Go Big Or Go Home! – Day 06

Day 6 of our vacation. Time flies indeed when we are having fun.

Today would be our last day at Home2Suites and we will be checking into Disney tomorrow to start our 2 week stay which comes with Free Dining. While planning this trip, ZA and the kids expressed no interest in visiting Universal Studios. We had originally planned to do swimming with the dolphins at the highly rated Discovery Cove but eventually decided against it after reading recent negative reviews. So we spent our time shopping and dining instead, which we enjoyed tremendously.

We grabbed a light breakfast as we had an early lunch reservation at 11.30am.

We made our way to Sanaa located at Kidani Village of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Sanaa specialises in African cuisine with unique Indian flavour. We had enjoyed our lunch during our 2014 trip and had wanted to return. It may seem unbelievable that we were not able to fit Sanaa in during our Disney stay as there are simply so many restaurants that we want to dine in. Therefore, we decided to self pay this meal where the prices are reasonable.

Upon arrival, we checked in at the podium immediately, even though breakfast was still being served. We wanted to request for a window seat which we failed to get on our last trip. The cast members were ever obliging and we were given a beeper.

While we waited for our table, we got our first glimpse of the Savanna. The area is home to dozens of birds and animals, including gazelles, zebras, cranes, ostriches, and more.

The wait was not long and we were rewarded as the cast member brought us to a table right by the window! We squealed in delight as we peered out of the window towards the Savanna. The window had exceptional views of the animals and wildlife that roam around freely. We even spotted a huge tortoise!

We finally settled down and ordered food.  We started off our African-Indian adventure with the Indian-style Bread service with all Nine Accompaniments. We received five different types of bread – Traditional Nann, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha and Paneer Paratha and the Accompaniments – Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle. The accompaniments were arranged from the least to the most spicy. We had fun trying out the different breads with different accompaniments. The naan and other breads are fresh and warm and the accompaniments varied and unique. My personal favourite is the garlic naan with red chile sambal.

ZA and I did not fancy any of the mains and decided to add more naans. They come at about USD2.19 a piece. Jarod went for the Potjie Inspired where he got to pick one dish from Journey (meat) and one dish from Harvest (veggie). He chose Butter Chicken and Paneer Tikka with scented Basmati rice. We love the Butter Chicken!

Ashley was contented with her Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese. It was only available as a Kids’ Side, but our server made it a meal for her. The best part of her meal was definitely her dessert. She ordered ‘Cookies and Milk’ where she got to decorate her own sugar cookie that came with Strawberry Lassi.

We were pleased with our return visit having enjoyed our meal while looking out at the ever-changing parade of wildlife outside the window.

We explored the resort a little and it felt quaint as most guests are out visiting the theme park. Ashley enjoyed relaxing on the comfortable rocking chair outside.

Our next stop was Vineland Premium Outlet. We did more shopping before heading back to the hotel for a rest.

Soon, night falls and we chose to have dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse, a major player in the casual dining arena. Lone Star’s dining room exudes the cowboy/ranch aesthetic to present a pleasing, modern decor with a Texas twist. Once seated, the server brought us a basket of complimentary dinner roll with butter. The rolls were warm, soft and sweet. ZA and Jarod love it but I prefer savoury rolls.

Apart from Ashley, we ordered a 14oz Texas Ribeye, but all with different sides. The steaks were huge and cooked to perfection, oozing juice and flavour.

ZA’s order – Medium Ribeye with Steak Fries and coleslaw (in a bid to eat healthy).

Jarod’s order – Medium-rare Ribeye with Baked Sweet Potato and Steak Fries.

My order – Medium-rare Ribeye with Baked Potato and Four Cheese Mac

Ashley’s Kids’ meal – Mac and Cheese with Steak Fries. And a happy Ashley devouring her ice cream. Most Kids’ meals in USA comes complete with dessert and drink at USD 5 to USD 8.

All in all, it was a wonderful dining experience. It is impossible to find a place to match Lone Star in Singapore given it’s good quality steak at reasonable price.

We headed back to the hotel and did our packing to get ready for the move to our next adventure.