Indian Restaurant coming at WDW? About This Page:

[WDWfan]

In today's Allears weekly newsletter Deb reports:

"I had a wonderful dinner with friends at Animal Kingdom Lodge's Jiko. The food and wine were great, and Nassar, our server, was outstanding as always. Chef Brian, who took over the kitchen just a few months ago, talked a bit with us and said that he has begun to make small changes to the menu. For instance, his new seared tuna appetizer was delicious. One of the flatbreads has changed as well. He told us that he is also involved with the new restaurant going into the Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani Village, which will be Indian cuisine."

That would be so !

[Bman]

Cool! Ilove Indian food and that would be a nice addition to WDW and AK certainly needs more restaurants.

[chezp]

How great would that be! I hope that's right, as we love Indian cuisine - over here, it's the top national dish.... seriously!

[Caldercup]

Yummm.... first they added Yak & Yeti and now... Indian! The DH and I will be in spice heaven!
Eileen

[RobDVC]

Mmmm. I love me some Tandoori!

[goofysdtr]

[Joy J]

I'm particularly pleased to hear that there will be an Indian restaurant in the new Kidani Village area of the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas partially because I love Indian food and partially because we have points there so will probably be staying there a fair bit.

Joy

[Caldercup]

Originally Posted by RobDVC

Mmmm. I love me some Tandoori!

Hey, Rob.... since we're practically neighbors, I have to ask. Have you ever gone to Palace of Asia over in the Ft. Washington office complex? I adore their daily lunch buffet! I could eat my weight in navratan korma!
Eileen

[lauriep]

This is good news (I hope!) for vegetarians. Should be some great options. I kind of wish the restaurant were in a different location, though, as Boma and Jiko are already very veg-friendly places.

[MelissaL]

Originally Posted by lauriep

This is good news (I hope!) for vegetarians. Should be some great options. I kind of wish the restaurant were in a different location, though, as Boma and Jiko are already very veg-friendly places.

I second that. It still baffles me how un-vegetarian-friendly Animal Kingdom park is. I'm sure some dishes at Yak and Yeti can be done without meat, but I found the menu underwhelming. Tusker House looks promising, but looks so much like Boma we didn't want to do both last trip.

Melissa

[emtpej]

They could do with some more TS (or combo) places at AK.

[Cam22]

What a great addition!

[BostonTeaParty]

Another fan of Indian cuisine here! Look forward to taking a peek at the new menu.

[WDWfan]

I got a sneak peak at info on the restaurant last night at a DVC event here in the Chicago area. Here is what I wrote aboute the restaurant in my report on the event:

The restaurant is designed after an open air market. It uses themes found in the market - Jewelry, Baskets, Spices and Fabrics. The floor will be patterned after a dirt floor with beads embedded in it as if they have been dropped by local craftsmen. The ceiling is made of African trees. They are flat on the bottom because giraffes have eaten all of the leaves to the same level much as they do in Africa.

The second guest was Dieter Hannia (I think that is how his name was spelled). He was the VP of Food and Beverage New Concepts. He talked about the food at the restaurant (named Sanaa - the Art of Africa cooking w/ Indian Flavors). It will emphasize Fresh, Seasonal foods with spices for flavor - not heat. There will be not freezer or can openers in the kitchen and no salt and pepper shakers on the tables. He emphasized the use of fresh tropical fruits and many vegetables.

At that point he pulled out a whisk and created some magic in the kitchen. Suddenly the room was filled with CMs bringing each of us a plate full of food samples from the new restaurant. This is when I wished I had brought my camera. He didn't tell us what we were eating, so I'll describe it as best I can. There was some kind of spicy ground meat formed and cooked on a stick with a sauce to dip it in. It was kind of a spicy (but not hot) barbeque sauce - very good! A chicken on a stick with another sauce drizzled on it. It wasn't a sweet sauce, but more savory. I think it had some curry in it. There was an excellent fruit salsa, some flat bread and a salad of chopped vegetables with a creamy dressing and a fair amount of pepper. These was also a root vegetable filling inside a wrapped pastry. Thank goodness I hadn't had dinner yet.

While we ate he talked about the food Pyramid they use when putting menus together. The base is emotions, followed by appearance, aromas, textures, sensations, and then basic tastes at the peak of the pyramid.

[BostonTeaParty]

Thanks for sharing the info. with us, Lesley. It sounds like the menu will have some tasty offerings. Interesting interpretation of the food pyramid.