“If it moves we ride it, if it doesn't move...we eat it!” And Finally, Pictures!

[kaybird]

The following are our reviews of our WONDERFUL WORLD of DISNEY trip August 24-31. This was a surprise trip for my cousin and best friend for her 50th birthday. Since Disney had already gone to all of the trouble of planning a 50th birthday party, it seemed a shame not to take advantage of it. She and her husband have never before been to Disney World, and have been houseparents for a children's home for the past 23 years. I had a blast planning this trip for the past 10 months, and will post the trip report soon, but since we are all about eating, on with the show!!

The Players
Me: Trip Plotter, ADR maker, and deciever
DH: VERY willing Participant
DC: My best friend and cousin all our lives (50 years, thank you)
DCH: DC Husband, soon to turn 50, and equally good friend and family


August 24-Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki-
Japanese Steakhouse

This is our traditional first night at the world dinner, and since the 4 of us had spent a year together in Okinawa, it made a great opening to our trip. We got to use our incredibly rusty Japanese, and relive many, many dinners together at the Kyoto Hotel. We were greeted, and seated nearly immediately. Lovely hot towels were brought to refresh us, and our table mates were all pleasant.

A new appetizer was the Edamame-young soybean pods in some sort of seasoned dressing, sound odd, but were very tasty. You peeled off the pod, and ate the bean. (We know this to be correct, as we had the presence of mind to ask!) As was our custom throughout the rest of the trip, all four of us ordered appetizers, entrees, and desserts with each meal, and we all sampled all the offerings. I ordered my favorite Miso-shiru soup, and DH had more of the seaweed salad we had been given to sample. Our chef was Masa-san , very competent and enjoyable. We had Seto - shrimp and scallops $24.99, 2 New York Sirloin and shrimp $28.99, and the Musashi - New York Sirloin and scallops $29.99.

For dessert the ginger ice cream, green tea ice cream, and 2 ginger cakes. They were all wonderful, I love the green tea ice cream, the cake was new to me, Moist and fresh, and delightful. While we were getting dessert, the rest of the crew went out on the “porch” and watched a part of Illuminations, which they had never before seen. I have to mention here, that while I love WDW each and every time we go, it was particularly wonderful seeing once again from the eyes of first timers. They appreciated that we knew our way around, and we got to experience the joy of everything new.

The meal was just perfect, I often read on these boards that you can get better Japanese elsewhere, but we have never ever been disappointed here, and for us it has become an unavoidable WDW tradition. We did not, (nor did we ever during the trip) feel that we were treated any differently by being on the Dining Plan. Back to the POP, and ready for the next day of eating and FUN!!!

Next up-Kona Cafe!

 

[TigerKat]

Great review kaybird, can't wait for KONA!!!

 

[sandys]

I think I've just found my new motto for life! Thanks

 

[ctnurse]

I think I've just found my new motto for life! Thanks

I agree. Thanks for the fun review. Cant wait for more.

 

[bookgirl2632]

Great review! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Dani&TJsMom]

Thanks for the great review! Can't wait for more!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoying reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[pennyplanner]

What a wonderful cousin you are!

Keep those reviews coming...

penny

 

[kaybird]

August 25-Supper at Kona
Following our first full day in the parks, we were looking forward to going to Kona. At Christmas time, DH and I had tried this, and we were very pleased with the offerings. We arrived by MK Bus from AK, Quick Monorail ride, checked in and got our pager. By the time we had walked around to the gift shop, the pager was going off. We were seated and greeted by our server. Lemonades and soft drinks all around, then we get to the good stuff!
DC
Kona Salad - Gourmet greens, Maytag blue cheese, Florida strawberries, red onions, and smoked almonds with a citrus vinaigrette- This was a beautiful salad, and very refreshing after a huge marathon throughout AK that day. Beautifully presented, the women were big fans, the men not so sure about the blue cheese.
Macadamia Mahi Mahi - served with mushroom risotto, sauteed bok choy, lime beurre blanc and crispy fried onions
Banana crème brulee-DC and I both ordered this, I had it in December and was one of my favorites. I love the crispy top and the texture with the bananas. DC loved the custard part, but wasn't sure about the dark sugar crunch of the bananas. I would guess if you like bananas and crème brulee, you will be an immediate fan.
DCH
Pot Stickers - wok-seared duck dumplings with creamy ginger soy sauce and pickled cucumbers
Beef Teriyaki - 10 ounce sirloin strip, grilled with pineapple teriyaki sauce, mashed Yukon gold potatoes, and stir-fried broccoli florets- DCH had help with this decision by our knowledgable server. He was torn between this and Prime Rib; she helpfully offered that Prime Rib was pretty much the same throughout WDW, but he was unlikely to find anything like the Poly Beef Terriyaki. Decision made, and it proved to be a good one! macadamia nut pie and ice cream-excellant!
Me
Kona Chowder - creamy bisque style with shrimp, fish and crabmeat. This soup is vying for my affection with the Lobster bisque at coral reef. The Kona soup is filled with seafood, and probably just as rich. Depends on whether you prefer a smooth texture or identifiable bits of seafood. For myself, I have never met a seafood soup I didn't like, and will probably need a great many more trips to come to a definitive conclusion. Have no fear Dissers, I will be happy to bite that bullet, (and innumerable other things on various menus) for you.
Shrimp and Scallops - panko breaded shrimp and pan seared scallops with Rice Fantasia, spicy guava-passion fruit and wasabi cream sauces-The seafood was great, the rice was remarkable. One would think you could leave rice on your plate, but this was WAY tasty.

DH
Filet- This will porve to be a theme

Kilauea cake-(Exploding with chocolate) This was probably one of the prettiest desserts of the trip, VERY rich, the warm chocolate lava creating a tasty river in which to dip the cake. The palette like presentation was fun, and we all cleaned up every morsel.

Finished in time to Monorail to MK for Fireworks at the Castle. Great end to a perfect day!

 

[TigerKat]

Sounds wonderful! That was the first time I've read a description of the KONA chowder, I'm not big on soups, but that sounds great!!

 

[kaybird]

50's Prime Time
w/ SUPER Server Laura,

I need to preface this with saying our usual TS in MGM is Sci-Fi, but because of the 50th theme of our trip, Prime Time was a must!

2 orders of the following appetizers

Fried Herb Cheese - Lightly breaded, served with Toasted French Bread and Fresh Fruit- I had been looking forward to this because of all the great reviews. It was good, but think perhaps ours stayed a little long in the fryer. Not bad, but I wouldn't probably make a trip back for it.
Beer Battered Onion Rings - served with Horseradish sauce -Great Onion rings!
DC- This was the official 50th B'day celebration, She always asked for her mom's fried chicken for her birthday growing up, so she had to keep up tradition!
Golden Fried Chicken - Served with mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and Southern greens; This was all good, the greens were tender and fresh, and the chicken, while not home grown as we are used to was very good!
DH
Char-grilled Pork Tenderloin glazed with port wine and served with root vegetable hash and apple raisin chutney
Me
Grilled Chicken - breast of chicken topped with smoked ham, Swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms served on root vegetable hash
I must note here that in my head every time I have read root vegetable hash, I have been thinking mashed. So now that I get my error, these were pretty good, just like fried diced potatoes with carrots added. Mine and DH were fine, I added salt, would have been great with a little onion. As far as the chicken, what's not to like? Cheese, ham, mushrooms, as Joey Tribiani would say “ALL GOOD!” This was very tender and delicious.
DCH
Glazed Salmon - Pan-seared, served with Mashed Potatoes and corn relish,chocolate malt onion Rings


We had a great time here, “Mom” Laura kept us on our toes, we were involved a great deal in the young family's table next to us, with two young girls. The first thing Laura said sitting between the two tables-
Mom's Rules =”No elbows on the table and finish all of your veggies”...In an instant the little girl's face crumpled and a animal wail ensued- ”Wha-a-a-h!!” Apparently frightened by a vegetable at a young age. From then on, Laura concentrated her admonishments to the Dad, and the men in our group. ( I should mention that by now, three of the four of us had found hats with ears which we wore proudly.) DCH and the Dad next table were caught in violation of many decrees, and sent to the bathroom to wash (“what color was the soap”) and DCH wound up having to sweep. (ironic as he had dropped a piece of the fried cheese under the table, and had mentioned that the kids at the Children's home would have been cleaning up their mess.) He was labeled “Scooter”, my DH “Skippy” (and Mama's little Angel. How did THAT happen!?!), DC “Sunshine” (we had gotten her the gold sequined Mickey ears with the 50 on them) and I was mostly invisible, although the label “Special K” was bandied about, am not sure if the “Special” was a good thing)

ME strawberry parfait
DH Hot fudge sundae
DH Chocolate Shake
DC Angel Food Cake with strawberry- This was presented with a candle, and everyone sang Happy Birthday Dear Sunshine!

After DCH came back from his last banishment to the lounge, we finished up desserts and went to Fantasmic. There was a little question of weather, but about 5 minutes before they announced that the show would go on. Fantasmic as usual, bus back to POP, and we were surprised in our room with birthday cards and balloons for all four of us (I had told the reservation lady what we were doing, and that we all turned 50 within a year, but never imagined that she would note that) The funniest part about it was that the husbands cards were on one bed and the wives on the other!!!! (they found that oddly disturbing ) A really nice touch to a great Day!

More magic tomorrow at Le Cellier!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Love your detailed report!

 

[kaybird]

Le Cellier
Server: Kelsy was wonderful, this young lady was proud to be from Canada eh, and shared lots of fun facts and information about her homeland. She also offered the information that the beef served at Le Cellier is top tier from Canada, much better than the locals are able to get there. This was our latest ADR of the trip, and we were the last to leave, but never felt hurried or made to feel rushed.

Grilled Beef k Bab-seasoned with house chili rub, roasted tomato and navy bean relish -Very good, a great hint of the high quality of beef to come!
Prince Edward Mussels served chowder style with bacon and potatoes- Had read a review of this on the boars, and was delighted that DCH chose this. One mussel was still closed, you are not supposed to eat them if they have not opened. My DH did not know that, and opened it up and ate it. He said it was good, and apparently suffered no ill effects.
Canadian Cheddar Soup-Always great, we all used this to dip the bread sticks in, and more bread was brought out for us.
Shrimp Cocktail-wasabi slaw and horseradish chili sauce-Presented differently than at Christmas, but very good!


DH-14 oz NY Strip-roasted garlic, grape tomato, frisee, and roasted Yukon potatoes, and finished with veal demi glace -Huge meal,
DVH-Le Cellier Felt Mignon-wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb beurre blanc, topped with fried parsnips- Truffle sauce VERY good, don't rember the fried parsnips.
Me-Seared King Salmon- served on top of Maple Spoonbread- I could not get enough of this spoonbread, served in a skillet, this was probably my most different dish of the trip. They did not have the recipe, (Brought me some others, but I am planning on writing, as this side dish (bottom actually) was so good.)***
DC-Grilled Pork Tenderloin* sweet potato puree, Apple Arugula Salad, and Sherry-Bacon Vinaigrette - again the sides were as terrific as the meat, think this was one of the nicest pairing, barring of course the wonderful maple spoonbread.(did I mention I couldn't get enough of that?)

The dessert menu has changed since December, and it was all terrific-

Sorbet Sampler-Raspberry and Mango ***, had a crispy wafer on top. MANGO GREAT!
crème Brullee Sampler- Vanilla and Maple- Lean toward the maple as fav, but thought it was better in Dec. Of course I was tremendously full by this time.
Double Berry Buckle with vanilla ice cream- Good, but not memorable
Chocolate Cake W/ tarragon sauce- we have an herb farm, so liked the tarragon sauce idea a lot.

I also ordered the Rasberry chocolate shake for my beverage, really good! It is truly a wonder that we could walk after we left this meal, as our day had consisted of CS around the world. We always love Le Cellier, the staff seems to be the most polite and helpful of all the TS we have been to. We love the castle feel, and always come out refreshed. The restaurant was nearly full when we arrived, they were turning away a number of walk ups. We closed the place down, and surprisingly, went to late night EMH at MK.

Next up- Coral Reef!

 

[swankybeth]

Great reviews so far, looking forward to the Coral Reef review!

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews so far! I love the title of your post!

 

[Schucraig]

Great reviews! I can't wait for the Coral Reef review!

 

[kaybird]

Coral Reef for supper-
We checked in and many people were waiting. There is probably not enough seating for this busy place, but we were able to get all of us on a bench. I thought the wait would be long, but we probably only waited about 7 minutes. Think that was the longest of the trip.
Server David-Very dignified and proper, seated us right by the tank on the far right. We used the fish guide to watch the turtle, sharks stingrays, and many other fish as they swam by. My DH had done DiveQuest a few years ago, so told us a little behind the scenes stuff.

Appetizers

Lobster bisque-Chervil and brandy make this a lovely bisque. I always order this, and have never ever been disappointed. Would like to say I shared it with the others, but was not very generous.
Calamari Special-Fried calamari and dipping sauce, tasty, and offered up as a special.
Shrimp Cocktail-served with a spicy cocktail sauce – nice firm shrimp, served in a tall glass.
Linguine w/ Smoked fish sauce- Did not have high hopes for this, but in the spirit of adventure we tried it. The fish sauce was good, with chunks of fish. Could have used a little more seasoning, would have probably made the cut as one of our better appetizers.

Entree
Tuna w soy glaze and wasabi mashed potatoes- had seen this on the menus with flounder before we went, and I am a big wasabi fan. The funny part about ordering this was our VERY PROPER server David. He asked if I wanted my tuna rare. I offered medium, and without missing a beat, he said “medium rare?” I smiled at him, and said “OK, we wouldn't want to upset Chef”. He only had a little pull of a smile as he said “very good, ma'am” Coming from the midwest, I know we tend to over cook, but growing up still seems wrong not to cook the life out of fish. The Tuna was perfect, and I LOVED the mashed potatoes.
Salmon w/with mixed greens, roasted potatoes and pancetta garlic vinaigrette
Blackened catfish served over pepper jack cheese grits, with smoked tomato compote, balsamic glaze . The grits were really good, this was a terrific catfish, very well done.
Mahi mahi w/substituted choriso potatoes- Think if DCH had stuck with the menu side he would have enjoyed this more, but he wanted to try the choriso. There was not a problem with the substitution, in fact we were very impressed with our waiter, refills on drinks were a little slow, but the restaurant was full.

dessert
2 chocolate waves-Warm Dark Chocolate Cake with a White Chocolate Grand Marnier center with Chocolate Ganache and White Chocolate Ice Cream
1 orange California tribute-Tribute to the Happiest Celebration on Earth. California Orange Pudding surrounded by Vanilla Sponge Cake topped with Whipped Cream and Orange Zest
1 butterscotch crème brulee- With Wild berries.

This was where I really fell in love with our very proper waiter. My husband had ordered desserts for all of us, and when David asked if they were for everyone, my DH said no, they were all his. When David brought them out, he carefully stacked all 4 right in front of my husband, without cracking a smile. It was one of the funniest moments of the trip, as the tables in front of the tank are fairly small, it was a feat of engineering to get that many plates in one persons space. All were excellent!
We left quickly for Illuminations, which had just begun. A quote from DCH journal-
“Epcot Illuminations-WOW!! I could feel the gritty pyro remnant ash falling on my skin!” He thought this was great!

Tomorrow-San Angel, and I finally impress my group with an unknown skill.

 

[TigerKat]

kaybird, I'm totally loving your reviews, very informative and entertaining. Keep em comin!!

 

[TikiGoddess]

I'm truly enjoying your reviews. I get a real sense of your personality. By the way, love the idea of celebrating 50 at the World. I'll have to put that on my list of things to do. Keep up the good work!

 

[lexmelinda]

So happy to get a great review of the Coral Reef. MY DD13 chose this reservation so I want it to be special for her. Sounds like we should ask for David. What time was your reservation? Wondering if we'll make it to Illuminations with a 7pm ADR? Thanks again......