Prawn Heads & Cupcakes & Soups, Oh My! 10/5 Complete (now with my Dining Wish List)!

[jabead]

I have to say that I forgot about your fatty short rib and I am really glad I did! DS got the short rib entree tonight and was kind enough to share a few bites with me and it wasn't the least bit fatty. Very lean, tender and delicious!

And the cheese plate was excellent as well!

Ok, don't mean to bogart DDW's review with a mini peak at ours but I had to jump in and say how much we enjoyed the short rib!

Yep, DD's short rib was perfect too and her favorite entree of the trip...both times (she also had it last year)! I guess it was just my rotten luck.

I'm glad to hear you had another great dinner, GoofySon'sMom! But the real question is, how was your lunch???

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Singing prawn heads - what a great way to kick off my day

Wonderful reviews (as always )

You are so right about AKL and their excellent dining options, and it's such a great resort for vegetarians

The only one we have yet to try is The Mara so we must fix that on our next trip

Agreed on AKL and its vegetarian options and on trying The Mara! I saw two vegetarian dishes on the menu that looked really good there - a vegetarian flatbread and a falafel pita.

Hmm. After all the reviews you've written (and I've read them all), the prawnhead dish is the first one I've seen that I wouldn't even consider ordering! Something about all those things sticking out just doesn't sit well with me!

But I agree wtih you about Jiko's. It's always been great for me. Food, service, setting. I think AKL in general has the best food options for one resort. I would stay there more often but the location of BWI makes it a bit more appealing.

I can understand that reaction to the prawn heads - my mom actually agrees with all of you.

Another great review of Jiko! I would order the prawn dish, but then make DH disassemble them so I could eat it. Lol

I'm sure you would love the flavors of the prawn entree. The presentation was neat, but everything else is what really made that dish.

Your Jiko review is making me SO excited to eat there in December!

I hope you have a great meal at Jiko! And I see that you've started a dining review - I'll have to check it out soon.

I do love Prawns but to see the heads on my dish... Not so much! Good thing they can be disassembled. The last time I was at Jikos in February2011, they had this wonderful shrimp curry with the saffron rice. It was my favorite meal of the trip and my DF 's favorite as well. My DFH ordered the steak and he declared it the best steak of the trip. I see the shrimp is no longer on the menu, but I personally think you can't go wrong at Jiko.

I don't think you can go wrong at Jiko either. If the description sounds good to me, the odds are very high that I'll enjoy it.

That bananas foster French Toast at Boma looks so wonderful. I'm trying to figure out a way to replicate that at home. DH will want to go try that for sure since Bananas Foster is his favorite dessert.

And his second favorite dessert is pumpkin pie, so he would love the soup at Mara. I think if I show him your review I can persuade him into staying at AKL next trip.

I'm sad you didn't love Saana. I would probably enjoy that salad. I've yet to tag "too sweet" to anything I've ever eaten.

Jiko looks awesome again. You should tell us how many entrees you've tried there and which is the best. I've still got my eye on your Mom's chicken.

Singing prawns Sounds like a great idea for a new Disney movie.

That bread pudding at Boma was definitely a big surprise! I'm sure DH would be very happy if you could create something like that for him. The soups at the Mara would be a great way to convince DH to stay at AKL as well - they're such a nice snack.

The salad at Sanaa wasn't bad, but it was supposed to be more interesting than it ended up being. Add the masala-spiced pistachios back in, and I might be saying completely different things about my lunch there.

Among the Jiko entrees, I've tried the prawns, duck, short rib (with different accompaniments), filet (with different accompaniments), maize-crusted corvina, and the vegetarian entree. I tend to prefer seafood , so I guess it isn't too surprising that my favorites are the prawns (excellent flavor profiles) and then the corvina (the tomato-butter sauce is rich and flavorful). That sad, I really like the peri peri chicken as well (it's very good for a chicken dish), and I thought the vegetarian entree was extremely interesting and satisfying. The short ribs, filet, and duck were all good, but I have to be in the mood for them.

I want that prawn dish!! I wish I was on the deluxe dining plan - I really need to check out these signature restaurants! Jiko always looks so interesting and delicious

Jiko is definitely worth trying eventually! In fact, I would even recommend trying it without the DxDP, since some of the cheaper dishes aren't even a good 'value' using credits.

I will never be able to hear that song without thinking of your head on prawns! I have a manager at my location and a more important manager at corporate (shhh...don't tell my local manager that!) and the corporate manager is going to Disney for the first time with her DH in September. She's staying at AKL and i'm helping her to plan the trip. I told her that she should eat at Jiko and your reviews really make me feel more confident about telling her that! She controls my pay raises after all!

Can't wait to see the desserts!

Hopefully Jiko won't let her down then - the stakes sound high! And I really can't wait to get to the desserts.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

What a beautiful place to sit at Jiko!

I had to chuckle at you singing "Under the sea" but I think I'd have to order mine headless! I don't even like when my shrimp still have the tails on!! Glad you enjoyed it!

You're definitely not alone in preferring your prawns at way, and I'm glad it's an option. Not everyone wants to see their food staring back at them.

Looks like they have made some changes to their cheese plate since we had it in May. Still looks and sounds delicious though!

Mmmm...that looks so good! I wish I would have gotten that instead of that fatty short rib.

And there you have it...the "Oh My"!!! part of DDW's reviews.

Singing Prawns!

So glad to hear that!

The cheese plate was definitely wonderful. It's very nice to see how the cheeses and accompaniments change over time - as long as everything is still delicious, I'm fine with the changes.

Hopefully next time you go to Jiko, you'll finally have a perfect entree. Even the prawns might be a viable choice, thanks to the 'headless' option!

And as you can see, I was highly assumed by those prawns. I was thinking of you when I took those close-ups.

Is it usual for the cheese plate at Jiko to have 2 US cheeses, 2 from France, 1 from Italy, and none at all from Africa? I would have assumed that at least some of that the served would have been South African. Or are there really no significant differences in taste/production?

While I've seen cheeses from a variety of countries on the cheese plate (including Australia), I've never seen any African-produced cheeses included. I know there's a growing (albeit small) cheese industry in South Africa - maybe in a few years Jiko's menu might incorporate one or two of them.

Loving your reviews, as always, DonaldDW! Though I could've done without the close-ups of the prawn heads.

Sorry about that - I definitely had a lot of fun with the "prawn head" concept.

That prawn dish looks delicious! I personally don't have a problem with the heads but I was wondering if they are hard to remove? To they slip off like the tails? is there meat in the head part? How big were the prawns? So many questions!

I was actually thinking of your reviews today while I was making some cranberry orange jam with pistachios as a garnish for our left-over goat cheese.

I think the heads were mainly there for presentation and had already been detached. They slipped right off and didn't seem to have any meat inside them, but there was plenty of prawn meat on the plate!

Mmm, cranberry orange jam with pistachios - that sounds delicious. I might even be willing to try it with the goat cheese.

I have to say that I forgot about your fatty short rib and I am really glad I did! DS got the short rib entree tonight and was kind enough to share a few bites with me and it wasn't the least bit fatty. Very lean, tender and delicious!

And the cheese plate was excellent as well!

Ok, don't mean to bogart DDW's review with a mini peak at ours but I had to jump in and say how much we enjoyed the short rib!

Yay that the short rib and cheese plate were well-received! I'm hoping the rest of the meal was also very good.

Yep, DD's short rib was perfect too and her favorite entree of the trip...both times (she also had it last year)! I guess it was just my rotten luck.

I'm glad to hear you had another great dinner, GoofySon'sMom! But the real question is, how was your lunch???

Aw, it's such a shame that your short rib dish happened to miss the mark. I suppose if you give up on the entrees there, you could always stick to appetizers. But hopefully you'll find an entree that works for you.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I couldn't wait to order dessert. For weeks, I'd known that the Chocolate and Tea Safari was calling my name, and it was still on the menu.

Before we could even order dessert though, Omar brought over this celebration dessert (which was for my mom's birthday earlier in August). This is the tanzanian chocolate cake with vanilla rooibos mousse on top - the sauce on the plate is flavored with earl grey. This cake is part of the Chocolate and Tea Safari.

To nobody's surprise, I really liked this. The chocolate cake had the richness of an excellent homemade brownie, and I really liked the floral notes added from the rooibos and earl grey. The crumble on top was crunchy and had a honeycomb-like flavor.

Even though I'd gotten a nice taste of it, I still decided to order the whole safari. The full dish also included a mint-green tea ice cream and free form "kit kat".

I loved this dish. The creamy vanilla rooibos mousse, decadent chocolate cake below, refreshingly minty ice cream, flowery earl grey sauce, and nutty kit kat (which reminded me of a softer brittle) were all in perfect harmony. This dessert was a delicious and exciting combination of flavors, including a variety of teas (rooibos, earl grey, and green mint).

Just like last time, my mom ordered the black forest cake. It was very good once again - easily my favorite no-sugar-added dessert at WDW.

As shocking as it sounds, we also ordered one more thing - we asked if we could try some of the strawberry-rhubarb compote that's normally served with the Madagascar vanilla cheesecake. Sweet and tart, juicy and crunchy (from the rhubarb), this was wonderful even on its own, and it was perfect for summer.

We finished our meal with some organic rooibos.

Here's the tea menu:

And before leaving, we received some dark-chocolate pistachio cookies. We were completely stuffed, but I still ate mine.

Once again, we had another incredible meal at Jiko. We always enjoy Jiko's take on African flavors that we're familiar with (such as peri peri and rooibos), and we're both very happy with what Chef Jon and his team have been recently coming up with. Speaking of which, my mom asked if she could thank him yet again for another wonderful meal - he came to the table and we had another great conversation with him. It was interesting hearing about some menu changes that might be in the works:

-An authentic South African dessert (milk tart) might be coming to the menu in place of the tipsy tart. I've had milk tart and I really like it, so I'd be happy to see something authentic come back (like the previous malva pudding). Possible ideas for accompaniments include balsamic, fig, and a goat cheese ice cream! Apparently, they served milk tart at a recent wine dinner, and it would be very cool if they added it to the main menu.

-The peri peri chicken entree will be leaving soon, so they can try out Guinea hen. However, the peri peri chicken might be recycled into a flatbread, and Chen Jon mentioned that he really wants to keep some of the accompaniments around (such as the mango sambal).

-The oxtail "Seswaa" flatbread will probably also be leaving. A possible new flatbread would be a Berbere-spiced duck confit crackling flatbread with peaches.

-With the seswaa flatbread leaving, the short rib entree might change in the winter to become seswaa-inspired. Celery root purée is a possible accompaniment.

It'll be interesting to see if any of these proposed dishes end up making it to the menu. To me, they all sound delicious, and even though it'll be sad to say goodbye to dishes we loved (such as the peri peri chicken, oxtail flatbread, and tipsy tart), I have faith that the new changes will also be amazing.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Just wanted to add some bonus pictures. To start, here's a look at Jiko's royal blue ceiling and bird-inspired lighting fixtures:

Our view when we got back to the room (we ended up having a partial savanna view). The photo quality is bad because of the zoom and low lighting, but you get the idea.

I love the zebra chairs on the balcony.

 

[jabead]

Hmm..as far as I'm concerned, I think we got to taste the best part of the Chocolate and Tea Safari dessert when DD was given the small piece of the cake (like your mom's) in honor of her graduation. However, I bet DD would have enjoyed that mint-green tea ice cream, especially if it tastes anything like Teppan Edo's green tea pudding...which she loves!

Can't wait to see where you ate next!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Both jiko desserts look good, but that blackforrest cake looks surprisingly decadent for a no sugar added option. Another great review.

 

[nanienamou]

Okay, I can't believe I'm getting sentimental over a dining review, but your desserts have me going back memory lane. That crumble on your cake seems like tire-éponge, a popular candy sold in blocks over here and that can be easily crumbled. The hot sugar actually needs baking soda so that a chemical reaction forms and it bubbles up. It's also quite popular covered in chocolate.
http://www.mondoux.qc.ca/fr/produits.php?cat=19

Ant that rhubarb-straberry compote is just like the one my grandfather used to make in summer. He had a garden and had some rhubarb growing in it and he would always have a big jar of compote in his fridge. We would eat it for breakfast, with toast.

 

[Tracerr00]

That is a very nice birthday dessert Both (or all three!) desserts look fabulous! I think I might deserve a bump in pay for telling my manager to eat here! Thanks for the bonus pictures too - I might have to put AKL on my list becuase I'd love to look out of my window and see animals (other than at my house where we see skunks and gophers)

 

[minniebeth]

Aha! Case of the Missing Sanaa Pistachios solved! Jiko bogarded them to make dark chocolate pistachio cookies just for you!

Your Jiko meals looks A-MAZING! I'm so glad you got to enjoy it so!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Hmm..as far as I'm concerned, I think we got to taste the best part of the Chocolate and Tea Safari dessert when DD was given the small piece of the cake (like your mom's) in honor of her graduation. However, I bet DD would have enjoyed that mint-green tea ice cream, especially if it tastes anything like Teppan Edo's green tea pudding...which she loves!

Can't wait to see where you ate next!

The cake was wonderful...but I'm a sucker for both mint and green tea, so that ice cream was also great to me!

Both jiko desserts look good, but that blackforrest cake looks surprisingly decadent for a no sugar added option. Another great review.

The black forest cake is a great dish - nothing about it tastes like a "no-sugar-added" dessert.

Okay, I can't believe I'm getting sentimental over a dining review, but your desserts have me going back memory lane. That crumble on your cake seems like tire-éponge, a popular candy sold in blocks over here and that can be easily crumbled. The hot sugar actually needs baking soda so that a chemical reaction forms and it bubbles up. It's also quite popular covered in chocolate.
http://www.mondoux.qc.ca/fr/produits.php?cat=19

Ant that rhubarb-straberry compote is just like the one my grandfather used to make in summer. He had a garden and had some rhubarb growing in it and he would always have a big jar of compote in his fridge. We would eat it for breakfast, with toast.

Very cool history behind that candy! I've never heard of tire-éponge before, but it looks very tasty and I can see why it's a beloved snack.

I also love strawberry and rhubarb together - what a great memory to have of fresh, homemade strawberry-rhubarb compote. Toast sounds like a perfect accompaniment.

That is a very nice birthday dessert Both (or all three!) desserts look fabulous! I think I might deserve a bump in pay for telling my manager to eat here! Thanks for the bonus pictures too - I might have to put AKL on my list becuase I'd love to look out of my window and see animals (other than at my house where we see skunks and gophers)

The desserts were all wonderful - hopefully your manager will feel the same way. And I definitely think AKL is worth a try sometime.

Aha! Case of the Missing Sanaa Pistachios solved! Jiko bogarded them to make dark chocolate pistachio cookies just for you!

Your Jiko meals looks A-MAZING! I'm so glad you got to enjoy it so!

There was also pistachio ice cream that accompanied the black forest cake, so Jiko definitely made up for the pistachio incident.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

The next day, I woke up bright and early so I could make it to Typhoon Lagoon for EMH. My first stop was the Mara for a quick breakfast.

The Mara has some very interesting options on the menu - I picked the African-inspired breakfast platter, which includes eggs, chakalaka, pap, roasted tomatoes, and Merguez sausage. I really liked this breakfast overall, and it was nice to see several things that reminded me of Boma's breakfast (pap, chakalaka, and the tomatoes). The one thing I didn't love was the Merguez sausage, since it tasted a bit gamey to me (I think lamb is an ingredient in it). The sausage was nicely spiced, so even though I didn't love it, it was an interesting change from typical pork sausage.

On the way to breakfast, I snapped this pic of Boma.

I love the details in AKL.

The bonus pictures for this update are all from the water parks! I haven't been to the water parks in over six years, so this was my first time going to TL and BB with a digital camera.

Typhoon Lagoon's awesome wave pool

Humunga Kowabunga

Miss Tilly

A tropical paradise

Looks like fun!

Mount Gushmore

A mini rainbow in Blizzard Beach

You can see Epcot!

And Hollywood Studios!

(MK and AK are also visible, but I only noticed them when I was in line for Summit Plummet - I didn't have my camera with me)

 

[Linda67]

If only I wasn't 1000s of miles away I would be running to Jiko for a bit of free form kit-kat

Beautiful photos from the waterparks by the way

 

[ILikeWaffles]

Those water park pictures are great! It looks like a lot of fun. Too bad I can't convince DH to go. Maybe next trip, though.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

If only I wasn't 1000s of miles away I would be running to Jiko for a bit of free form kit-kat

Beautiful photos from the waterparks by the way

The safari dessert would probably be worth the run.

And thanks so much - I'm glad you enjoyed the water park pics!

Those water park pictures are great! It looks like a lot of fun. Too bad I can't convince DH to go. Maybe next trip, though.

Definitely convince him to go eventually! The slides are so much fun, and even if you skip the thrill rides, the water parks are a perfect place for relaxation (from the wave pools to the lazy rivers).

 

[smile4stamps]

The water parks sound like so much fun!

There are a lot of stairs to get to the bigger slides though right? Hubby has bad knees...

 

[krhst25]

Which water park did you like better? We are going this year in Dec. so prob. No H2O park this year but would love to go to one in the summer.

 

[DsnyMama]

Things look great - Jiko looks amazing as usual.

 

[BlovesC]

I'm so fascinated by your water park pictures! We've NEVER set foot inside one of the water parks, even though DH's sister works at TL . I wear glasses, and while I'm fine leaving them on a chair while we swim in a resort pool, I absolutely couldn't make it around a water park without them, and I can't imagine leaving them on when I'm on a slide or in a wave pool. I've been thinking about getting prescription goggles because we do a LOT of swimming...might make me look a little odd, but maybe that would work for a water park visit! Your photos are really beautiful though and definitely make me want to visit!

And I love, love, love all the Mara reviews!

 

[happy2012]

Jiko looks AMAZING!! The prawns w/ the HEADS on don't even scare me away. The raisins in the rice do a little, but I'd still try it as is.
Once again the desserts look delsih!!