Jiko - The Cooking Place

[wendinator 109]

December 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wendinator 109]

A Taste of Africa

 

 

Cauliflower flatbread

 

 

Lamb two ways

 

 

Short Ribs

 

 

Scallops

 

 

Cheese plate

 

 

Bread pudding

 

[Beckers 1,136]

Yummm

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

That looks yummy, but how "spicy" is it. I've tried Boma at dinner before, and there was so much on the dinner buffet that was spicy, that I've been scared away from Jiko. Hate to have an expensive meal that I can't eat because it's spicy.

 

I will state that I am a complete spice wimp!!!  Even too much black pepper in/on stuff kills me.

[wendinator 109]

That looks yummy, but how "spicy" is it. I've tried Boma at dinner before, and there was so much on the dinner buffet that was spicy, that I've been scared away from Jiko. Hate to have an expensive meal that I can't eat because it's spicy.

 

I will state that I am a complete spice wimp!!!  Even too much black pepper in/on stuff kills me.

 

I'm probably not the right person to judge the level of spiciness. I don't like crazy spicy food, but I've got a pretty good tolerance and know that what I think is "just right" is too hot for my Mom.

 

Having said that... A couple of the dips in the Taste of Africa might be too much for you, but the sagh (spinach) and hummus would be fine. Here are the descriptions of the dips.

 

 

I didn't try more than a bite of the short rib, for fear of losing my hand. My husband practically licked the plate clean. The lamb two ways is what I had and I would say it wasn't spicy at all. I believe the scallops were "jerked", which would make them spicy. I didn't get to try them.

 

I have no doubt the server could steer you to dishes that would make you happy. I've only eaten at Jiko twice but have enjoyed it immensely both times. You're right though that it would be an expensive experiment if you found it too spicy for you to enjoy.

 

If you can fit it into your schedule, try going to the 4:00 restaurant tour of both Boma and Jiko. They let you try some of the food for free and give you some interesting info about the design of the restaurants.

[wendinator 109]

Jiko is probably my favourite restaurant on property. When my sister announced that they were going to the Earl of Sandwich for dinner, it didn't take much to convince my Mom to go to Jiko with me instead. (I hear good things about Earl, but I'm not really a sandwich person.)

 

We arrived at about 6:00 without a reservation so the only place they could seat us was at the Cooking Place, which was just fine by us. There are 6 tall chairs along a counter where the cooks prepare the appetizers. The cooks were friendly and chatty and we really enjoyed the experience.

 

Mom and I each had a sunriser to get the party started. These go down soooo easy.

 

 

They bring you some lovely bread with tandoori butter. Our server suggested saving some of the bread to use with one of the starters we ordered. Good tip!

 

 

We decided to get a bunch of things to share. This is the wild boar starter. It's served on a tomato/onion/cheese thick chunky sauce - this is how the bread got used to mop it all up.

 

 

This is the cauliflower flatbread again. It was spicier this time than I remember the last time. Mom had a couple of pieces but it was on the upper limit of her threshold.

 

 

Wow, this is a really bad picture. These are the beets. It's hard to tell but on either end there's half a grape that's been rolled in goat cheese and then ground pistachios. Very yummy!

 

 

We also shared the beef short rib. Erin, who was working the Cooking Place told us her tip for getting the best flavour out of this dish. She said it's plated all pretty, but the best thing to do is use your knife and fork to pull apart the meat a bit, and then get it messy and stir the whole thing up. There are two different sauces on the plate, and the stirring mixes them together. *drool*

 

 

We couldn't decide on the desserts. I wanted the chocolate hazelnut one. Erin suggested the Malva or the pot de crème. We went with the Malva.

 

The chocolate thing was good.

 

 

The Malva was fantastic! Erin was right.

 

 

And if you weren't full enough, they bring you these cute little cookies with the bill.

 

[wendinator 109]

We went to Jiko for Christmas dinner this year (don't worry - we had a big turkey feast earlier in the month since we knew we'd be away for Christmas day).

 

There have been some menu changes since I was last there.

 

I started with the sunriser again. These go down sooo easy.

 

 

My husband opted for a Zebratini. I forget what all is in it, but it's a lot of alcohol and really more like a dessert. In fact, my brother-in-law had that as his dessert.

 

 

They brought out some rolls made with Ethopian beer. They were very good, but they now come with regular butter instead of the tandoori butter I'd posted in previous reports.

 

 

For appetizers, the Taste of Africa remains though the vessel that they serve the dips in has changed to these pointy bottomed things.

 

 

Do you remember making a little paper folding game thing when you were a kid? It's just like that.

 

 

A charcuterie plate has been added and my husband can rarely pass up the opportunity to have one. I don't remember all of what was on the plate, but the cheese on the left is called Blue Haze - it's a smoked blue. The one on the far right was a lovely smooth creamy cheese. Meats were predominantly duck - prosciutto on the left and sausage on the right, with salami in the middle I think. I don't remember seeing the flatbreads on the menu anymore, but it's possible I just missed them.

 

 

For mains the filet mignon was gone, and I'm not sure whether that's a temporary or permanent change. Our server said that the buffalo rib eye was a special for only Dec 24/25, so my brother-in-law had that. I stuck with the beef short ribs (and neglected to take a picture) while my husband had the lamb shank.

 

 

My Dad had the scallops but I didn't see a picture and forgot to ask how he liked them.

 

The plates themselves have changed and these are an odd shape that means you can't easily rest your knife and/or fork on the edge of them - they either fall off onto the table or land in your plate. Though I'm sure someone thinks they're visually pleasing but I can't say I'm a big fan from a practical use standpoint.

 

For dessert my husband had the chocolate pot de crème.

 

 

I went for the malva pudding again. Still yummy in its new configuration (scroll up to see how it used to look).

 

 

No little cookies with the bill this time and I don't know whether it's because they've stopped the practice or whether it's because we were a large group split into separate checks.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

That charcuterie plate looks great!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Great review/photos - thanks for sharing!!

 

And I agree Gwen - that charcuterie plate looks super.

 

I need to remember that Jiko also has a lounge where you can order off the menu. 

[wendinator 109]

For our last night on our recent short trip, Mom and I went to Jiko for dinner. I'd heard there was a new chef and some recent changes to the menu so it was interesting to see what was new/different.

I started with a glass of white wine.

Their cocktail list has changed so no Sunriser for Mom this time. She got a Victoria Mist that she really enjoyed.

As before they bring some bread and butter to the table. I could easily gorge myself on just bread and butter without too much trouble.

I think we went a little overboard on the appetizers... We ordered and shared two.

The "Taste of Africa" has changed a bit since the last time I had it. The dips have changed and I don't remember what all of them are called but the reddish colored one was fan-freaking-tastic. There was also hummus, mango chutney and I forget what the orange one was. Finally, it's not easy to see but there's also a pat of goat butter that was sooo good. You've heard of goat cheese, well this was goat butter. Yum. For the bread there were two papadums, and two kinds of naan.

We also ordered the beet salad because our server said it was going off the menu soon. Mom and I both love beets, but there were only 3 pieces of beet in this beet salad. There was also pear, granola, some salad greens, and whatever the white stuff was (cheese? it was nicely flavored with herbs but I can't remember).

For our mains, Mom went with the oak grilled filet. She loved the brussel sprouts but wasn't a fan of the meat. The outside was seared and a little tough for her liking.

I ordered the braised short ribs, which I've had before, and were still fantastic - and a LOT of meat. You can also see the scallops we added and shared.

I didn't take an after picture, but I mixed up this plate as was recommended on a previous visit. So I took out the bone and then separated the meat (pulled pork stye) and stired up all the sauce into a big tasty mess. I had to get Mom to help me finish it all.

By this point we were pretty full but still felt we could share a dessert so ordered the malva pudding. I've had this a few times before and if you scroll up in this thread you'll see that they've prepared it at least two different ways... and the version we received was just crazy. There was virtually no pudding (cake) at all, and the bird's nest in the middle tasted like shredded wheat. I guess they were going for an artistic bird theme here, but what a disappointment. The white bird on top was a shortbread-like cookie.

Here's the new dessert menu. I wish I'd tried the safari sunset.

If we weren't full enough, these two little cookies came with the bill.

20% AP discount here which was nice.

[wendinator 109]

I took advantage of the 30% off AP discount for reservations made before 6:30 or after 8:30 and headed back to Jiko.

We started with the Taste of Africa. L-R: mango chutney, raita, I forget..., and hummus. The raita one you were supposed to stir to mix in the green bits. All very tasty.

The rest of the fam shared the wild boar tenderloin appetizer and raved about it.

I neglected to take a picture but they also bring you some nice rolls with a fantastic goat butter. Wish I could find some butter like that at home.

I had the elk loin for my main and it's a bit hard to see from this dark picture, but although it looks weird, it was all very tasty. Those white marshmallow looking bits are pureed veg.

The kids both had the lamb shank - it was huge!

I really like the malva pudding, but I asked our server if they're still doing it in the same ridiculous configuration as they were when I was there back in March. He confirmed that they are still doing the weird shredded wheat bird's nest thing so I took a pass on the malva and had the Safari Sunset (carrot cake) instead. I loved the layer of lemon in it. Yum.

I've never had a bad meal here and it was nice to save $80 on the bill.

[keith_h 420]

Thanks for the post. We have reservations here after our day at the AK in Februrary. We have never eaten here and are looking forward to it. The Wild Boar Tenderloin along with the Taste of Africa seems like enough for a meal on its own.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Mmm.... it's been a while since we ate at Jiko and we're planning to head back this fall.  I'm thinking we'll at least sit at the bar/lounge and get the Taste of Africa ... and maybe split the shank.  :)