The Manhattan at the New York Hotel - DLP

 Manhattan at the New York Hotel

We had previouly eaten at the Manhattan on Boxing day of 2003 and thoroughly enjoyed it, so it was up at the top of the list for a revisit this year. As is often the norm in French restaurants you can choose a la carte or from set menus D chose from the menu "Glamour" and had 



Scallops skewered on rosemary to start, served on a bed of buttered spinach 




Dan followed with a main course of veal, both dishes were beautifully cooked, the scallops wonderfully tender and the veal, served on pan finished mash, was well flavoured and cooked exactly as requested, rare. 



Jack did not have a starter and ordered a Dover Sole which at this stage of the holiday she declared to be the best meal so far.... 


J then finished with a totally self indulgent Dessert Platter whilst I had the Crepes Suzette cooked at the table, this was served with a puree of sweetened pineapple. 



We also had a nice chilled and dry bottle of Chablis and finished with coffee.
The total Bill/Check came to E94 after our 20% AP discount. I did however have one criticism here, the ratio of staff to tables seemed rather low and each CM had to prep and clear as well as serve, this seemed to result for all diners in rather long waits between courses.

  

Jiko Restaurant - AK Lodge WDW



We had heard so many good things about Jiko it was a must try on this trip. We arrived especially early to look around and were not disappointed, it was only just dark and the animals were out in force on the hotel's Savannah: Antelopes, giraffes and zebras abounded.
Jikos room  is nice but is seriously loud. I don't know why as it does seem to have quite a lot of soft furnishings etc but tonight it had the volume of a school canteen.


Jack ordered had to start a tasty sounding cucumber, tomato and red onion salad with arugula( rocket) and cottage cheese, dressed or should I say 'drowned' by watermelon vinaigrette which was okish. The amount of dressing may look good to present but it quickly turns the salad into a wet mush. 

My appetizer was the duck and pork firecrackers which unlike the main that was about to arrive was decidedly under seasoned and uninspiring.
 
For main I had a beautiful looking Malay Shrimp Curry with small potatoes, artichokes, tomatoes,peas and onions.  To be honest the shrimp was far too overpowered by the heat of the curry for my palate. I do like it hot but this was fierce and not in a tasty fresh chili sort of way but more like someone had slipped with the hot curry powder - on reflection I should have sent it back.
J's main was  Seared Jumbo Scallops with mealie pap and spicy tomato onion chakalaka; this really didn't quite work - all the ingredients are fine (the scallops beautiful - the sauce interesting) but put together like this it really didnt work - especially the tomato sauce which was far too acidic for the delicate scallops.

We swapped dishes to confirm our thoughts  and enjoyed our excellent South African Sauvignon Blanc which always helps! Pud for J of course , in fact we shared a Pistaccio Creme Brulee and Cappuccini.

The Brown Derby Restaurant



We had booked a Fantasmic Package for late afternoon as we simply adore the show and in my opinion the Brown Derby's food is the best restaurant  in this particular park; for a set price you enjoy 3 courses and get your priority seating for the show later on. We were seated in a nice booth (much nicer than the floor which can get a bit loud and crowded) and had a long leisurely meal to rest our  poor aching feet! We have eaten here before and once again we were not disappointed.


J chose the: Arugla (rocket) salad with orange and pecans to start with, light and delicious followed by a beautifully cooked Grouper on a bed of asparagus, which was equally scrummy.



D's meal was crab cake to begin and the Rack of Lamb ( rare) on mash with a red wine sauce, absolutely divine.


 Dessert was the Celebration Choc mousse for D and I had a Creme Brulee. We shared a bottle of Ravenswood CA Zinfandel, Cappuccino for J and Grand Marnier for D and a bottle of Pelligrino.

Disneyland Paris - March 2006


























Mar 2006 - Orlando Sea World

Sea World


We visited Sea World on this trip as usual and caught the new Dolphin show Horizons (after riding Kraken four or five times of course). Sea World was having quite a ball that weekend as it was the free Halloween event and the park was very busy and very very hot. How those kids manage to survive in their polyester outfits amazes me. We had another great lunch in Sharks though I do wish they would introduce another table service restaurant. This video is in some ways like the Animal Kingdom video. I have actually used a climactic segment of music from the Horizons show itself which blends beautifully in to the feel of this park. Enjoy.