I like Jiko because it seems more unusual and adventurous than some of the other signatures. But I also like Jiko for familiar comfort food! My mom is from South Africa, and most of her family still lives in Johannesburg or Cape Town. I've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time there, and Jiko is a good place for a taste of something authentically South African (Braai in NYC is where we go near home). I know Jiko isn't just South African - it also infuses some Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Indian flavors into the menu. But it still does the job (I love all of those other cuisines anyway!).
Jiko's decor is really beautiful. It's relaxing and quiet, which is nice for adults, but the dining room is also full of beautiful colors (I love the eternal sunset on the background wall).
Here's the menu - I'm very happy that the two dishes I wanted (the boar and the perch) were on the menu!
We really enjoyed Jiko's breads with tandoori butter. It was a nice change from the sourdough/butter/sea salt that most other signatures serve.
For the first time, we decided to try the barbecue chicken flatbread with apple-jicama slaw, African barbecue sauce, and four cheeses. The crust was crispy, the slaw was crunchy, and the barbecue sauce wasn't overly sweet. Everything worked well together.
My mom chose the Jiko salad with Georgia peaches, crispy plantain, hazelnut praline, honeyed chèvre, and blood orange vinaigrette. The peaches were a bit softer than she likes, but everything together tasted great. This was an interesting, fruity, crunchy salad.
Finally, here's the starter that I was waiting for: grilled wild boar tenderloin with mealie pap, chakalaka, white truffle oil, and micro cilantro.
This was one of the best things I've ever had at Disney. What I loved most about this dish is that I recognized the inspiration:
boerewors. Boerewors is a South African sausage (and one of my favorite foods anywhere) often served with pap (very much like polenta) and chakalaka (like a stew of tomato and onion). Here's a
pic. One of the most noticeable seasoning in boerewors is coriander, and there was plenty on top of the boar (you can see some coriander seeds between the cilantro). The boar was perfectly tender and was a clever upgrade from the boerewors. It was fabulous with the sweet pap and savory chakalaka. The truffle oil and cilantro elevated the dish even further. I love how Jiko took a fairly common South African dish and brought it up to fine dining standards, and I had a huge grin while devouring this.
For an entree, my mom went with her favorite: the peri peri chicken with herb-crushed potatoes, french beans, mango sambal, and onion jus. The chicken had a really nice peri peri flavor without being too spicy (as we've had it in South Africa). Everything else was a perfect counterbalance, especially the sweet mango.
I was excited to try the seared Lake Victoria African perch "kushari" with toasted pearl couscous, lentils, fresh chickpeas, almonds, tomato sauce, sweet corn cream, crispy onions, and harissa vinaigrette. I don't even know how to describe this. There were so many things going on, but everything worked. It was a bit sweet, spicy, salty, creamy - the fish didn't even need anything else to taste great, but I'm not complaining at all!
Finally, the dessert round. I didn't know what to expect, and my heart sank a little when I saw that my favorite dessert is now gone: the Cape Malva Pudding with vanilla custard, mango, and apricot sorbet.
I just had to include it in this review! Malva pudding is a South African dessert. It's warm, spongy, almost caramel or butterscotch-like in flavor, and absolutely delicious. The creamy custard with it and the fruity accompaniments made this dessert a standout for me. Apparently it's been gone for a few months - Disney really should update the online menu, because it's still there.
We asked our waiter about the changes. He said that there's a new chef came who decided to make some changes - each chef likes to put their own mark on the menu. Here's the dessert selection:
Our waiter said that the desserts are all supposed to be African-inspired, with the emphasis on "inspired." We were still intrigued, so we decided to sample three:
First, the coconut bread pudding with caramel-rum sauce, toasted coconut, and caramel ice cream. I think this one was the most delicious, with the warm coconut bread pudding and cold caramel tasting great together. To me, it tasted like they took Ohana's tropical bread and made a bread pudding out of it, and I could happily order this again.
Here's the Madagascar Cheesecake with Madagascar vanilla, blueberry and lemon cream, blueberry compote, sour cream, and graham "cookie." I liked the blueberry, but the lemon overpowered the vanilla. I think this dish should be listed on the menu as a lemon-blueberry cheesecake.
Finally, "one last cup": Tanzanian chocolate and Kenya coffee mousse with cinnamon mascarpone, nutty chocolates, tuile cookie, and "hot chocolate" (sauce). This was a fun, playful dessert, with lots of amusing little components. The mousse had a warmth from the cinnamon and coffee, and the hot chocolate sauce added a temperature contrast.
The meal wasn't over yet. We received some tasty, buttery biscuits before leaving.
Overall, our meal at Jiko was fabulous. Even though I miss the malva pudding, I accept the fact that menus change (and of the new desserts we tried, the bread pudding was our favorite anyway). Maybe next time I'll finally try the amarula crème brûlée that people rave about (since the odds are low that I'll be choosing a different appetizer or entree).
After a dinner at Jiko, it's really nice just sitting and relaxing in the lodge lobby.
I hope I will make it there in Oct, but that will depend on how many F & W Festival seminars I book!
