We're bringing DoleWhip back...again! COMPLETE: Sanaa and Yachtsman!

[Linda67]

We are looking forward to our lunch at HBD and I will most certainly be trying the Grapefruit cake

 

[Disneyfreak616]

I never knew you could order that cake there!!! DEFINITELY gonna get it next time, because we didn't eat at Brown Derby on this past trip and I was going through withdrawl let me tell ya! My mom and I are going to try to make it ourselves this weekend I believe. I hope it turns out!

 

[cbg1027]

I looove that Grapefruit Cake! Last time I tried to get it from Starring Rolls they told me no Guess you should always keep asking!

 

[peter.scott279]

Oh, I got water in my mouth watching all the delicious dishes lined up on the picture. I want to go back to Disney again and have some amazing dishes like these that you have shown. You just made my day.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Yum! I'm looking forward to trying grapefruit cake next week at our first visit to HBD. Love your pictures of it! I'm not particularly a grapefruit fan but for some reason I'm really excited to try this!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

As I (attempt to) study for midterms, here's another brief installment.

I mentioned this a while ago, but this trip was full of "firsts" for me. First meal at a Swan/Dolphin restaurant (Bluezoo), first meal at Bistro de Paris, first lunch at Captain's Grille, first meal at Tokyo Dining, and first non-breakfast meal at Kona Cafe. I was excited about trying their dinner menu. My mom wasn't feeling well on this night, so I went to Kona alone.

Because of the tropical decor, I felt like ordering a smoothie; this was a virgin piña colada/strawberry daiquiri mix. Very refreshing.

The bread at Kona has a sweet tropical flavor - can't remember if it's pineapple, coconut, or both. The savory macadamia nut butter was perfect with it.

When you have dinner at Kona, you can order from the Kona Sushi Bar. For those of you on deluxe dining, it can actually count as an appetizer. I tried the volcano roll: spicy tuna, seafood lau 'ai, and tempura crunch. This was a really tasty roll. It had a bit of spice, but the creamy seafood topping helped to balance it out. The crunch on the plate provided a light, savory touch.

For a main course, I tried the tuna oscar with fried green tomatoes, tempura-fried jumbo lump crab, asparagus, and wasabi hollandaise (I got it on the side). I enjoyed this dish. The tuna was spiced well but not overly salty, which was good because the fried components on the plate added a saltiness. The wasabi hollandaise was creamy and surprisingly tasty - it had a stronger wasabi flavor than I was expecting (I like the taste of wasabi), but it wasn't too spicy - I had to really control myself in not using all of the sauce. The fried green tomatoes didn't really taste like tomatoes to me, so I scraped off some of the breading and then the flavor stood out more.

Finally, for dessert I tried the chocolate fondue with tropical fruits and house-made cookies and macaroons. It was chocolatey, fruity, and it fit the theme (thanks to the coconut macaroons, kiwi, and pineapple). A very nice dessert after an entree with fried components.

While Bluezoo and Bistro slightly disappointed me, all the 1-credit restaurants I tried exceeded my expectations, including Kona. This trip taught us that we don't have to eat every meal at a fancy restaurant to enjoy ourselves. There's still hope for many of the 1-credit restaurants, especially the ones that maintain unique offerings on their menu (such as the lobster roll at Captain's Grille and the unique tropical-inspired dishes at Kona).

 

[Colleen27]

That is the exact meal I've ordered on my last two visits to Kona and it hasn't disappointed. In fact, your pictures have me looking at my itinerary to see if I can't manage to squeeze it in somewhere.

 

[janabananas]

Glad you enjoyed Kona for a non-breakfast adr. We really loved Kona Cafe for our dinner. Dbf had the Tuna Oscar and really enjoyed it ALOT! He still talks about it. He had a special sweet potato lemongrass soup that was not on the menu and raves about it also.

I enjoyed Kona so much I ate BF there yesterday, solo before I went to the 40th anniversary at MK. I had the macadamia nut pancakes, but put the sauce on the side. They were really good and I really enjoyed eating at Kona again. It is on my list of "must-go's" now.

I have read your reports on HBD, and I have to tell you I was not impressed with HBD. I ate there yesterday for lunch, had the Cobb salad and grapefruit cake. For the amount of money that could be spent there, I would rather go elsewhere. I just did not find the value in the experience, as well as being held "restaurant hostage". I just wanted to pay my bill and get out. I would rather have my bill brought out while I am eating.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

That is the exact meal I've ordered on my last two visits to Kona and it hasn't disappointed. In fact, your pictures have me looking at my itinerary to see if I can't manage to squeeze it in somewhere.

I'd be happy to order those dishes again (although now I'm interested in going for lunch to try their new ahi tuna sandwich).

Glad you enjoyed Kona for a non-breakfast adr. We really loved Kona Cafe for our dinner. Dbf had the Tuna Oscar and really enjoyed it ALOT! He still talks about it. He had a special sweet potato lemongrass soup that was not on the menu and raves about it also.

I enjoyed Kona so much I ate BF there yesterday, solo before I went to the 40th anniversary at MK. I had the macadamia nut pancakes, but put the sauce on the side. They were really good and I really enjoyed eating at Kona again. It is on my list of "must-go's" now.

I have read your reports on HBD, and I have to tell you I was not impressed with HBD. I ate there yesterday for lunch, had the Cobb salad and grapefruit cake. For the amount of money that could be spent there, I would rather go elsewhere. I just did not find the value in the experience, as well as being held "restaurant hostage". I just wanted to pay my bill and get out. I would rather have my bill brought out while I am eating.

Honestly, looking back, I can understand what you mean about Brown Derby. Compared to the other signatures, it's a good value (especially with the cobb salad as your entree), but for the same price you could have a lobster roll and dessert at Captain's Grille. I still like Brown Derby, since the cobb salad is a filling and relatively healthy option for lunch (I always get it without cheese and with dressing on the side) and I love the grapefruit cake, but there are certainly other options out there. Next time I'm in Hollywood Studios, I kind of want to try Sci-Fi's new picnic burger (to make it slightly less heart attack-inducing, I would order it with cucumber salad instead of fries ).

By the way, the sweet potato lemongrass soup is now on the official menu, so I'm happy to hear it was good.

 

[janabananas]

Honestly, looking back, I can understand what you mean about Brown Derby. Compared to the other signatures, it's a good value (especially with the cobb salad as your entree), but for the same price you could have a lobster roll and dessert at Captain's Grille. I still like Brown Derby, since the cobb salad is a filling and relatively healthy option for lunch (I always get it without cheese and with dressing on the side) and I love the grapefruit cake, but there are certainly other options out there. Next time I'm in Hollywood Studios, I kind of want to try Sci-Fi's new picnic burger (to make it slightly less heart attack-inducing, I would order it with cucumber salad instead of fries ).

By the way, the sweet potato lemongrass soup is now on the official menu, so I'm happy to hear it was good.

I take it as a learning experience. The food itself wasn't outragously priced, but the experience as a whole left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. I would rather try another restaurant at the same price point, then go there again. Thanks for the pointer on Captain's Grille and Sci-Fi. I enjoyed Sci-Fi when I went my last trip.

I have TIW and pay OOP for everything. If I was on the DDP and used 2 TS credits for that meal/service/experience, I would be extremely unhappy!! But if I was on the DDP, I probably would have splurged and got something different. Without going into details, I didn't feel welcome in their resturant, in fact, I felt like I was being a bother. I know I was dining solo, but I don't think people should be penalized for that. At Kona, I never felt that. Oh well, what can I do, but not go back. I can say though, that if dbf had been with me and we would have had that experience, he would have raised Cain. I am more easy going then he is.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I take it as a learning experience. The food itself wasn't outragously priced, but the experience as a whole left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. I would rather try another restaurant at the same price point, then go there again. Thanks for the pointer on Captain's Grille and Sci-Fi. I enjoyed Sci-Fi when I went my last trip.

I have TIW and pay OOP for everything. If I was on the DDP and used 2 TS credits for that meal/service/experience, I would be extremely unhappy!! But if I was on the DDP, I probably would have splurged and got something different. Without going into details, I didn't feel welcome in their resturant, in fact, I felt like I was being a bother. I know I was dining solo, but I don't think people should be penalized for that. At Kona, I never felt that. Oh well, what can I do, but not go back. I can say though, that if dbf had been with me and we would have had that experience, he would have raised Cain. I am more easy going then he is.

Ouch. Honestly, that's the worst feeling a restaurant can give you. We had that experience at Narcoossee's in early August, and it really ruined the meal completely (and we don't want to return there for a long time). You definitely shouldn't be penalized for dining solo - I do it quite often at WDW, and only rarely have I felt that I was being treated worse for being a party of 1.

I haven't been to Sci-Fi in years, but I recently saw a review of their All-American picnic burger. It looks absolutely wonderful. I wouldn't be surprised if on my next trip to WDW, we only have one signature meal and the rest of our meals are at more casual/cheaper places.

 

[janabananas]

Ouch. Honestly, that's the worst feeling a restaurant can give you. We had that experience at Narcoossee's in early August, and it really ruined the meal completely (and we don't want to return there for a long time). You definitely shouldn't be penalized for dining solo - I do it quite often at WDW, and only rarely have I felt that I was being treated worse for being a party of 1.

I haven't been to Sci-Fi in years, but I recently saw a review of their All-American picnic burger. It looks absolutely wonderful. I wouldn't be surprised if on my next trip to WDW, we only have one signature meal and the rest of our meals are at more casual/cheaper places.

I want to try the Signature restaurants, but really do worry about the value. I think we will limit it to maybe 1 per trip, if we are going for a few days.

Artist Point will be our first together and I have heard lots of great things about it. I walked around WL yesterday (as well as AKL & BW to get an idea of where to go for our Sept trip 2012), and I loved the ambiance alone of AP and WL. Wow it was just gorgeous. I decided that if/when an AP discount or Fl res discount or any other discount comes out for January I am upgrading to WL.

We ended up picking BWV for next Sept, because of the location to EPCOT/DHS (ESPN Zone for dbf. I can leave him in there all day while I bounce around MK). I love the idea of them being in my backyard.

I also want to try at least 1 signature in the EPCOT resort area. Maybe Shula's, Yachtmans, Cat Cora's place? If you had to choose 1 signature in that area where would you choose to go above all the others?

 

[cbg1027]

Kona looks good. I loved that bread and butter too.
I want to give it another try sometime since my entree wasn't very good (gritty scallops) and I was too tired for dessert, which is a really rare occurrence!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I want to try the Signature restaurants, but really do worry about the value. I think we will limit it to maybe 1 per trip, if we are going for a few days.

Artist Point will be our first together and I have heard lots of great things about it. I walked around WL yesterday (as well as AKL & BW to get an idea of where to go for our Sept trip 2012), and I loved the ambiance alone of AP and WL. Wow it was just gorgeous. I decided that if/when an AP discount or Fl res discount or any other discount comes out for January I am upgrading to WL.

We ended up picking BWV for next Sept, because of the location to EPCOT/DHS (ESPN Zone for dbf. I can leave him in there all day while I bounce around MK). I love the idea of them being in my backyard.

I also want to try at least 1 signature in the EPCOT resort area. Maybe Shula's, Yachtmans, Cat Cora's place? If you had to choose 1 signature in that area where would you choose to go above all the others?

I've never been to Shula's, but I can say we like Yachtsman a lot. Honestly, we've enjoyed our food there more when we didn't get steak - the chicken has always been amazing, and the seafood dish also usually looks great. I have a review of Yachtsman to add soon, but first I plan on reviewing Jiko (I'll try to get the review up in a few hours).

Kona looks good. I loved that bread and butter too.
I want to give it another try sometime since my entree wasn't very good (gritty scallops) and I was too tired for dessert, which is a really rare occurrence!

Ooh, those scallops sound disappointing. I would give Kona one more chance - it's not amazing food, but it's definitely solid and more interesting than some of the more generic 1-TS restaurants.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

We had 2 dinners at Jiko during our late-August trip. Recently, it seems that the reviews of Jiko have ranged from bad to horrible. Well, I’m happy to say the food was great at both of our two Jiko meals. Having spent a lot of time in South Africa, we have high expectations when we have African cuisine in the States.

The first thing we received was an amuse bouche (I don’t know why) consisting of quinoa, plain yogurt, citrus, and mint. I really enjoyed it. The flavors weren’t overpowering, with the tart yogurt and mint combining nicely with the citrus and texture of the quinoa. I have to say, this is an interesting choice for an amuse bouche, as I don’t think the flavors appeal to everyone.

Here’s Jiko’s bread basket with tandoori butter. The bread is earthy, while the butter is sweet. IMO, they’re both a refreshing change from the rather ubiquitous sourdough bread with butter and sea salt.

To start, I chose the buffalo and pork boerewors sausage flatbread with tomato-date jam, manchego, napa cabbage and watercress. Boerewors (farmer’s sausage) is one of my favorite South African foods, and while I thought this version could’ve used more coriander, it was nice to see boerewors on a menu in some form. Overall, every ingredient on the flatbread worked well together.

My mom picked the artisanal cheese selection and was very happy with it.

We also shared the heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with cucumber, feta, red onion, Zambezi honey, and sherry vinegar. This was a delicious salad. Watermelon and tomatoes taste great together, and the addition of salty feta, sharp onion, and sweet honey was perfect. Plus, the presentation was beautiful and vibrant.

The entrée round was extremely successful. I ordered the oak-grilled filet mignon with sweet corn risotto, roasted mushrooms, and South African cabernet reduction. Everything tasted great, the beef was cooked medium as I asked, and the risotto was sweet and creamy. This is one of my favorite red meat dishes I’ve ever had at WDW (ahead of California Grill’s filet, Citricos’s filet, Artist Point’s tenderloin, and Yachtsman’s filet, strip steak, and porterhouse, and close to Artist Point’s buffalo strip).

The maize-crusted corvina with vegetables of the moment and tomato butter sauce was equally delicious. The crust provided a nice textural element to the otherwise moist and soft fish, while the tomato butter sauce was so smooth and buttery. The vegetables also tasted extremely fresh.

Finally, dessert. Last time, I was disappointed because the desserts seemed to lack an interesting African touch (like the malva pudding that had been removed from the menu). This time, I avoided that problem by choosing the amarula crème brûlée. Amarula is a South African liqueur, and it provided a really nice flavor to the dish. The custard was creamy and not too sweet, and there was a layer of spiced chocolate underneath that added a unique flavor element (thus avoiding the problem of being too “one-note,” as many crème brûlées are to me). The white chocolate, cranberry, pistachio biscotti was also delicious and perfect for dipping.

This pic shows the hidden chocolate layer underneath:

My mom went with the no sugar added warm peach tart with almond-frangipane, plum coulis, and cream cheese ice cream. This was another hit, and one of the best no sugar added desserts at WDW, IMO. The cream cheese ice cream had an incredible, slightly tart flavor, and nothing is better than cold ice cream on top of a warm, summery, fresh-fruity tart.

We both had a cup of South African rooibos along with dessert. We love rooibos, and fortunately it’s becoming more popular in the US now.

Our first meal at Jiko was a success, and the second meal went similarly well.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Our second time at Jiko, we decided to sample a few appetizers. And yes, we still got entrées after.

Here’s the brentwood creamy corn soup with jumbo lump crab, crushed avocado, corn, and sweet chili sour cream. The picture does no justice to it – it was one of the best soups I’ve ever had…easily better than Le Cellier’s cheese soup. I could eat bowls and bowls of this if given a chance, and the ingredients were all fresh and delicious (the pieces of corn were soft but still had a wonderful crunch).

Here’s the African-spiced fire-roasted chicken with four cheeses, bacon, arugula, peppadews and zough. This was another great flatbread, with a nice spice to it and well-balanced flavors. Jiko’s flatbreads are probably my favorite at WDW.

Here’s the tibs watt in pannekoeke: braised beef rolled in crêpes with olive tapenade. Light crêpes, wonderfully soft beef, and olives – you can’t go wrong. We loved this dish too.

The last appetizer was the crispy beef bobotie roll with cucumber raita, green mango atjar, and honey-roasted groundnuts. This was another wonderful appetizer with unique flavors and textures, and it was a cool play on bobotie.

My entrée choice was the seared barbarie duck breast with potato and spinach masala, royal trumpet mushrooms, and port emulsion. I really enjoyed the flavors in this dish, such as the warm spices in the vegetables. Some pieces of the duck were slightly chewy, and overall I’d say this was the weakest menu item we had at either Jiko meal.

The clear entrée winner of meal #2 was the braised beef short rib with truffled potato puree, pearl onions, baby carrots, and cabernet-tamarind sauce. The beef was perfectly cooked, tender, and not too fatty, while the vegetables were also perfectly cooked. The truffle flavor in the potatoes was earthy and I could practically smell it, while there was a unique crunch and sweetness from (what I think were) green apple slices on top. This was a clear winner, along with the corvina and filet.

This time, we only got one dessert: the warm coconut bread pudding with caramel-rum sauce, toasted coconut, and caramel ice cream. In terms of flavor, everything tasted good - the bread pudding was soft and warm, while the coconut ice cream was cold and delicious. What I really loved were the mini coconuts on top of the ice cream – so adorable! This dessert probably isn’t the most African-inspired (I still wish they’d bring back the malva pudding), but it certainly tastes good.

Along with dessert, we (once again) had rooibos tea.

So there you have it. 2 Jiko dinners that both delivered excellent and unique food. In fact, these meals elevated Jiko into my top 4 signatures (Jiko is now above Flying Fish, and close behind Artist Point, Citricos, and Yachtsman). Overall, I like all the signatures (except California Grill and Narcoossee’s), and as someone who’s quite familiar with South African food, I can’t say I’ve noticed a huge quality decline here (even though the reviews overall have become negative).

 

[cbg1027]

Oh dear I am drooling on the keyboard over here!
I love Jiko and both those meals look amazing. I especially need to try one of those flatbreads! I've only had the BBQ Chicken one.

Thanks for the double dose of reviews.

 

[mousegear]

I love your Jiko reviews!!! All dishes look excellent and delish~~~ I have to also say that we would get rooibos teas whenever possible b/c it was so hard to find here in the states but am glad that it's getting so popular! We drink it daily so you know we love it.

I went back to read all your reviews and what an excellent choices! Love your description and pictures. I really enjoyed reading all.

 

[minniebeth]

I was so happy to see your positive reviews of Jiko and the scrumptious looking photos! My DD14 and I just ate at Jiko a week ago. It's been on my list of Signatures to try for so long, we have just never made it. In the past, we've done California Grill, Artist Point, Citricos, Flying Fish and Hollywood Brown Derby. Jiko is now at the top of my list in favorites!....by a mile!

DD and I both have food allergies, and as always, they were very accomodating. The chef came out to talk about what was ok~ she was not so warm and fuzzy, but accomodating just the same. Our server was awesome! DD had the flatbread with the chicken that you had the second dinner and a simple salad. She is not a very adventurous eater and is very picky but loved, loved her meal. She is usually not able to eat the bread at most other restaurants, but she was able to eat it here which was a pleasnat surprise!

I really wanted to try the Bobotie roll as an appetizer, but wanted dessert too, it was just too much, so I skipped the appetizer and had the pork tenerloin with the grits and mustard greens with a tomato coulis and jus. I asked for it more well done and it was cooked perfectly! It was amazing.

DD had the coconut bread pudding and I had the perfect cup for dessert. Mine was ok, loved, loved the coconut bread pudding and ice cream. We got such a kick out of the tiny coconuts!

On our upcoming trip in January, I had Yachtsman Steakhouse on the list to try, but I'm so, so tempted to go back to Jiko!!

Thank you so much for sharing your reviews, it's so nice to see and read about the dishes they offer and to visualize the deliciousness!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Jiko looks fabulous!