Slightly Delayed Dining Review - with Pictures - updated 3/2 Sunshine Season and Jiko

[Flossbolna]

Sorry that I abandond the thread so suddenly. I managed to get a nasty cold just before I was about to travel to WDW, had to miss a day at work and just managed to get healthy again to get on that plane and somehow finish everything that needed to be done at work. There was no energy left for writing reviews. While we had a great trip, I got sick again just after we came back - and even worse than before. But now I am starting to feel better, so I am back to finish this up and then will start the new review!

Wonderful reviews! Can't wait for more!

Magdalene,

Thanks for sharing your great reviews and pictures!

Wonderful reviews Magdalene! Thank you so much for sharing them!

Kim
momofdbsdca

Thanks for all the nice comments!

We are not buffet folk either, however, breakfast at BOMA was wonderful.

Somehow, I think breakfast is the meal that is best for buffets, we had another great buffet breakfast during our last trip! And I think Boma is just overall wonderful!

I am loving your reviews Magdalene! I need to go back and read through all of them, and am anxious for you to finish...

About Le Cellier--we felt similarly...I will be posting our review of it soon. It was good, but perhaps we had built it up in our minds too much.

Can't wait to read more!

I agree, expectations sometimes are a key to how much I like a meal - if they are exceeded, the meal is wonderful, if they are not met, the meal is not good. Unfortunately you can't really switch them off...

 

[Flossbolna]

This morning I got a muffin at the Mara, which was huge:

It was a good muffin, but not in anyway spectacular. But it was something different from my ususal breakfast!

Lunch does not deserve an extra post, I was at DHS and had the same salad again at Backlot Express.

 

[Flossbolna]

I have always been dreaming about staying at the Poly. Therefore this was the one ressort I really wanted to visit during my first stay at WDW in 2004. I settled on having my birthday dinner there at Ohana in 2004.

In 2007 I really wanted to try Kona Cafe after I had read so much about it here on the DIS. I was not disappointed, it was really very good! Therefore I wanted to return again in 2008. We really took some time to explore the Poly before our meal and somehow we had fallen in love with AKL so much, that we felt a bit let down by the atmosphere of the Poly. It no longer seemed so magical for us. Good for us: the magic returned when we were actually staying there at the end of January, even though we really missed AKL!

This was the evening we were going to attend the Pirate and Princess Party at the MK. We had an early ADR for 5:25 and I was hoping to be seated earlier, but even though we checked in 15 min early, we were seated just on our time. We managed to get to the MK just in time for the party at 7pm.

We were thinking about getting a drink and our server recommended a drink called “Sand in Your Pants”. I think there was alcohol involved... I remember that I really liked it, but am sorry that I can't give you more detail than that. But I have a picture:

I had the Tuna Oscar – served with fried green tomatoes, tempura-fried jumbo lump crab, and wasabi hollandaise.

I had it without the crab since I am allergic against shellfish. Mentioning my allergy once again brought out a chef to speak to me. The first time this happened Carola was very cross with me as she felt like we were drawing everyone's attention to us. But she now is used to it and appreciates that most of WDW's chefs are actually pretty good looking guys. And they are always great to talk to, too!

I had great expectations in this dish, but was a bit let down. The fried green tomatoes was something I never had tried in my life, and was excited to taste. But I did not really like them, they felt very undercooked to me. After I came back, I read a number of reviews stating that they are not like they are supposed to be, so I will definitely try to eat them again, but not at Kona. The Tuna was good, but not great. I would have preferred to have more asparagus and sauce. I also would have preferred for the wasabis hollandaise to have more bite. The wasabi was really just a hint, not hot at all!

Carola had the Macadamia Nut and Chive-crusted Mahi-mahi - served with watercress salad with warm shiitake-soy vinaigrette and sticky rice:

She loved it, it was one of her favourite dishes then and she requested to return to Kona because of the mahi-mahi. So Kona was another return trip in January. Since we were staying at the Poly, this was an easy decission!

 

[Joie29]

I had the Tuna Oscar – served with fried green tomatoes, tempura-fried jumbo lump crab, and wasabi hollandaise.

I had great expectations in this dish, but was a bit let down. The fried green tomatoes was something I never had tried in my life, and was excited to taste. But I did not really like them, they felt very undercooked to me. After I came back, I read a number of reviews stating that they are not like they are supposed to be, so I will definitely try to eat them again, but not at Kona. The Tuna was good, but not great. I would have preferred to have more asparagus and sauce. I also would have preferred for the wasabis hollandaise to have more bite. The wasabi was really just a hint, not hot at all!

Carola had the Macadamia Nut and Chive-crusted Mahi-mahi - served with watercress salad with warm shiitake-soy vinaigrette and sticky rice:

Okay, I was so excited to see this review because I just added Kona to my "must-try" list of dinners for our next trip!

It seems like everyone who writes about your tuna dish wants to like it, but ends up being disappointed. This dish sounds so great, but seems to fall short...they should perhaps rework the dish! And, yes, well made fried green tomatoes are wonderful, so do try them elsewhere (or make them at home?).

Carola's meal looks and sounds delicious!

Great review, I'm excited to read more...

 

[Flossbolna]

Okay, I was so excited to see this review because I just added Kona to my "must-try" list of dinners for our next trip!

It seems like everyone who writes about your tuna dish wants to like it, but ends up being disappointed. This dish sounds so great, but seems to fall short...they should perhaps rework the dish! And, yes, well made fried green tomatoes are wonderful, so do try them elsewhere (or make them at home?).

Carola's meal looks and sounds delicious!

Great review, I'm excited to read more...

The tuna dish really sounds wonderful and it is a shame that it does not really taste as good as it sounds. However, Kona is still a great restaurant and it definitely deserves a place on your must try list!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Ok, I really need to finish this, so I can start the 2009 dining review!

So here we go with our last full day at WDW (smiley because of last day, not because of bad food experience!)

Carola unfortunately had developed a nasty cold an chose to stay in bed for the morning. I got up early for rope drop at Epcot, but skipped breakfast. Instead I got a midmorning snack at the Sunshine Seasons. I really did not want any breakfast food, so I got this strange selection:

It is a tomato and mozarella salad, chips and a strawberry shortcake. It was all good, even though the salad was very cold! I understand that food must be chilled in order not to spoil, but I hate eating salads that are just a few degrees above freezing, they taste like nothing!


For Lunch I picked up a caesar salad (without chicken) at the Mara. I was asked whether I wanted it to be tossed. Yes, please! I love it when my salad is tossed and the dressing evenly distributed. It was good, just a basic caesar salad. It had quite a lot of dressing on it, but I like it that way!

 

[Flossbolna]

This was our last meal at WDW and we wanted to have a nice relaxing evening at our resort. We loved Jiko on our last trip to WDW, so we felt that this would be the right highlight for the end of our vacation. By the way, in my opinion, this is one of the things the Poly misses: a signature restaurant! Therefore we did not repeat this idea of ending our trip with a memorable dinner...

Jiko is a beautiful restaurant with lots of artwork. You can do a culinary tour at the AKL which explains the meaning of the décor at Jiko and you get to taste a few things at Jiko and Boma. You don't have to stay at AKL to take part and it is a really interesting experience. Here are a few pictures of Jiko:

I started the dinner with another apple martini , I had grown rather fond of this drink! I was served the drink together with the little shaker and there was even a rest in the shaker, which was poured by our server after I had about two thirds of my drink. So I really got some good value there!!

and from a different angle:

We decided to share a flatbread as appetizer since we really liked that at CG. We got the Chef's Speciality Flatbread which for this evening was pulled beef, harrisa spread, fresh spinach and soft goat cheese. It was very flavourful and we really enjoyed it.

The bread and butter they serve at Jiko both has lots of spices in it. There were two sorts of bread and one was even a bit sweet and tasted like German gingerbread to us. While it was interesting, it is not the bread and butter you can eat lots of. Which can be good in a way, too!

For my entree I had the same as last year, the Maize-crusted Sturgeon - with Vegetables of the Moment and Tomato-Butter Sauce: It was as wonderful as I remembered it. The sauce is fantastic and the vegetables are still very crisp without feeling undercooked. I think it is a lovely combination of the very light fish. I am normally not a fish person, but this is really wonderful!

Carola was still not feeling very good and really did not want to eat any meat, therefore she went with the vegetarian option: Grains, Peas, and Vegetables - Kamut, Pearl and Black Barley, Wheat Berries, Quinoa and Garbanzo Peas with Roasted Vegetables and Seared Tandoori Tofu:

It was a very big portion and she could not at all finish it. I tried it and it was not as bad as it sounded to me. But then I would never have ordered it. I am no fan of grains! So I was actually surprised how good it was. Carola liked it, sorry that I cannot tell you more about it! But I have seen, that it is no longer on the menu, so you would not need that much information anyway. But for any vegetarians out there: Allears now has a specific vegetarian menu posted for Jiko!

We decided to skip dessert, but got an after dinner drink instead. We both got a drink called “Chocolate-Covered Cherry”. The menu described it as follows: Dark Crème de Cacao, Skyy Vodka, Amarula and Cherry Brandy in a Chocolate-rimmed Martini Glass with a Chocolate-covered Cherry. Well, it was presented a bit differently, but it was as delicious as it sounds!!!

This was a fantastic meal and I am really sad that we did not make it to Jiko on our 2009 trip!

 

[Flossbolna]

This really ends my dining review. We still had something to eat on our departure day, but it was another kids breakfast and another caesar's salad, both not documented by picture, so they really don't deserve a review. Neither do the many more meals we had to eat in Orlando due to our plane having a technical problem which made it turn around just before the runway and ended with us having to deplane, being transported to a hotel (by Mears, who used a Magical Express bus for that which made us feel even more miserable). We finally managed to leave MCO by plane 20 hours after our scheduled departure time. I can tell you: this was no fun!!!

A new dining review will be up shortly, I am still trying to find a catchy title (any suggestions would be welcome!) and I would love to post a photopass picture in the introduction and those are still on their way to me...

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks for sharing your reviews with us! Looking forward to the next set.

 

[eventamy]

I had the Tuna Oscar – served with fried green tomatoes, tempura-fried jumbo lump crab, and wasabi hollandaise.

I had it without the crab since I am allergic against shellfish. Mentioning my allergy once again brought out a chef to speak to me. The first time this happened Carola was very cross with me as she felt like we were drawing everyone's attention to us. But she now is used to it and appreciates that most of WDW's chefs are actually pretty good looking guys. And they are always great to talk to, too!

I had great expectations in this dish, but was a bit let down. The fried green tomatoes was something I never had tried in my life, and was excited to taste. But I did not really like them, they felt very undercooked to me. After I came back, I read a number of reviews stating that they are not like they are supposed to be, so I will definitely try to eat them again, but not at Kona. The Tuna was good, but not great. I would have preferred to have more asparagus and sauce. I also would have preferred for the wasabis hollandaise to have more bite. The wasabi was really just a hint, not hot at all!

I had the tuna oscar last week (Wednesday) and really LOVED it! It was absolutely amazing. My DH agreed and wished he had ordered it instead of his strip steak. Maybe they've improved it since you were there!

 

[Flossbolna]

Thanks for sharing your reviews with us! Looking forward to the next set.

Good to know that people enjoy what I am writing! I will post a link here for the new review.

I had the tuna oscar last week (Wednesday) and really LOVED it! It was absolutely amazing. My DH agreed and wished he had ordered it instead of his strip steak. Maybe they've improved it since you were there!

That's great to hear that you had such a wonderful meal at Kona! Perhaps I will give it a second chance. I recently read that the Michelin guide tests every restaurant at least seven times before they decide to change the number of stars they give it. So I guess, I should give the dish at least a second chance, even though I can't see me trying it seven times if I don't like it by the third time!!

 

[TigerKat]

That's great to hear that you had such a wonderful meal at Kona! Perhaps I will give it a second chance. I recently read that the Michelin guide tests every restaurant at least seven times before they decide to change the number of stars they give it. So I guess, I should give the dish at least a second chance, even though I can't see me trying it seven times if I don't like it by the third time!!

DH & I had the Tuna Oscar two years ago and it was our worst meal of the trip. That was the second year in a row that KONA disappointed us. There's TOO many other restaurants for us to try before we'd go back there.

 

[Donald is #1]

Thanks for the reviews! They were great.

 

[BreTyPres87]

Great reviews! I only have a few of the ts meals for my ADR -ive run out of days before I even get there! but I love reading them all and you took some great pictures

 

[skellingtonfreak]

Thank you so much for the reviews. I truly enjoyed reading all of them, and I have gotten some great ideas about what to try at the restaurants you went to.

thanks!

 

[Uncle Remus]

Oh yes, this was a wonderful review, lots of good tips like splittin' appetizers and such.
The pictures are delicious, lookin' forward to part 2.

 

[TruBlu]

YUMMY! I was planning to order this when we go. I'm so glad to see it looks SO GOOD!!!!!

 

[Disneymom3304]

I just happened upon your story today and loved it! Thank you so much for all the time you put into the details of your reviews. I have been a handful of times now and never thought of splitting the apps. or meals, what a great idea! Can't wait to read the reviews from your latest trip. Thanks again!!!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Thanks for your reviews and pics. I really enjoyed reading them, and that chocolate covered cherry drink looks delicious!

 

[kid-at-heart]

... I don't like Zebra Domes I guess this is the reason why I am not an official member of the Wilbunch Gang

Enjoying your review. I just jumped in today.

Mara is by far one of my favorite places, but I do not like the Zebra Domes either.