Hi Everyone! Happy Hump Day!
I am going to try and get 1 or 2 updates in tonight! We leave for Disney again on the 31st and I want to be farther along than I am. I might do a pre-trip update eventually, although we are trying to go on the "cheap" (or as cheap as you can with Disney). So, I am trying my hardest to not try and plan out every single detail and meal. We plan to do mostly counter service with some sit down sprinkled in. So, we will see!
I will give a little update on the surprise of the trip. So Far Gwen STILL doesn't know. Morgan has kept it a secret! Although, now that it is getting closer, she wants to talk about it more and I am afraid she will talk about it to loudly around Gwen. We will see!
Day Four: Bread Service at Sanaa!
Sanaa has been on my must do list for awhile now. I see everyones rave reviews of it here on the boards and we love Indian, so I knew we had to try it at some point. I was calling this my official 40th Birthday Dinner.
I left off that we went back up to the room to rest, bath and get ready to head out. We decided to take Lyft over to Animal Kingdom Lodge, as that would be the fastest. And then take the bus to Magic Kingdom after. So, we all got dressed and headed downstairs. Andy arranged for a Lyft pick up and we waited maybe 2 or 3 minutes for the guy to show up. The guy was very nice and Andy chatted it up with him. He almost took us to Animal Kingdom instead of the Lodge. But thankfully Andy was paying attention!
We arrived at the lodge, thanked our driver and headed in. I love both Kadani and Jambo House. They are both so beautiful. I don't think we had time to look at the animals. We just went down and checked in. They took my cell number and said they would text me when our table was ready. We took a quick bathroom break while we waited and before we were even done, they text to say our table was ready!
Now, I do want to say before I get into the actual review of lunch/dinner, that we live in Voorhees, NJ and there is a large Indian population in this area. We have many Indian restaurants and even an Indian Grocery Store. At Morgan and Gwen's school, they are in the minority. It is very diverse and we love that about it. But there are many kids in there classes that speak both English and Indian as they have family members that only speak Indian in the household. So, we can get Indian often and I feel like we can get some fairly authentic Indian at that. One of our good friends grew up in India and I am afraid to let her eat my version of Butter Chicken.
We were seated towards the back away from the windows.I forgot to request near the windows. But it was fine. It was kind of stormy out at the moment and I was more worried about our party weather
We ordered some drinks first!
I decided to continue with the Mojito theme and ordered this:
African Starr Mojito
Starr African Rum, Van der Hum Tangerine Liqueur from South Africa, fresh Lime Juice, and Mint
It was good but not as good as my mule earlier in the day.
Andy ordered a beer, the
Safari Amber Draft I believe. Morgan and Gwen drinks in kid cups. I can't remember what.
We got out drinks and had a little birthday cheers for me turning 40!
While we waited for our appetizer to come to the table, we let the girls go over to the windows and take some pictures of the animals out on the savannah. These were taken by Morgan and Gwen, so pardon there photography skills!
Zebras!
And Giraffes!
We called the girls back to the table because our app had arrived! We of course, started with the Bread Service!
Indian-style Bread Service with all Nine Accompaniments
Bread - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha. Accompaniments - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle
We went with all kinds of Naan and all 9 Dips!
This was SOOOOO Good. So, fun to eat, too! I def was happy with this. I couldn't stop picking at the Naan. I totally thought we would run out of bread but that was not an issue. I really liked the Coriander Chutney, I am a sucker for Coriander (cilantro) and the Red Chile Sambal. The Spicy Jalapeño Lime Pickle was nice to have with one of the sweeter dips to balance it out. I wasn't brave enough to try the Garlic Pickle. They were WHOLE cloves. I should have but had enough other ones to try.
Me in my Happy Place. Mojito and Bread Service! Ha
Morgan actually tried a couple of the dips that we told her were not spicy. I believe she tried the Mango Chutney and the Tomato-Date Jam.
Between the bread service and the main meal coming, the girls took a few more pics of the animals. We kept watch to make sure they didn't get too close to any of the people dining right by the window.
Just a bird pic.. And some VERY blurry pics and a pic of Morgan's Ear... I will spare you from those pictures...
We ordered our main dishes somewhere along the way. And this is where I went wrong. I just ordered wrong... Andy and I both ordered the Potjie Inspired Dishes.
Our waitress told us we could pick 3 since we were on the dinning plan. Which I had never heard anyone mention on the boards, so I am not sure it that is usually the case or what? But it was so, much food!
I choose the Butter Chicken, Chickpea Wit, & the Aloo Masala.
Ok, my thoughts.....
The Butter Chicken needed a lot more Spice. I found it very bland. It was good just bland.
The Chickpea Wit I didn't actually get! I ordered it upon @kastoney review and recommendations. Oh, well, there is always next time! I ended up with the Dhal dish but I was so full I didn't bother saying anything. I wasn't going to be able to eat all of it anyway. The Dhal was ok but the lentils were a little too crunchy for my liking.
Aloo Masala was very good. Also could have used more spice. Potatoes were cooked well and was very comfort like. It was probably my favorite of the three.
I should have ordered something a little different since we can get all of the Potjie options here at home. That or asked if they could of spiced them up a bit. They were good, but we have had better. Andy agreed. Next time!
Morgan ordered Shrimp Sosatie
with Quinoa Pilaf, Seasonal Vegetables, and Sliced Apples served with choice of Small Lowfat Milk or Small Dasani® Water. She ate every shrimp that she got.
She only kind of liked the Pilaf and def not the seasonal vegetables. But, she also ate some of the potatoes from my Aloo Masala. So, that shows how mild it was, Morgan won't eat anything spicy!
Gwen ordered the kids Naan Pizza. Which we do at home sometimes, and was nothing special. But she wouldn't have eaten anything crazier.
We were sooooo full but since we were on the dinning plan, we were able to get dessert as well. While we waited for Dessert, the girls took MORE animal pictures.
The girls came back from taking this one and were laughing hysterically... Zebra Butt!!
A little better pic and angle of the Zebra.
And the Giraffe got pretty close, so they were excited about that as well.
Soon, we called them back to the table for Dessert!
The girls both ordered:
African Shield Brownie
Paint-your-own White Chocolate-covered Brownie Shield. Accompanied by Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
They LOOOOOVED this. And took decorating there Shields VERY serious!
At some point, one of the girls asked for water. And our waitress brought out little water bottles and said that way, the girls could take them into the park with them when we left. Which I thought was such a nice thing!
I ordered the:
Serradura
Butterscotch Pudding, Almond Coffee Streusel, Pineapple, Mango, and Breton Shortbread
It was ok. But I was seriously so full, I am not sure it would have tasted good no matter what.
And Andy picked:
Letite Creme
Madagascar Vanilla Bean Custard with compressed Strawberries, Lemon Confit, and Caramel Tuile (I think...)
He said this was good but he was also SUPER full. So, I don't think the dessert reviews are really fair.
The girls spent A LONG time painting there shields!
This is Morgan's finished product
And this is Gwen's. She started eating before I took the picture.
At this point, we really needed to get moving. I wanted to get to Magic Kingdom around 4:00 to get the most out of our Party Tickets. So, we asked for the check while the girls finished up there decorating / eating. At some point, the girl noticed another little girl in the restaurant with the Tinkerbell Glow Thing. And they asked about it. I said maybe at another meal they could get one. As it was getting late already. And they just said ok and didn't whine about it or anything.
Not sure if the waitress heard this conversation or just wanted to give the girls a little pixie dust. But she brought out the check and presented the girls with the tinker bell glow things and said that they were so well behaved! it really made the girls night when she did that.
Gwen clipped hers into her hair!
Overall, we enjoyed Sanaa and will def make it back again. I will probably try something else, or even go with the bread service and maybe another app like
@ArielSRL has said she would probably do.
Before I leave the Sanaa item. I mentioned at the restaurant that having serving dishes like the one they use for bread service would be so fun to have at home. Fast Forward to Christmas, and Andy was trying to find something similar to give me for Christmas! he isn't great at coming up with his own ideas but he is really good at remembering my side comments (and sometimes not so side comments).
Anyway, He gave me this for Christmas.
He found the one in the back from Target and had ordered 2 by mistake.
Morgan let it slip at one point that Andy was looking for those dishes one day. So, I started looking around as well. And I of course, tried to see if anyone had any good suggestions. A few people had some good ideas. So, Andy then got a second set for me because he wasn't convinced I would like his choice...
But I believe Andy ended up getting the wood platter from Target and the small ramekins from Crate and Barrel. I love it! I have used both for a couple things! So, now I have both!
So, I planned Naan Dips for both Christmas Day and New Years Eve because I was so excited to use my dishes! I made a special trip to the local Indian Grocery Store and got premade Mango Chili Sauce, Tamarind Chutney, and one called Masanala. I wasn't sure what that one was but I figured I would give it a try. I also got a hummus and a yogurt sauce from Trader Joes. And then I made one dip. Muhammara Dip. So, good!!! My sister boyfriend made it a couple weekends before for our get together. And I looooved it. It reminded me of a dip I had at Boma. Everyone who has tried it loves it!
If you want to give it a try, here is the recipe.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/muhammara-10982
You need Pomegranate Molasses. I just ordered it off of
amazon. If anyone makes it, let me know what you think!
Ok, I am pushing Post on this before I loose all of this Sanaa goodness! Up next we head to Magic Kingdom for our first Not So Scary Halloween Party!