Violet & Chernabog Do Disney Dining: Veggies and seafood abound!

[flamingglobessigmund]

When I was planning to move to NM from the east coast, my best friend asked me if we would need passports. Seriously! She's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but still, I was shocked she asked.

I found a NM passport at Borders here, and sent it to her as a joke. She asked her husband if she really needed a passport to visit me.

My son didn't start eating a vegan diet until he moved to live with his dad in another state. Before that, he'd been a vegetarian from the time he was 8 years old.

Wow, WDW 2x in one year! That's sounds great!

We were planning to stay at the Contemporary, and then everyone got a look online at AKL and that's where they want to stay.

I'll be looking forward to your trip report from AKL and how the buses went. I don't think it could as bad as some nights going back to POFQ. At least I hope not.

 

[TillyMarigold]

When I was planning to move to NM from the east coast, my best friend asked me if we would need passports. Seriously! She's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but still, I was shocked she asked.

I found a NM passport at Borders here, and sent it to her as a joke. She asked her husband if she really needed a passport to visit me.

My son didn't start eating a vegan diet until he moved to live with his dad in another state. Before that, he'd been a vegetarian from the time he was 8 years old.

Wow, WDW 2x in one year! That's sounds great!

We were planning to stay at the Contemporary, and then everyone got a look online at AKL and that's where they want to stay.

I'll be looking forward to your trip report from AKL and how the buses went. I don't think it could as bad as some nights going back to POFQ. At least I hope not.

The Contemporary was actually our top choice for the monorail, but it was booked solid the week we wanted to be there (I'm presenting at this conference, which is Friday night through Sunday at noon, so I wanted to take my vacation afterwards and not spend the week worrying about it). I mean as in the first time I looked only Concierge Level, Magic Kingdom View was available, but by the time the AP rate came out, even that was gone (not that CL,MKV would have really been an option!).

We had good luck with the buses at POFQ except for the last 24 hours of our trip. We waited 30 minutes to get back from the MK on our last night, then 45 the next morning to go to AK, then 30 to get back from AK. Until then we'd only had one wait longer than 10 minutes (I think that was at the Studios, after Fantasmic).

We will have a rental car while I'm at the conference (DH will go to the parks without me, and we might drive over for dinner) but we're trying to figure out how to get it back to the airport and then rely on Disney transportation. I don't like to drive on vacation.

I think DH thought I was just a little bit nuts to be so excited about Disney (he didn't grow up on it like I did), but now that we've been, he's even talking about maybe in a few years buying DVC. We're crazy, high-stress, go-go-go, all-work-all-the-time people in real life, so to go someplace that your room, food, transportation, and entertainment are all taken care of for you is outstanding. (By the way, once I get to WDW, I'm the least obsessive vacationer you'll ever meet. No one who knows me in real life would ever believe that.)

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

The Contemporary was actually our top choice for the monorail, but it was booked solid the week we wanted to be there (I'm presenting at this conference, which is Friday night through Sunday at noon, so I wanted to take my vacation afterwards and not spend the week worrying about it). I mean as in the first time I looked only Concierge Level, Magic Kingdom View was available, but by the time the AP rate came out, even that was gone.

We had good luck with the buses at POFQ except for the last 24 hours of our trip. We waited 30 minutes to get back from the MK on our last night, then 45 the next morning to go to AK, then 30 to get back from AK. Until then we'd only had one wait longer than 10 minutes (I think that was at the Studios, after Fantasmic).

We will have a rental car while I'm at the conference (DH will go to the parks without me, and we might drive over for dinner) but we're trying to figure out how to get it back to the airport and then rely on Disney transportation. I don't like to drive on vacation.

I think DH thought I was just a little bit nuts to be so excited about Disney (he didn't grow up on it like I did), but now that we've been, he's even talking about maybe in a few years buying DVC. We're crazy, high-stress, go-go-go, all-work-all-the-time people in real life, so to go someplace that your room, food, transportation, and entertainment are all taken care of for you is outstanding. (By the way, once I get to WDW, I'm the least obsessive vacationer you'll ever meet. No one who knows me in real life would ever believe that.)

That is a toughy for me too. Isn't it something like a $60 cab fare from MCO to Disney? Maybe there is another drop off site, closer to DTD?

Going to WDW and staying on the property, with everything paid for, and not having to drive, is really one of the best vacations I've ever had. I don't want to stay off-site, ever again.

 

[TillyMarigold]

That is a toughy for me too. Isn't it something like a $60 cab fare from MCO to Disney? Maybe there is another drop off site, closer to DTD?

Going to WDW and staying on the property, with everything paid for, and not having to drive, is really one of the best vacations I've ever had. I don't want to stay off-site, ever again.

We have two tentative plans: one is to try to use ME (drop the car at the airport, then take ME to the hotel), the other is to work out a deal with my co-presenter where we share the rental car, my DH checks us in, co-presenter drops us at somewhere convenient (Epcot or DTD), then returns the car on his way to the airport. We're leaning towards the latter, because it's the last day of the Flower & Garden Festival and so we don't want to waste park time.

The conference is off-property, but not far off--just up I-4 a few miles.

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

We have two tentative plans: one is to try to use ME (drop the car at the airport, then take ME to the hotel), the other is to work out a deal with my co-presenter where we share the rental car, my DH checks us in, co-presenter drops us at somewhere convenient (Epcot or DTD), then returns the car on his way to the airport. We're leaning towards the latter, because it's the last day of the Flower & Garden Festival and so we don't want to waste park time.

The conference is off-property, but not far off--just up I-4 a few miles.

I think I read on the Transportation Forum that DME won't let people ride the bus unless they are flying in or flying out. I'm not sure about that though. But you've got another option with the co-presenter so it should work out great.

We were there during the Flower & Garden Festival last year. It was really nice...when it wasn't pouring down rain.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Your reviews are great, thank you. Looking forward to more!

 

[TillyMarigold]

I think I read on the Transportation Forum that DME won't let people ride the bus unless they are flying in or flying out. I'm not sure about that though. But you've got another option with the co-presenter so it should work out great.

I asked on the Transportation Board and was told to just pick a flight that was arriving at about the same time we thought we'd be at the airport. {shrug} The problem is my co-presenter is not always the most reliable to make plans with.

Your reviews are great, thank you. Looking forward to more!

Welcome!

 

[TillyMarigold]

Chernabog was very nice about humoring my desire for another character meal (actually Cape May had originally been going to be our only character meal, Akershus was added late). So on our last morning, we slept fairly late and then took the bus to the Studios. We had been going to walk to the Beach Club, but the boat was there, so we took it instead.

We had a 9:30 reservation, got there about 9:15, and had to wait awhile to check in. As at Akershus, it was driving me a little crazy that there wasn't a separate line to check in, distinct from the line to inquire about walk-ups (Sci-Fi had had two lines). There were a lot of walk-ups and they were all being accommodated, but it seemed like what they were doing was creating a whole new reservation for them on the spot, which is why it took so long. Anyway we got a buzzer and wandered around the Beach Club (which is gorgeous) for awhile. We were seated at about 9:40 under this mural:

It was right next to the buffet. Well, actually, the buffet is a big square and there were half walls all the way around it. There were half-booths on the other side of the half wall (you know, bench against the wall, then chairs out in the aisle), then some regular tables, then real booths against the wall under the paintings. We were in a real booth, with the wall to one side and the aisle to the other.

By this time, it was our 9th day of vacation and we were getting a little vacationed out. I had sort of expected that, which is why our reservation was so late--we planned to have brunch, maybe a snack in the afternoon, then dinner at Kouzzina. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I should mention that our server was the least cheery we encountered. Just plain grumpy. Perfectly adequate service, but I kind of cringed every time she came by our table, which fortunately was no more than was strictly necessary. Anyway so we ordered OJ and coffee and she told us that the back of the buffet (the side closest to us) had pastries and cereal, the front had fresh fruit and yogurt, and both sides had the same hot items (which turned out to be only mostly true). She said the characters would start coming around by our table in about 15-20 minutes.

All that probably explains why we didn't take any pictures of breakfast. (In fact, the rest of this review will be woefully short on pictures.) Which is really a shame, because it was outstanding.

I know I had some pineapple, grapes, and strawberries, a small pastry (chocolate Napoleon, I think), some of the cheese omelet, marinated asparagus, and I think some potatoes? All of it was very good and extremely fresh, and how does Disney manage to get their pineapple to never be bitter? The fruit was all ripe and not too sweet, the omelet was fully cooked and not too cheesy, the asparagus was perfectly done with no tough parts, the pastry was fluffy and not icky-sweet, and what can I say about potatoes but that I love them? I have a vague memory that I also got a small bowl of yogurt, into which I put some fruit and a spoonful of chocolate chips. Clearly it was unimpressive in either direction.

Chernabog for his first plate had the omelet, a Mickey waffle, and I think a sausage link. (He said that his experience with Disney food so far had convinced him it was certainly going to be a really good sausage, not to be missed. and he wasn't disappointed.) He had said he wasn't very hungry, yet his plate looked too rich for me. He loved it all, though. I guess the overall description of the food there is: fairly standard food with a few somewhat innovative ideas, but all of it top quality.

Anyway, then the characters came by. I liked that unlike at Akershus, the three characters circulated about five minutes apart. So we had plenty of time to get food before they came by, then we ate, and they came by (Goofy, then Donald, then Minnie), then we could get more food. I noticed that they fill the sections up in order in the same order the characters circulate, so I would guess the timing would always be similar (enough time to get your first plate before the characters get there).

Honestly the character interaction wasn't that great, none of the characters interacted with us at all and in fact didn't even seem to want to take photos with us, they just waved and started to walk on and we had to call them back. And I mean, I don't need a lot of character interaction, but by golly, at least make an effort! Minnie was the only one who even tried, and not very hard. However, I will say that they were universally excellent with the kids dining around us and spent a lot of time with them.

After they left, we flagged down our waitress and asked for more coffee, then went back to the buffet. Now, remember I said it was only mostly true that the hot selections were the same on both sides? This is because the pans of food are actually quite small, so they run out frequently. They are replenished frequently as well, but at any given time there were 1-2 empty pans on each side. Given that using larger pans would mean the food would sit longer and maybe the quality wouldn't be as good, I think the smaller pans are better, but it's worth it to check out both sides of the buffet.

For my second plate I had more fruit and a tiny bit of the bread pudding with vanilla sauce, which was heavenly and only available on the side of the buffet I hadn't visited before. Chernabog went up and had some of that, plus the asparagus and more omelet (or maybe he'd had a different kind of eggs earlier, I know he had omelet the second time).

Overall, the food was excellent, the restaurant was beautiful, some of the ideas they had were great; but the service was meh. Like I said, our waitress brought us what we needed and on time, but she seemed grouchy about doing it, and the characters seemed really uninterested in interacting with us. We are happy we did it, we would definitely recommend it to anyone, and we wouldn't rule out doing it again someday if we really want to see the characters again (or are with someone who wants to go). But like Sci-Fi, it's an experience we glad we had once, but that we probably wouldn't repeat.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

thanks for the update on Cape May. We have enjoyed the Cape May breakfast b/c of the character interaction. We went for my son 3rd birthday and Minnie came over when they did the birthday song and gave him a cupcake. It was great b/c I got a group character photo op (when I asked for it...I was explained the characters are not suppose to pose as a group but since it was my son birthday...it was granted since he is the one who asked)....Dale played hide and seek (I love it when they had Dale and Chip at this place b/c Chip is one of my son favorite character). Im enjoying reading your food report and can't wait for more.

 

[flamingglobessigmund]

I asked on the Transportation Board and was told to just pick a flight that was arriving at about the same time we thought we'd be at the airport. The problem is my co-presenter is not always the most reliable to make plans with.

That's good to know about DME. Thanks!

 

[TillyMarigold]

I seem to have forgotten a boatload of snacks along the way. Here's what I can remember from Thursday, September 10 through Sunday, September 13:

• Bottle of wine purchased from the POFQ gift shop after Fantasmic! because we got home fairly early (Thursday night). It was white, it was chilled, it was something we often drink at home (Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling? Brancott sauvignon blanc? I forget). Here it's $9 at Costco or $11 elsewhere, but when we lived in NJ it was $13 (I do remember it was a West Coast wine), so we didn't feel like $15.50 at the gift shop was outrageous.
• Soft-serve swirl ice cream cone in a waffle cone from Camp Minnie-Mickey at AK (Friday) ... didn't quite hit the soft-serve craving that Mrs. Potts had inspired in me earlier in the week. I mean it was fine, and nice on a hot day, but not as good as Mrs. P's! After this I gave us.
• A root beer float (me) and Coke float (Chernabog--silly Brits!) at Auntie Gravity's in MK after riding TTA (twice), which reopened that day (Saturday). These were awesome and big enough to feel like we weren't being cheated out of a snack credit, but not big enough to send us into sugar shock.
• Strawberry oolong bao bing at the China slush cart in Epcot (Sunday morning--Chernabog had been determined to have one since he'd tried my alcoholic one during IllumiNations)--this was enormous and delicious and tasted like a giant frozen strawberry and between us we only managed to drink 2/3 of it
• Beignets at POFQ (Sunday afternoon) ... What can I say? They're fried dough with powdered sugar. You can get fried dough with powdered sugar in lots of places (both at WDW and elsewhere) and all of them are delicious. We actually spent Sunday afternoon packing and these were just a quick snack to tide us over, because after breakfast at Cape May we weren't hungry for lunch, but we had a fairly early dinner reservation (coming up next)

 

[TillyMarigold]

So what you have to know about us is that we are huge Food Network geeks, and Iron Chef America is one of our favorites, and Cat Cora is our favorite Iron Chef. So of course we had to eat at Kouzzina, which at the time, had had its soft opening but the grand opening wasn't until a week later.

I had accomplished this by making a reservation at Spoodles, and then on July 27 (as I had hoped) I got an email saying my reservation at Spoodles on September 13 had been changed to Kouzzina on September 14! Before I could have a heart attack, I got another email correcting that to say that it was September 13 after all (I was leaving on September 14!).

We took the bus from POFQ back to the Studios, then walked over to the Boardwalk, which was just lovely. We walked by the clown pool and then out onto the Boardwalk and to Kouzzina.

Where they didn't have our reservation. I was really worried, and I had brought along the email just in case, but fortunately the restaurant was almost empty so they just seated us anyway.

Our server turned out to be Sandy, and you can tell by her photos here that she was awesome (she's the woman with the short gray hair and glasses in the first two dancing pictures): http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2009/09/kouzzina_by_cat_cora_disneys_b.html

Anyway so I ordered a pomegranate lemonade (doesn't that sound stellar? it was even better than it sounds ... the one on the menu now is by Minute Maid but I'm pretty sure mine was fresh) and Chernabog ordered water. Sandy brought us bread. I don't remember anything about it but I'm sure there was olive oil for dipping, because hey, it's a Greek restaurant. She asked us what we'd been doing that day and was very sorry it was our last day.

We ordered (OOP) the saganaki (Seared Haloumi Cheese with Lemon and Oregano) and two glasses of the Coranation Sauvignon Blanc, which was excellent. As other people have reported, the saganaki gets flamed in the open kitchen, not tableside. I'd never had it before, so now seemed like a good time to try.

I have to say, I'm pretty sure this was good saganaki, but I learned that I actually don't particularly like it. I mean it was fine, especially with the lemon squeezed over it and some capers, but I don't think I'd order it again. And it only came with 3 toast points. We used the rest of the bread basket to eat it, and still had cheese left over.

For dinner, I had the Fisherman's Stew (Scallops, seasonal Fish, Shellfish, Fennel, Grilled Bread, and Ouzo Butter) (you can see the rest of the saganaki in the background):

This was actually really, really good; but unfortunately the scallops were the real draw for me, and I only got one scallop and I think two shrimp. Most of the stew was mussels and fish, all of which were perfectly cooked and very good, but I'm a die-hard scallop eater so I'd been hoping for more. The tomato sauce was just the right amount of spicy. I used one of the toast points for more of the saganaki and one to dip in the sauce.

Chernabog could no longer cling to his vegetarian ways any longer, and ordered the lamb shank:

I actually couldn't really blame him, after Sandy's mouth-watering description of how they slow-roasted it all day in a wood oven. He said it was the best thing he'd eaten on the whole vacation. I had one of the gigantes beans it came with, and those were awesome.

By the way, Sandy managed to not do the one thing waiters always do that annoys the heck out of me: she waited until we weren't in the middle of a mouthful to ask how we were doing.

I actually was in the bathroom when she took our dessert orders, so you'll have to take Chernabog's word that the following conversation actually ensued:

Chernabog: I'll have the baklava and a pomegranate lemonade [see, I told you they were good!] and she'll have the galaktoboureko.
Sandy: Great choice!
Chernabog: Is there anything that isn't a great choice?
Sandy: No, actually. It's a real dilemma for the servers. We used to try to steer people to the good things on the menu when it was Spoodles, but now that it's changed, they're all good.

(By the way, I had heard her greeting several different tables, and she did seem to recommend different things to each of them! )

Anyway, on to dessert. Chernabog is a sucker for baklava:

He pronounced this extremely good baklava, but not the best he's ever eaten. Personally I was more into the pistachio gelato, which I stole most of.

I actually ordered the galaktoboureko because it's my favorite dessert at our local Greek taverna.

This tasted very different to what I was used to (I think the one at my local place uses more pastry and less filling, and also puts lemon in the custard), but was still very good. I wasn't a fan of the crystallized ginger, though. The praline gelato was very good but extremely rich (probably to balance the dessert, which actually wasn't very sweet) and I think I gave most of it to Chernabog.

Overall, this was our second-best meal in terms of the food (after Jiko) and second-best also in terms of service (after Narcoossee's), and Sandy became the fourth (and final) server of the trip to earn a 20% tip. Kouzzina is also only one of two restaurants that we decided we must eat at again someday ... but did not cross the threshold to "must eat there again on the very next trip."

 

[TillyMarigold]

We'll be back in Orlando from May 14-22. I have a conference from the 14th-16th (including my first ever presentation at a national conference on the 15th), and we're staying at CBR room-only for those days (the conference is right next to Sea World, but who wouldn't want to stay at Disney? plus the AP rate at CBR was less than the conference rate at the hotel hosting the conference). Then on the 16th we check into Animal Kingdom Lodge (with DDP)--thank you, 45%-off AP rate!

As of right now, we have the following reservations:
Su 5/16: Boma dinner
M 5/17: Marrakesh dinner (Chernabog's request--I hate couscous)
Tu 5/18: Boma breakfast; Flying Fish dinner
W 5/19: --
Th 5/20: Sanaa lunch
F 5/21: Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast; Jiko dinner

Yes, that is 2 more credits than we have. We're hoping to change the Flying Fish dinner to the new Dinner with an Imagineer there (which we'd have to pay OOP), but dates have only been released through the end of April (although it's looking like those dinners are only on Thursdays, so we'd need to do some rearranging). So keep your fingers crossed for me.

 

[dgthree]

We will have a rental car while I'm at the conference (DH will go to the parks without me, and we might drive over for dinner) but we're trying to figure out how to get it back to the airport and then rely on Disney transportation. I don't like to drive on vacation.

If you rent your car from Alamo at MCO, you can drop it off at the Swan or the Dolphin (I always get confused as to which one, but it's one of the two). My friend taught me that trick on my first (and her _??_th) trip to the World, and we did it again last fall. I think I read something about another rental company having an outpost at the AAA Car Care Center, but I'm not 100% sure.

BTW, I loved your dining report, although it's made me a bit hungry. =)

Cheers!

 

[TillyMarigold]

If you rent your car from Alamo at MCO, you can drop it off at the Swan or the Dolphin (I always get confused as to which one, but it's one of the two). My friend taught me that trick on my first (and her _??_th) trip to the World, and we did it again last fall. I think I read something about another rental company having an outpost at the AAA Car Care Center, but I'm not 100% sure.

BTW, I loved your dining report, although it's made me a bit hungry. =)

Cheers!

I know you can, but it's about twice as expensive to do so. ($70/day rather than $35, for a compact.) Our current plan, since we're now staying on property at the start, is to use ME to the resort and pick up/drop off the car at DTD (the Dolphin's car rental closes early on Fridays). But we may still change. Easiest would be to pick up at MCO on Friday and drop off at the Dolphin on Sunday.

Thanks! All we have left is departure day, now, but it's almost time to start another one.

 

[vinotinto]

Overall, this was our second-best meal in terms of the food (after Jiko) and second-best also in terms of service (after Narcoossee's), and Sandy became the fourth (and final) server of the trip to earn a 20% tip. Kouzzina is also only one of two restaurants that we decided we must eat at again someday ... but did not cross the threshold to "must eat there again on the very next trip." [/COLOR][/FONT]

My DH got the lamb shank and it was phenomenal Kouzzina was our fave restaurant during our last trip (our first trip to Disney)! I've been thinking hard how can I squeeze Kouzzina into our next trip. I so wish they were open for lunch! The only option is going at opening on the Epcot day that we're heading home to Poly to watch Wishes or cancel Chefs on our arrival day and drag the kids out of Epcot (that may be very hard!).

I really enjoyed your reviews.

P.S. - really intrigued by your Sanaa lunch coming up in May!

 

[Leota]

I loved your reviews. I was particularly interested because your philosophy toward meat mirrors mine. We try to eat as ethically as possible. It started out with local & seasonal, moved to organic, local, seasonal & mostly pasture raised meats. Just recently we have made the leap & commited to no CAFO meats at all. This will be our first trip to WDW since making that commitment.
Home is not a problem because we have some excellent Farms here that pasture raise beef, pork, chicken, turkey & lamb. Eating out is the challenge. I just eat veg or pesce out. Since we go for the F&W Fest, I am sure I will have to make some allowances to take advantage of the Festival.

Thanks so much for your reviews & pix! I had looked over the menus & felt very confident that I would have no problem eating delicious meals within my comfort zone, but seeing & reading your reviews confirmed that for me.

 

[TillyMarigold]

I loved your reviews. I was particularly interested because your philosophy toward meat mirrors mine. We try to eat as ethically as possible. It started out with local & seasonal, moved to organic, local, seasonal & mostly pasture raised meats. Just recently we have made the leap & commited to no CAFO meats at all. This will be our first trip to WDW since making that commitment.
Home is not a problem because we have some excellent Farms here that pasture raise beef, pork, chicken, turkey & lamb. Eating out is the challenge. I just eat veg or pesce out. Since we go for the F&W Fest, I am sure I will have to make some allowances to take advantage of the Festival.

Thanks so much for your reviews & pix! I had looked over the menus & felt very confident that I would have no problem eating delicious meals within my comfort zone, but seeing & reading your reviews confirmed that for me.

When we eat meat at home, we always buy it at Whole Foods, because they publish their strict standards for their meat on their website (since we live in the middle of the dessert, there really aren't any local suppliers). But we probably do so about once every 2-3 months--mostly we're vegetarian at home, with some seafood.

When we eat meat when we're out (which is pretty rare), it's usually lamb or goat (our local Indian restaurant usually has it on the buffet), because those are uncommon/unpopular enough that they're pretty much never factory farmed. However, many Disney restaurants do use ethically raised meats, such as the Niman Ranch beef and pork at WP and Tanglewood Farms chicken at most of the signature restaurants. Since they publish the supplier on the menu, we were able to look at their websites and decide if we were comfortable with them.

I'm fortunate that seafood (especially scallops and tuna!) is really what I crave. I hate turkey and pork; and like beef, ham, and chicken only occasionally. So the vegetarian and seafood entrees are what I gravitate towards anyway, ethical concerns aside. I honestly prefer veggie burgers to real burgers, for example. Chernabog, as you can tell, is into fancy vegetarian food more than I am, but also happier to say to heck with it and eat meat.

 

[Flossbolna]

Thanks for the Kouzzina review! There have been so many mixed reviews about it... Still, it looks like just a "modern" greek restaurant like there are so many popping up here in Germany that it still isn't very high on my list. And your galaktoboureko looks just like what I would get here in Germany, and I never had a lemon involved in it at all...

Your new trip sounds very exciting (including the fact that you get to speak at a neational conference! ). So they now have dine with an imagineer at Flying Fish? That sounds exciting!! I need to check out the restaurant board more often again...

 

[Leota]

We're definately Omnivores, esp. my DH and 21 yo DS. I could eat alot less meat and be perfectly happy, but they are not even close to Veg. Eating out is a real challenge for DH, he isn't as committed as I am tho, so he is pretty flexible.

I saw that WPE had Niman bacon, I didn't realize their other pork and beef was also Niman. I was plannng to go there for that breakfast pizza you had. It looks yummy.

Congrats on your presentation. That's exciting.