epceddie
05-14-2009, 10:24 AM
I'm not a big fan of Indian cuisine, but I enjoyed the lunch my wife and I had on May 5 at Sanaa, the new restaurant in Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We arrived about 20 minutes early for our 12:40 p.m. reservation, but were seated immediately.
The dining room, which has an underground cave kind of feel with simulated roots of trees on the ceiling, was about a quarter full.
We were greeted by our very friendly waiter German, who couldn't have been more helpful with questions we had about the menu.
We started with the Indian-style bread service. Our bread choices were Naan, Roti and Paneer Paratha. We ended up trying four accompaniments - cucumber raita, mango chutney, garlic-ginger pickle and roasted red bell pepper hummus.
The cucumber raita was creamy and delicious and the hummus was also very good. I thought the mango chutney was a little too sweet and the garlic-ginger pickle proved to be one of the spiciest things I have ever eaten. It was atomic hot and my mouth burned for about a half hour.
My wife tried the roasted cauliflower with tomato sauce for an appetizer and found the cauliflower a little dry.
For our entrees, we went with the chicken with red curry sauce and the beef short ribs.
We shared both dishes and I enjoyed both of them. The chicken was nicely cooked and the curry sauce was very tasty. The short ribs, which were served off the bone, were tender and delicious, kind of like pot roast.
For dessert, I enjoyed a wonderful Chai Cream that was a perfect ending to a very good meal.
We had a great experience at Sanaa and will not hesitate to return on future trips. Getting a chance to sample the restaurant's African-Indian cuisine was a welcome change and it spiced up our day in a good way.
We arrived about 20 minutes early for our 12:40 p.m. reservation, but were seated immediately.
The dining room, which has an underground cave kind of feel with simulated roots of trees on the ceiling, was about a quarter full.
We were greeted by our very friendly waiter German, who couldn't have been more helpful with questions we had about the menu.
We started with the Indian-style bread service. Our bread choices were Naan, Roti and Paneer Paratha. We ended up trying four accompaniments - cucumber raita, mango chutney, garlic-ginger pickle and roasted red bell pepper hummus.
The cucumber raita was creamy and delicious and the hummus was also very good. I thought the mango chutney was a little too sweet and the garlic-ginger pickle proved to be one of the spiciest things I have ever eaten. It was atomic hot and my mouth burned for about a half hour.
My wife tried the roasted cauliflower with tomato sauce for an appetizer and found the cauliflower a little dry.
For our entrees, we went with the chicken with red curry sauce and the beef short ribs.
We shared both dishes and I enjoyed both of them. The chicken was nicely cooked and the curry sauce was very tasty. The short ribs, which were served off the bone, were tender and delicious, kind of like pot roast.
For dessert, I enjoyed a wonderful Chai Cream that was a perfect ending to a very good meal.
We had a great experience at Sanaa and will not hesitate to return on future trips. Getting a chance to sample the restaurant's African-Indian cuisine was a welcome change and it spiced up our day in a good way.