriously, it was wonderful, and big enough for three people to share (although I had no problem finishing it!). Then we shared a bowl of Green Asparagus Soup. The waiter brought out a bowl with a few spears of asparagus and some crispy pancetta in the bottom. Then the soup is poured over it from a pitcher. DH thought the soup was good, but forgettable, but I was again very impressed. I really like asparagus, and this soup was creamy and peppery and really great.
For entrees, DH had the Berbere-Braised Lamb Shank, served with couscous, baby spinach, and a berbere sauce. Honestly, we have no idea what berbere is. DH gave this dish 6.5 stars out of 10. I do not like lamb, and the bite I had was very lamby, so unfortunately I can't give much feedback on this! I had the Pan-Roasted Jumbo Scallops, which were served with grilled or maybe pan fried cornmeal and a tomato and onion chutney. The scallops had a little bit of a kick to them, and after eating four of the five, my mouth was very tingly from the spiciness! The cornmeal was the perfect side. I would definitely get this again.
When we finished and asked to see the dessert menu, Lucius instead brought us a complimentary Pistachio Creme Brulee for our anniversary. I LOVE creme brulee (on our DDP trip last year, I had a brulee at every place that offered one). I thought pistachio creme brulee sounded a little weird, and sure enough, it was green. But this was one of the best I have had! It is served in a shallow dish with lots of burnt sugar on top, and there is a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom. It was the perfect finish!
Overall, we had a wonderful, romantic experience at Jiko. DH gives the entire meal 8 out of 10 stars, I give it 9 (it would have been 10 if we didn't have to wait so long). I will definitely send a thank you card over there this week!
This year, we will not miss it and we will put in our ADR very soon. Our 180 days just kicked in and we're pumped.
