Sanaa Brings Flavors of India, Africa To Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
03/31/09 06:27 PM
Fans of Jiko-The
Cooking Place and Boma-Flavors of Africa have a new reason to dine
at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge as Sanaa debuts May 1 in the
resort’s new Kidani Village expansion.
The new Walt Disney World restaurant’s unusual name, pronounced “Sah-NAH,” is the Swahili word for “artwork.” With interiors inspired by African art and remarkable views of the resort’s Sunset Savannah through 9-foot windows, diners experience “the art of African cooking with Indian flavors” in the 150-seat, family-oriented restaurant located on the ground floor just below the lobby.
Sanaa’s cuisine is a melting pot of tastes from the islands of the Indian Ocean that all are part of Africa – Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Comoro Islands, Mauritius and Madagascar. “These islands were on important trade routes with influences from French, Portuguese, Dutch, British, Arab and Chinese traders,” said Chef Bob Getchell. “The diverse spices and flavors give us an endless array of options for Sanaa.”
The most indelible mark on the cuisine of the region was made by Indian traders who introduced curries, spice blends and breads. Central to African-Indian cuisine is the use of the tandoor oven, essentially a large clay pot similar to a pizza oven. The tandoor provides very high, dry heat that creates a crisp outer layer and moist interior. Along with meats, a favorite tandoor oven treat is the Indian bread naan, which is slapped directly onto the oven’s clay walls and allowed to bake until puffy and lightly browned. The Sanaa kitchen will have two custom tandoor ovens.
Specialties include tandoori chicken, lamb and shrimp, slow-cooked curries, and braised short ribs. “Don’t think of curry as spicy,” said Chef Getchell, “but as a centuries-old cooking method that allows flavors to fully develop in the meats, vegetables, and sauces.” The base blend of seasonings for Sanaa’s curries include cardamom, chiles, cinnamon, cloves, saffron, coriander, nutmeg, fennel seed, cumin, tamarind, turmeric and more. The turmeric is what gives many curry dishes their characteristic yellow color.
Appetizers such as lamb kefta with tamarind-dried papaya sauce, and unusual salads like okra, radishes and tomato, roasted beets, and carrot, orange and mint start the dining experience.
Entrées include the tandoori-roasted meats, curries, and sides such as dahl (stewed lentils), curried crushed potatoes, stir-fried green beans and slow-cooked spinach and paneer (a mild South Asian cheese). Indian style flatbreads including naan, roti, and paratha are paired with chutneys, Indian style pickles and raita (yogurt-based dip).
For guests who prefer more American flavors, there is a grilled pork chop and club sandwich at lunch, and grilled flank steak at dinner.
Sweets are the final adventure, including mango pudding, cardamom-butter cake, papaya with sea salt and lime and vanilla-coconut rice pudding.
The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and from 5-9 p.m. An adjacent 24-seat lounge serves African wines, beer and spirits. For reservations, call 407/WDW-DINE.
Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is part of Disney Vacation Club.
The new Walt Disney World restaurant’s unusual name, pronounced “Sah-NAH,” is the Swahili word for “artwork.” With interiors inspired by African art and remarkable views of the resort’s Sunset Savannah through 9-foot windows, diners experience “the art of African cooking with Indian flavors” in the 150-seat, family-oriented restaurant located on the ground floor just below the lobby.
Sanaa’s cuisine is a melting pot of tastes from the islands of the Indian Ocean that all are part of Africa – Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Comoro Islands, Mauritius and Madagascar. “These islands were on important trade routes with influences from French, Portuguese, Dutch, British, Arab and Chinese traders,” said Chef Bob Getchell. “The diverse spices and flavors give us an endless array of options for Sanaa.”
The most indelible mark on the cuisine of the region was made by Indian traders who introduced curries, spice blends and breads. Central to African-Indian cuisine is the use of the tandoor oven, essentially a large clay pot similar to a pizza oven. The tandoor provides very high, dry heat that creates a crisp outer layer and moist interior. Along with meats, a favorite tandoor oven treat is the Indian bread naan, which is slapped directly onto the oven’s clay walls and allowed to bake until puffy and lightly browned. The Sanaa kitchen will have two custom tandoor ovens.
Specialties include tandoori chicken, lamb and shrimp, slow-cooked curries, and braised short ribs. “Don’t think of curry as spicy,” said Chef Getchell, “but as a centuries-old cooking method that allows flavors to fully develop in the meats, vegetables, and sauces.” The base blend of seasonings for Sanaa’s curries include cardamom, chiles, cinnamon, cloves, saffron, coriander, nutmeg, fennel seed, cumin, tamarind, turmeric and more. The turmeric is what gives many curry dishes their characteristic yellow color.
Appetizers such as lamb kefta with tamarind-dried papaya sauce, and unusual salads like okra, radishes and tomato, roasted beets, and carrot, orange and mint start the dining experience.
Entrées include the tandoori-roasted meats, curries, and sides such as dahl (stewed lentils), curried crushed potatoes, stir-fried green beans and slow-cooked spinach and paneer (a mild South Asian cheese). Indian style flatbreads including naan, roti, and paratha are paired with chutneys, Indian style pickles and raita (yogurt-based dip).
For guests who prefer more American flavors, there is a grilled pork chop and club sandwich at lunch, and grilled flank steak at dinner.
Sweets are the final adventure, including mango pudding, cardamom-butter cake, papaya with sea salt and lime and vanilla-coconut rice pudding.
The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and from 5-9 p.m. An adjacent 24-seat lounge serves African wines, beer and spirits. For reservations, call 407/WDW-DINE.
Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is part of Disney Vacation Club.
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Public sales begin for the The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
03/30/09 07:39 PM
After a pre-sale period for existing
members of Disney's Vacation Club, public sales began last week for
DVC's first West Coast property. The Villas at Disney's Grand
Californian Hotel are located in a new wing currently under
construction next to the existing hotel. The new wing contains over
200 hotel rooms and 50 two-bedroom equivalent DVC Villas, including
two two-story Grand Villas that each feature three bedrooms, four
bathrooms and can sleep up to 12. The expansion also brings a new
Mariposa pool to the Grand Californian complex. Whitewater Snacks
will be remodeled to add a small convenience store section offering
grocery items currently available at the DVC resorts in
Florida.
New members can join DVC by purchasing a minimum of 160 "points," which represent a real estate interest in a DVC property. Members receive their points as an annual allocation, and book travel using these points. The points needed to book a room depend on the DVC property, the size of the room and the time of year. Rooms at the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel (GCV) start at 15 points per weekday night for a Studio unit in the "Adventure" (lowest demand) season and range all the way up to 280 points for a weekend night in the "Premier" (highest demand) season. GCV rooms require 25-75% more points per night than comparable rooms at the Walt Disney World DVC properties; only the Magic Kingdom-view rooms at Walt Disney World's new Bay Lake Towers property are more expensive.
The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel are scheduled to open by "late Fall," and most expect the property to be open by Thanksgiving.
New members can join DVC by purchasing a minimum of 160 "points," which represent a real estate interest in a DVC property. Members receive their points as an annual allocation, and book travel using these points. The points needed to book a room depend on the DVC property, the size of the room and the time of year. Rooms at the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel (GCV) start at 15 points per weekday night for a Studio unit in the "Adventure" (lowest demand) season and range all the way up to 280 points for a weekend night in the "Premier" (highest demand) season. GCV rooms require 25-75% more points per night than comparable rooms at the Walt Disney World DVC properties; only the Magic Kingdom-view rooms at Walt Disney World's new Bay Lake Towers property are more expensive.
The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel are scheduled to open by "late Fall," and most expect the property to be open by Thanksgiving.