Trader Sam's;Polynesian Resort; Walt Disney World; Orlando, Florida

Well back to Japan after a nice almost two-week vacation in the U.S.  We did the Chicago thing with the family and then were off to Orlando with the sister and her family to play in the Parks.  And, as promised, here is a review of Trader Sam's Grog Grotto.

Welcome Tiki Fanatics 

First off, I'd like to thank my wonderful brother-in-law for the opportunity to go to Trader Sam's.  His meticulous planning allowed us to visit here even with our very busy schedule (which he planned as well).  In addition to his perfectly planned agenda, we were allowed to stay in their Bay Lake Tower Villa (DVC Contemporary Resort), so many more thanks.  We had perhaps the trip of our lives with my sister and her family.

Back to Trader Sam's, Trader Sam's authoritatively answers the question of who could create the best themed Tiki bar of all time.  Disney, of course!  There could not be a better place for a Tiki bar than the Polynesian Resort, a Polynesian-themed Tiki bar in a Polynesian-themed resort!!!  In addition to Trader Sam's, we were able to enjoy a dinner at Ohana, a Hawaiian-themed Brazilian-BBQ-like restaurant and a breakfast at Kona Cafe, a Hawaiian breakfast joint, both at the Polynesian resort.

The actual Trader Sam's bar is not the largest place, and from what I hear and how it appeared to be, it is very popular with Disney cast members and Orlando locals.  Accordingly, you may have to wait awhile to get into the bar. There is plenty of seating outside though near the pool.  Kids are allowed in the bar before 8pm (I think it is 8), but it is hard to get a table for more than 4.  Making it even more difficult to bring kids in the bar is the fact that when we finally were allowed in (party of 7 on the wait list), there were 7 seats available in the bar but they were not together.  That said, the bar is enjoyed best with a hot date or a cool brother-in-law as in my case.  We decided to let the wives and kids sit outside in the ample outdoor seating while we enjoyed a drink and the amazing scenery.

Let's start with the theming.  Man oh man is this place cool.   Everything from the Tikis...

Hello Mr. Tiki

To the views of the volcanoes outside...

Nice ocean view

To the Octopus waiting on the roof...

Somebody get the takoyaki maker ready

To the angry Tiki gods...

This might be a little too intense for the kiddies

Makes this a Disney masterpiece.

There are storms at times...

Get your ponchos ready

As well as volcano eruptions!

Volcano!!!

 There are some great drinks on the menu as can be seen below.

What shall we get next?

In the bar, I ordered the Hawaiian beer sampler, the Kona Beer Flight.  Let me explain why I made that choice in lieu of a Tiki drink. The brother-in-law and I decided to expedite our time in the bar since our families were waiting outside on the patio, so we ordered quick and easy to make drinks.  He ordered the Rum Flight, straight shots of rum, yummy!  Both of our samplers came out as three shots (5-once cups of beer for me) on surf boards.   I was familiar with all of my three brews since I regularly drink them in Japan as Hawaiian beer is popular here.

Triplets

Add 20 bucks for the souvenir shot glasses

While outside, I ordered the Nautilus and was not disappointed.  If you order the Nautilus in the bar, there is a whole production of shouts of "Nautilus!" and lighting effects when the servers bring it to your table.  I ordered it at our outside table, so instead it was brought out in two plastic cups and the souvenir mug was to be picked up later upon presentation of my receipt.  Disney does not want broken glassware like the mug in close proximity to the pool.  One warning is the mugs that come with the drinks are quite pricey.  My drink (which to my surprise, was for two) was 52 dollars.  You can ask for drinks without the mugs and they are considerably cheaper.   Here are the drink in cups and my mug, the biggest, second most expensive and perhaps the most impressive one of my collection.

Double the pleasure

Ahoy brave sailors

1st edition!

We also ordered some things to munch on with our drinks, the Chicken Lettuce Cups, Kalua Pork Tacos, Hawaiian Poke and Corn-battered Portuguese Sausages.  They all tasted very good, impressive but standard Tiki-bar fare.  Ironically, what impressed me the most of our food selections was the Pulled Pork Nachos from the nearby quick-service restaurant, Captain Cook's.  However, that didn't matter since we came to Trader Sam's for the drinks and the theming.

Some Tiki Delicacies

Pulled Pork Nachos

In addition to the great theming in the bar, the patio's theming wasn't too shabby with abundant Tikis and entertainment in the form of live Hawaiian music.  The performer sounded really good especially after a few drinks.

Tiki

More Tiki

Tiki butt!!!

Our performer is way in the back.

If we didn't have 3 kids with us and Fast Passes for Space Mountain, I could have spent all night at Trader Sam's.  Really.  Nothing like strong drinks, being with buddies (great family in my case) and enjoying a vacation at an awesome Tiki bar.  I give Trader Sam's five Tikis out of five Tikis for its well-mixed drinks, good food and awesome theming.

If you are wondering where you can meet the actual Trader Sam, please proceed to the Jungle Cruise and your tour guide will introduce him to you.

Trader Sam has some deals you'll lose your head over.

 

Tiki Tiki; Shinjuku, Tokyo

When I created this blog, I knew there would be a Tiki Tiki post at some point.  Here it is.  Tiki Tiki meets every coolness requirement for me.  What is Tiki Tiki?  Tiki Tiki is a throwback to a better time, a time before the sports bar and a time where Tiki was the height of pre-Disneyesque theming grandeur.  We can thank two groups for the Tiki age of the 1950's-mid-1980's.  The first is returning veterans from the Pacific War who longed for the beaches and torches of where they were stationed.  The second is Chinese restaurateurs who added pineapple to Cantonese dishes and renamed them Polynesian names like Crab Rangoons and the Pu Pu Platter.

I ordered the Tiki Tiki, an excellent rum-based concoction

Upon entering Tiki Tiki, you leave urban Tokyo  by crossing a bridge flanked by a large Tiki and a smiling alligator (I guess they incorporated Splash Mountain into Tiki Tiki).

The other side of the bridge beckons you to enter this mysterious paradise.

Our alligator friend.

Everywhere from the tables to the ceilings to the rest rooms is swimming with Tiki theming.

Tikis on the wall. Basket seats.

Stone facades in the middle of Tokyo!

More Tikis!

Every hour Japanese Polynesian dancers perform and pull blokes unlucky enough to make eye contact with the eye candy from their seats to join the dance.

Hot dancers! Woo hoo!!!

The drinks are delicious here, well mixed to hide the rum and in the mandatory Tiki mugs.

Can't remember the name of this one.  She was non-alchoolic (wifey doesn't drink).

The Tiki Tiki!!!

The food comes in rather small portions, meant more to compliment the impressive drink menu than to fill your stomach.  Everything tasted really good though.

Spam Musubi.

Fried Ahi Tuna.

Tropical Cobb Salad.

Tropical Paella.

Just writing this blog makes me want to immediately go back!  I'll be heading to Disney World in a few weeks so I'll have the chance to compare Tiki Tiki with the Polynesian Resort's Trader Sam's.  Expect a future write up of Trader Sam's. 

Come back!!!

As to Tiki Tiki, please go.  For a fun evening in Tokyo, head out to Tiki Tiki.  I give it 6 Tiki Torches our of 5 Tiki Torches for excellent theming, great drinks and yummy food.  Thanks for the read. 

Opening a Coconut; Disney Tsum Tsum; Aeon, Disney Store Japan

Got a bit busy last week. Finally time to blog and then... the kids had their own production of that 1987 animated Chipmunk Adventure flick.  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do so.  I know letting 6 animal children pilot hot air balloons on a race around the world is a little farfetched, but the music is classic.  Their show was 58 minutes.  I think the actual movie is only 1 hour and a half or so.  Very entertaining.

Here were there Easter gifts as promised last post.

Mostly stuff familiar to Americans.  Jelly beans, birdie cookies and chocolate eggs generic.  Some uniquely Japanese stuff though.  There's a make-your-own takoyaki set in there (grilled balls of dough with bits of octopus).  Think the takoyaki set is just candy takoyaki though.  The girls also got some Disney Tsum Tsums.  Tsum Tsums is a mad crazy game on Line.  Everyone in Japan plays it it seems.  I even think the Disney Store in the U.S. is selling Tsum Tsums too.

 Here are some Tsum Tsum above.  Daisy, Jessie, Anna, Marie, Easter Dale (from the Easter Bunny) and Olaf form a pile.  The other daughter's Tsum Tsum are probably in the bed next to her.  They are actually very much like Beanie Babies as they are filled with beans and are near the 5.99 beanie baby price (600 yen).  The girls love them.  I think there will be Big Hero Six Tsum Tsum out soon, along with the DVD/Blu Ray release here.

Other than that, we opened a coconut.  The local Aeon supermarket had them.  There must be a Southeast Asian fest or something as coconuts are not regular items to be found here.

Here it is. Young coconut for 400 yen or about 4 bucks.

They make it sound so easy... Liars!!!

You'll need these guys or a machete.

Drain it first.

Two glasses here.  Wifey and I loved the coconut water.  It was kinda meh for the kids. Fine just meant more for us.

Let me introduce you to my leetle frehend!

  I'm no powerhouse but regularly hit the gym.  Honestly, it was pretty f'ing hard cutting the coconut open.

Trehshaare!!!

 

Scoop the meat out.  If you have a spoon with serrated edges, it will be invaluable in the scooping action.

Well worth the 4 bucks and effort.

Here's to a coconut well opened!

 Thanks for the read.  Hope your weekend went well. 

McAloha Burger? McDonald's Japan is Great マクドナルド; Tokyo

You can't escape the Golden Arches.  They are everywhere, even here in Japan.  They call McDonald's マクドナルド　, transliterated (butchered) into makudonarudo  or simply makudo.   Almost every station has one, and there are two within a five-minute walk from my apartment.  Recently, however, like in the U.S., McDonald's has been suffering here in Japan.  Scandals involving their Chinese-chicken suppliers, shortage of potatoes and foreign objects being found in the food has really hurt them.

Essentially, the beauty which allowed Mikey-D's to spread throughout the world, systemization of food supply and preparation, is naturally at work here, and Chicken McNuggets here taste and look identical to the ones you eat at O'Hare airport, Tsim Sha Tsui and at the Luxor.    However, the food here looks a bit better than the food in the U.S. it seems, more like the pictures of the food.  Maybe that's due to the Japanese attention to detail.  Another difference is the selection of food items here.  As described in my Mister Donuts post, seasonal and limited-time items are very popular here.  McDonald's is no different, and they have new items on an almost monthly basis.

The current seasonal items on the menu involve Japan's favorite vacation spot, Hawaii.  They have two different special Hawaiian sandwiches for late February and the month of March, a pulled-pork sandwich somewhat resembling the McRib, and a Loco Moco burger.  If you aren't familiar with Hawaii, Loco Moco is a staple of lunch plates there, a hamburger with a sweet sauce and an egg on top with white rice.   The Loco Moco burger featured at McDonald's has everything but the rice. 

Here it is.

Cheese, two patties, a nice specialty bun, special Loco Moco sauce and an egg.

I definitely think that I maxed my daily caloric intake with this single burger, but it was pretty darned good.  Back to the systemization of food, the fries are identical here.

Fry mountain!!!

Along with the specialty sandwiches, they have a pineapple pie, banana milkshake and Hawaiian fruit pancakes (for some reason, Japanese people associate I-Hop style pancake creations with Hawaii; they have no idea that pancakes are the staple of many breakfast places) to round out the limited-time Hawaiian items.

 I whole-heartedly recommend you try the Loco Moco burger.  The patties and cheese taste the same, but that sauce and egg combo really hit the spot.  A really nice blend of sweet and savory.  Hurry up because the month/campaign is ending soon.

Here are some past limited-time items:

Chili-cheese fries 

Funky BBQ Beef and Funky BBQ Chicken.  Gotta love the names.

Speaking of the above, (American Vintage 1980's), I remember a time when McDonald's was not something you got for dinner.  It was the mid-80's when this change occurred, and soon McDonald's was enjoyed throughout the day and night.   Remember this campaign?

Right. They took Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife and conveniently turned it into Mac Tonight.  I actually remember reading that the advertising agency that created the campaign and McDonald's did not obtain the proper rights and ended up settling with the Darin estate due to such violation.  No fair use defense there as a lot of midnight hamburgers were sold as a result of the campaign. They even had Happy Meal toys for that creepy Moon Man.  That get's me thinking.  Maybe I'll hit up eBay to satisfy my nostalgic toys fix in the Moon Man.  In any event, have a good one and try the Loco Moco burger if you have the chance.