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. 

Inside Out Stamp Rally!; Tokyo Metro

Stamp rally time!  What's a stamp rally?  Well, I never heard of one before coming to Japan.  A stamp rally is an event where you go to different designated places to have a card stamped.  Once you get all of the required stamps, you get a prize.  The Tokyo Metro subway system just had a stamp rally for the movie Inside Out.  We traveled to five different stations to stamp our cards.  Once we got all five stamps, we sent them in the mail to the address listed on the card.  Completed cards equal entries into a contest where we can win various Inside Out prizes like free movie tickets.  To be honest, the odds of winning are terrible for this particular rally.  I highly doubt we'll win anything.  However, I'll keep you updated if my guess is incorrect.

Like most movies in Japan, the release date for Inside Out trails the worldwide release.  We'll get the movie on July 17, 2015, more than a month after the U.S.  Can't wait.  Unfortunately, the stamp rally ends on June 30, 2015.  So if you want a chance to win, you better get started quickly.  Each Tokyo Metro station has the cards for you to start the rally.  If you don't participate, great.  Better chances for us even as slim as they are.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures of the stamp rally. 

We found Sadness at Kudanshita on the Tozai line.

Pre-stamped Sadness.

Got the stamp!

We found Fear at Minami Aoyama on the Hanzomon line.

Got Fear!

Anger was found at Shinjuku San-Chome station.  I can't remember which line it was but I think it was the Marunouchi line. I was pretty grumpy because I was hungry when we found Anger, so he was pretty appropriate for me. 

Got Anger!

We found Joy at Nihonbashi station.  I'm not sure which line it was.

We got Disgust at Shin Ochanomizu station on the Chiyoda line.

Here's Disgust!

Well, that's it for now.  Thanks for the read and have a good rest of the weekend!

胡同麺家 だん亭 (Dan-Tei), Myoden, Ichikawa;

We decided to go local a few weekends ago and had dinner at  Dan-Tei last night, which is probably our favorite Chinese restaurant in Japan.  The food is great and the restaurant is only 2 minutes from our apartment.  You can't beat that.  The cooks are really Chinese here and no Japanese is spoken in the kitchen.  Having Chinese cooks doesn't ensure good food though.  As much as I love Ma Ma and Yeh Yeh, I did not love their food growing up.  Anyhoo, not only is the food great, you get large portions too.  Dan-Tei was an izakaya (Japanese pub) at one point and the dark wood paneling and tables, decorative stones as well as the floor seating still remain.  Whenever overseas people visit us, we always bring them to Dan-Tei.  Accordingly, Ryan, Mom, Uncle Jim and Auntie Lil all have had the chance to experience Ichikawa city fine Chinese dining.

Japanese Chinese food is a bit different than its American and Canadian counterpart.  This is largely due to the fact that unlike the U.S. and Canada, most of the Chinese in Japan are Mandarin.  The Chinese in North America are largely Cantonese, especially in the many Chinatowns (although this demographic is rapidly changing).    It was Cantonese labor that helped build the railroads in the late 1800's after all.  That said, Cantonese food differs from Mandarin food.  Cantonese food is heavier with darker sauces it seems.    Growing up in a Cantonese-American family, I became accustomed to shrimp with dark lobster sauce, dark gravy egg foo yung, brown fried rice, crunchy lo-mein noodles and brown chow-fun noodles.   Well I can't find these items in Japan.  The Chinese food here is really light and tends to be more spicy with a  Szechuan influence.  When we want to get the Chinese food I am accustomed too, I usually joke that we need to hop on a flight to Hong Kong.

Dan-Tei serves traditionally Japanese Chinese food but I love it anyway.   Unlike when family members are here, we went pretty light this meal, only ordering a few items.  We ordered Cantonese-style sweet and sour pork (by chance, they cater to my preference!), shrimp with chili sauce, chin jya ros (similar to moo shu pork) for our entrees and fried sesame balls for dessert.

The Cantonese-style sweet and sour pork is my favorite item on the menu.  The pork is very lightly breaded and has the sweeter heavy orange sweet and sour sauce I love.  You get four or five large chunks of pork.  There's no pineapple here, instead they add sweet Japanese potatoes.  Onion wedges and green peppers nicely blend with the sauce.   There is a black vinegar sweet and sour pork on the menu too, which is a more traditional Japanese Chinese dish.

I never had shrimp with chili sauce until I came to Japan.  It's a Japanese Chinese essential at Chinese restaurants here in Japan.  What exactly is shrimp with chili sauce?  Well, it's a wonderful concoction of shrimp, onions and sweet & spicy orange chili sauce.  Dan-Tei does it well.  Usually the shrimp are smaller in Japanese Chinese menu items than those in the U.S. or Canada.  The Dan-Tei shrimp are bit larger than most of the Chinese restaurants here and are perfectly cooked.  They have that crisp snap when you bite into them.

Wifey got the chin gya ros  (neither of us can actually remember the name, we think it was something like this).  It was very similar to mushu pork sans the plum sauce.  We got an abundant amount of cooked strips of pork marinated in a sweet sauce.  Sliced onions and cucumber strips rounded out this one.  The wraps were cooked and a little more like tortillas than the wraps in mushu pork.

We ordered the large rice.  It really was pretty large.

Finally, the daughters ordered fried sesame balls to complete our dinner.  Yummy!

Everything here is delicious and this dinner was no different.  I give Dan-Tei five gyozas out of five gyozas.  Not only is it extremely convenient for us, the food is abolustely delicious and you get large portions for a restaurant in Japan.  If you have a chance to go out to Myoden on the Tozai line, be sure to eat at Dan-Tei!