Kona Cafe -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Polynesian
*This dining experience took place in June 2013.
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| Entrance to Kona Cafe |
Aloha yet again! As you can tell, I have a serious love for Kona Cafe. I recently stopped here with my mom and stepdad for breakfast, and as always Kona did not disappoint. I really thought about getting a different breakfast option that morning but wouldn't you know it, I ended up getting the same thing as always! Hey, you gotta stick with what's good, right?!
After we arrived, we were greeted by Chef Amber (formally of Boma) who famously made me a GF/DF Bobotie (check HERE for the review from 2010). She had recently transferred to Kona, and I caught up with her on my last visit when Chef Brett introduced her (at lunch time). It's funny, you know when you go places a lot because the chefs start to know you. It's actually really a great thing because they usually know my special diets and what kinds of foods I usually order. When we started talking, she immediately said: "gluten and dairy free, right?" Love it!I decided to go for my traditional standby of a modified Big Kahuna. We got the eggs scrambled, ham and bacon (no sausage), breakfast potatoes, and allergy Mickey waffles with a side of Earth Balance and maple syrup. Yum!!When the food arrived, I saw Chef Amber had been EXTRA generous. I got 4 Mickey waffles. Holy smokes!! She actually came back out later and asked how things were, and I mentioned that she was really generous. Her rationale was that you normally get french toast and pancakes with the Big Kahuna, so you should get 4 waffles. I think I like her thinking!
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| That's a lot of Mickey waffles!! |
We also got to talking about California Grill and how the chefs from CG are over at Kona right now. Chef Kevin who helped me on my recent dinner was a CG chef. I also asked her if she knew when they were opening back up. She said she thought it would be by late July or August sometime. Well, let's all keep our fingers crossed and hope that's true! I'd love to see it opened up before the fall.On a side note, the menus slightly changed in the past few months. Not really much to report in terms of entree choices, but the look is different.
Overall, I have to say Kona Cafe remains a favorite breakfast spot. A solid 9 out of 10!
Kona Cafe -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Polynesian
*This dining experience took place in May 2013.Mahalo to Kona Cafe for being one of my favorite places to eat on WDW property. It's one of my go-to places for breakfast and lunch; however, I rarely go for dinner. On this particular occasion, I had the pleasure of visiting with my friend Krista from Disneyways to grab a light meal.
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| Check out that view from the balcony by Kona! |
We were greeted by Chef Kevin, who I have never met before. He was very friendly and helpful. Since he didn't know me, he didn't know I knew the "spiel" and most of the menu offerings, but I wanted to hear his take on things, so I sat back and listened. He told me a few items that would be easiest GF/DF. TheTeriyaki Style New York Strip is the best choice (personally, I don't eat steak so no go for me) and the Pan Asian Noodles were the second best choice (they use rice noodles for GF) and you get your choice of protein: tofu, chicken, shrimp. I thought about the noodle dish but then decided to ask if I could get sushi and a salad with protein added to it (this turned out NOT to be cost effective but more on that later).The sushi is made in-house and I've had it before, specifically the California Luau Roll. I decided I wanted that again (gotta love Cali Rolls that have no crab with a K!) which was still deemed safe. I'm sure they can make other rolls (blog readers have mentioned the cucumber roll), especially since the sushi folks from California Grill are currently over at Kona Island Sushi Bar! But, I stuck with the California Roll. I made sure to ask for GF soy sauce (that's important with sushi!!) and then I ordered the Kona Salad without the blue cheese. I realized later I should have opted for the Spinach Salad which sounded like it had more too it. Chef Kevin did say the Kona Salad was more plain...should have listened to him. I asked him if he could add some protein and I asked for shrimp.While we were waiting for our meals, Chef Kevin brought out the GNI rolls and some Earth Balance (and I didn't have to even ask for the EB--love that!). I will say, the rolls appeared to be heated well until I bit into one. This was the first time one was what I consider to be overheated meaning they were just a little tough/chewy. Well, you stick enough EB on it and it tasted ok to me.
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| GNI Brand Rolls & Earth Balance Vegan Margarine |
I asked for both the salad and sushi to be served as an entree together. It was great to go back and forth between the two. It was also a nice light meal, which was much needed after a hot afternoon in the park--summer had officially arrived!The sushi was delicious as always. What I like about theirs is they use premium ingredients and I love the pineapple addition to the California Roll--it adds a nice bit of sweetness that marries well with the sweetness of the crab and the creaminess of the mayo and avocado. I also like the touch of sesame seeds on the outside. I admit, I'm not a big fan at all of fish roe and many California Rolls or sushi rolls in general have them, so I appreciate that it hasn't been added. I also love that I get GF soy sauce. Thank you San J Tamari! (that's the brand Kona uses) The sushi isn't the cheapest thing in the world $12.99 for the roll with 8 pieces. But it's also a great option as an appetizer or something to share.
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| California Luau Roll |
My salad was good but it really seemed under-dressed--like a lot. It had a citrus vinaigrette but I'll be honest, I didn't taste it much. The smoked almonds in this salad were excellent (I picked through and ate a lot of them), the red onion was nice and the Asian pear was a delicate touch. It would actually be perfect with the blue cheese. The shrimp was very well cooked and very large. At least they weren't skimpy! They were nice although maybe in hindsight chicken would have played better with the ingredients in the salad.
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| Kona Salad with shrimp added on |
I really should have gone for the Spinach Salad - with Heirloom tomatoes and duck prosciutto. It also had candied walnuts too. It came with a hoisin dressing which I did not clarify if I could have it or not (would need to be made with GF soy sauce) because I knew I didn't want to get it. But, maybe next time. The idea of duck prosciutto sounds interesting...
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| My dinner--love the cute chopsticks and the bowl behind the salad has the GF soy sauce in it! |
Overall, I really enjoyed the dinner. It was a great light meal, perfect for summer. It also goes to show you that you can pick and choose and really make a meal out of various components rather just ordering an entree. The only downside was that I got upcharged for the protein - $7.00 so a salad & sushi cost $29 with tax and tip included. Had I ordered the noodle bowl, it would have been $16.99-$17.99 and around $20.00 with tax and tip. Whoops! I wouldn't do it all the time, but it was nice to have the option.I'd give this a solid 8 out of 10!
Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian
*This dining experience took place in May 2013.Aloha! I'm back at Disney's Polynesian Resort for a lunch at Kona Cafe. On this visit, I had every intentions of getting something new to try out, but after getting impaled by a torrential down pour of rain (I was soaking wet from head to toe), I decided not to tempt the meneheune or tiki gods and go for one of my standbys.
Apologies for the lack of photos, but I was soaked to the gills and my iPhone was buried in plastic bags to protect it form the elements. (a girl's gotta save her phone!!)When we arrived (and after I settled in...), we were greeted by Chef Brett (who has now taken over from Chef Johnny, who's now at Ohana) and Chef Amber, who I immediately recognized from Boma. She once made me GF/DF Bobotie there (OMG it was fabulous!). If you missed it, here's the review (and yes, it was worth ordering in advance). I told Chef Brett what I'd like...Island Chicken Sandwich modified. They are still using the GNI buns. The onions they said they would caramelize, though I wish they'd have grilled them like the ones I got from Chef Johnny. I basically got the sandwich without cheese and the curry mango mayo on the side. Yep, I like to dip! I also went a little different by ordering half sweet potato fries and half regular fries. Funnily enough, as we talked Chef Amber said she remembered me from Boma. Yep, I have that effect on people :)When the food arrived, I noticed that the bacon was missing. My family said I should ask for bacon, but I was still pretty shell-shocked from the rain, so I opted not to ask. The grilled onions on the sandwich were a little undercooked as far as "caramelizing" them. Grilled definitely would have been better. The chicken was excellent as usual. And then there was the bun. Blech! Ok, now I really appreciate that GNI covers other allergens (like egg), but I really really wish they'd have Udi's as an alternative or at the very least learn how to heat the GNI buns properly. What happens is that if they are not heated correctly, they are very crumbly, dry and unpleasant. If they are heated correctly, they actually aren't half bad. Enough that I wouldn't complain! However, these were barely heated and quite unpleasant texturally. Thankfully, a dirty shoe would taste good if you added enough curry mango mayonnaise to it! The french fries were excellent both the regular and sweet potato. The sweet potato really works well with the curry mango mayo. I would say that in the future, I would do the half and half combination again, as it satisfied my cravings for both kinds of french fries.
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| Hey, where's the bacon?! Island Gluten Free Sandwich modified |
Overall, there were a few hiccups in the meal, but in general the food was excellent as always. I never hesitate to visit Kona, especially for lunch. I will note that the menu was newly updated and had a few new items on it, as well as a new look to the menu itself. It's good to see a few updates.
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As far as the meal, a solid 7 out of 10. If you're looking for a calm and inexpensive resort table service location, this is a great choice.
Kona Cafe -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Polynesian
*This dining experience took place in April 2013.
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| Entrance to Kona Cafe |
It's been a while since I've been to Kona Cafe for breakfast. If you've read other reviews on the blog, you'll probably know that I'm a huge breakfast fan and a huge fan of Kona for breakfast. It's the best for allergy friendly Mickey waffles. I stopped by for breakfast this morning by myself (one of my least favorite things to do is to eat out alone!) so I planned for a quick meal; however, I was greeted to a very very busy restaurant. I actually ended up waiting for a table for about 20 minutes. Crazy! I hadn't expected a Sunday to be so busy but maybe everyone was out for brunch. Who knows? My server said it was the busiest she'd seen in a long time as well, so I wasn't the only one noticing the crowds.
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| Busiest I've seen Kona in a long time! |
Once I got seated, I was met by Chef Katrina. She's helped me at various Disney restaurants before, but I think she's been at Kona for a while (she once gave me regular butter and dairy in my eggs--eek!). Now that Chef Johnny is over at Ohana, she was taking care of me this time. I decided to be kind of boring and get one of my standard favorites. The Big Kahuna platter modified. It's a ton of food, which was good because I was 1) starving and 2) had to help my brother move into a new apartment. I needed to carb load!The Big Kahuna typically comes with eggs your way, bacon, sausage, and ham, breakfast potatoes, macadamia nut pancakes and french toast. I sub out the glutenous carbs with the allergy friendly Mickey waffles. Yum! I also opted for no sausage because it really upsets my stomach--which is a real shame because it's really really good. I got the ham and bacon though.
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| Behold, the Big Kahuna! |
Overall, it was a really good breakfast. The bacon was different than it used to be--for the better! It wasn't that yucky stringy bacon they usually serve. This was meaty thick bacon. Very good. The ham was excellent as always and the scrambled eggs were your basic scrambled eggs. The breakfast potatoes have a spice mixture on them, and they are really good. Big fan of those. The Mickey waffles were also good, except for one of them (I got 3) which was kind of burnt. Thankfully, I had enough of my fill of the waffles with two and the rest of my meal.As usual, Kona put out a great breakfast. And the service there was excellent too. My server was really busy but she was very attentive (which doesn't always happen when you dine alone). I'm reminded why I enjoy breakfast here so much. I need to go more often :) A solid 9 out of 10 from me!
Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian Resort
*This dining experience took place in February 2013.
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| Entrance to Kona |
There are some restaurants on property that I go to entirely too much. Kona is probably one of them--mostly because now even the chefs and waistaff recognize me. Well at least they don't know me by name...yet! The chef does know me by allergy though. Hey, what can I say? When you find a good thing, you stick with it!Interestingly enough, I actually am not a big fan of dinner at Kona but I adore breakfast and lunch. Go figure. On this particular visit, I headed to Kona for lunch. When I arrived I was seated by the manager and I mentioned Chef Johnny who has taken care of me almost everytime I've been at Kona in the past 2 years. Turns out Chef Johnny was recently relocated to Ohana. The chefs on property rotate restaurants every 3 years or so, so I knew it was bound to happen. Chef Brandon was the new chef on duty.However, I was pleasantly surprised when Chef Johnny showed up at my table. Evidently the manager had let him know that I mentioned him specifically by name and so he came over. He said he would take care of my order from start to finish, as he was thrilled to see me. (I'm sure he got some brownie points with the manager!). I ordered what I've been getting there lately--the Island Chicken Sandwich. It's a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon and curry mango mayonnaise. I ordered it minus the cheese and this time Chef Johnny offered to grill some onions for it--the first time I got them. I always get the curry mango mayonnaise on the side so I can put on the sandwich AND dip the fries in it. I love the curry mango mayo. It's awesome!Chef Johnny said they stopped getting the Udi's buns (oh sad day) and now only have the GNI brand buns. He said they really don't like them at all. Not only are they half the size but they are also extremely difficult to work with. Blech. I agree with him. However, if you put enough curry mango on a dirty shoe it would taste good, and this bun is the same!
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| Chicken sandwich with curry mango mayo on the side--where's the bun?! It's so small it's hidden. |
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| Grilled onions--these were delicious |
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| Big view of the bounty. Love this sandwich! |
As usual, this sandwich was awesome. I will note that the chicken didn't seem to have that slight gingery taste to it anymore. I wonder if they don't marinade it at all now. It was still a nicely grilled piece of chicken breast. The bacon was also thick cut and tasty--not that wimpy bacon. The onions were a nice touch. I wish I would have ordered them before. I really loved the grill flavor. And of course, that curry mango mayo is beyond awesome. It makes the whole sandwich. I literally downed the entire cup between the sandwich and the fries. It's that good.
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| Meringues |
Last up was a new treat: Meringues. Evidently it's new for the menu and safe for me to eat (pretty sure it's just mainly egg whites). Yum! Definitely a nice way to end the meal with something safe, sweet, and different than rice dream or a cookie. And it wasn't extra!Overall, I really love Kona for lunch. I like the variety of foods during this time and the island chicken sandwich? It's the best! I'm sad to see Chef Johnny move over to Kona, but I was glad he was able to help me on this visit.Next time it will be interesting to visit with a new chef!Overall, a good solid 9 out of 10!
Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian Resort
*This dining experience took place in October 2012.
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| Menu Changes at Kona |
Just a quick review of Kona Cafe. My original plans for the day was to try Plaza Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom since we were there for the new Fantasyland "dress rehearsal" preview. However, I didn't make an ADR and found them to be quite busy. They said they had a 45 minute wait, so we chose to find someplace else and ended up at Kona (one of my favorites for lunch).Upon looking at the menu, I could see that Kona has had some recent menu changes. One of them includes a Kona surf & turf burger with brie, fried shrimp & black garlic aioli. Sounds interesting. I was happy to see that my favorite Kona Island sandwich was still on the menu (I would be so sad if they got rid of that curry mango mayonnaise!!), so I decided to get that. I ordered it with no cheese and no fried onions on a Udi's bun and the curry mango mayo on the side (yes, I shamelessly could eat this out of the dish, plus it's great for dipping fries in). I also ordered plain french fries over the sweet potato fries.Overall, I was very pleased with my sandwich, as per usual. I have ordered it in the past without bacon, but ordered the bacon this time which was excellent. Very nicely grilled sandwich and I love the Udi's buns. I added curry mango mayo to the sandwich and still had quite a bit to dip my fries in. Yum!
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| Kona Island Chicken Sandwich--one of my favorites on property! |
I'll be curious to check out some of the new menu offerings in the future, but for now this is always a great and flavorful standy for me.A solid 9 out of 10!
Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian
*This dining experience took place in September 2012.
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| Kona Cafe |
Just a brief review from Kona Cafe with a new menu item that I tried. As many of you know from previous reviews of Kona, I discovered their Island Chicken Sandwich with the fabulous curry mango mayonnaise. This time though, I decided to do a little something different. I was actually craving stir fry or something with rice and soy sauce. Of course, I was really craving Ohana, so I was hoping that Kona could make something that would sort of satisfy the craving (nope, it can't compare to those grilled shrimp!!!).Chef Johnny, who helps me a lot there (and at this point doesn't even have to ask me my allergies, he just says, so what are you in the mood for today?) said he could whip up a stir fry and I asked for rice though I could have had rice noodles. He essentially made pan Asian noodle dish for me, but modified. I got chicken in it.The dish was very good, but spicier than I anticipated! The chicken was more sauteed than grilled, but I think I would have preferred the grilled chicken from the grille chicken sandwich in it. Yum, that would have been really good. I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety of veggies in this. Loved the cabbage and the broccoli (I think it was actually broccolini). Overall, very tasty. It was mostly a ginger/garlic based sauce, and I did ask for a side of GF soy sauce (they carry San-J there), which they were happy to provide. I personally love soy sauce, and the soy sauce in my opinion complimented this dish really well. The portion of this dish was also very generous and would make a great filling dinner (I had it for late lunch and didn't eat dinner that night!)
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| Chicken stir fry with sticky rice and gluten free soy sauce |
I'd say this dish was a solid 8 out of 10, and I would definitely get again. I think I'd stick with the rice too, even though the options included rice noodles. Yum!
Kona Cafe -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Polynesian
Ah Kona...if you are a regular reader of the blog or you've listened to Episode 002 of my podcast, you know I'm a pretty big fan of Kona Cafe for breakfast! It has been a while since I've had my favorite entree here, the Big Kahuna! With gallbladder problems and then surgery, it was pretty difficult to eat a lot of fat or high portions of food. Yuck! But gallbladder free, the Big Kahuna is just A-OK with me.I was greeted by my regular chef (sorry I never seem to pay attention to his name) who knows me so well that we don't even have to do the standard "what allergies do you have, etc." He just knows. "Gluten and dairy" is pretty much his standard statement. So, I told him that I wanted the modified Big Kahuna with scrambled eggs and no sausage (love the sausage but it does not love me) and Mickey waffles in place of the pancakes and french toast. He was also going to add Earth Balance vegan margarine, which many places are starting to have--this is good (but note, not the soy free version).While waiting for our meal, the chef came back out and he asked if I wanted pancakes instead of Mickey waffles because they are now providing pancakes. I prefer the Mickey waffles to the allergy pancakes (even though it's the same batter), and he agreed. We also had a nice discussion about Kona having the best Mickey waffles on property (and he's heard others say the same) and he said it's partly because they of the varying uses of the mix on property. He said every restaurant does it just a little bit differently. They use Bob's Red Mill pancake and waffle mix with canola oil and rice milk. That's it. Other restaurants sometimes add things like honey to the mix, which I thought was interesting. It explains why some taste a little bit different (and that it's not just my imagination).After he left, I thought about it, and my mom actually suggested that I could do the pineapple macadamia nut pancakes in the future since they could now do pancakes. I thought that was a really good idea, so the next time I'm there, I'm going to ask the chef about it and see if we can test it out!Of course, the Big Kahuna was as good as ever. The breakfast potatoes are so good, with a wonderful seasoning on them. The ham is delicious--some of the best on property. And the Mickey waffles, as usual were excellent. Although, my mom and I both noted that they weren't as crispy as normal (and we had just been talking about it with the chef), which was odd. First time ever that has happened there. We think they needed to cook just a tad longer. Overall though still very good. I had Earth Balance vegan margarine too, but as you see in pictures, it was melted by the time it got to me (not a bad thing sometimes though!)
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| Big Kahuna! |
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| Lots of Mickey Waffles! |
Overall, another 9 out of 10 for Kona. It's always my go-to breakfast spot, and I was so happy to be back in my Big Kahuna groove!
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| 9 out of 10 Menehune prefer Kona Cafe! |
Kona Cafe -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Polynesian Resort
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**This dining experience took place in July 2012.Aloha! As you all know, I love Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort. I can't help it. Their allergy friendly Mickey waffles call my name! It's been a while since I've had my Kona Cafe Mickey waffle fix, so I decided this was the place to head to on my day trip to WDW.First up was a ham omelet (hold the cheese), and the chef subbed out the potatoes and biscuit for Mickey waffles. Normally, I would have asked for more Mickey waffles, but I knew I was having an early dinner at Whispering Canyon. The ham omelet was good, but I actually think in the future I will get what I normally do which is scrambled eggs and ham on the side. Their grilled ham is delicious, and I preferred that over the more shredded version in the omelet (though it's likely just the same ham).Overall, another great meal at Kona.
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| Close-up of those incredible allergy friendly Mickey waffles! |
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| Ham Omelet and Mickey waffles...yum! |
Kona Cafe -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Polynesian
Just a quick update post on Kona Cafe. Thought I'd show a slight variation of offerings there. I recently had gallbladder surgery and prior to the surgery I needed to watch the fat content. Eggs really weren't working well for me (at least not the yolks). So, I was able to order egg whites which worked out really well. Of course, I had to have some Mickey waffles, even if my tummy wasn't too happy later. We ended up doing the "eggs your way" menu choice and subbed the biscuit for mickey waffles. I had grilled ham too. Yum!
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| Scrambled egg whites, ham, and Mickey waffles! |
Kona Cafe -- Dinner -- Table Service -- Polynesian
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| California Luau Roll from Kona Island Sushi Bar |
Many of you probably already know my obsession with Kona Cafe. I adore the breakfast here, and I really like the lunch too. However, I've never been a huge fan of dinner. Maybe it's the choices of dishes? I went once pre-allergies and was a bit underwhelmed by it. (of course, it has never deterred me from going to breakfast here!) But, it has been several years, and I wanted to give Kona Cafe another shot for dinner.One of my biggest wishes was to get some sushi. I emailed them ahead of time, so I knew that I could get something gluten and dairy free; however, I wasn't sure if they'd let me order it from Kona Cafe (instead of going to the sushi bar). I was very excited that this was indeed ok. I ordered the California Luau Roll which was crab, avocado, pineapple. Yum! I will admit the pineapple was an interesting twist, but overall, it was pretty darn tasty! My favorite sushi on property is still at California Grill, but this was a great option too.For my entree, I ordered the shrimp and scallops. The shrimp were supposed to be panko crusted, but both the proteins were grilled for me. They came with sticky rice and ponzu and spicy guava passion fruit sauce. The wasabi cream was not on the entree. Overall, I found it ok. Shrimp and scallops were great. Loved the rice. I just didn't really like the sauces much. The spicy sauce didn't appeal to me much, and I ended up eating around it. Pretty basic entree, good but nothing spectacular.
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| Shrimp and scallops with sticky rice |
Overall, I'd like to see the menu get changed up a bit here for dinner. The lunch menu was recently changed, and I really enjoy the menu choices for lunch. Breakfast, of course, is spectacular! I would walk not run to this place for dinner, but I give Kona Cafe a 9 out of 10 for their dedication to handling food allergies.
Kona Cafe -- Lunch -- Table Service -- Polynesian
**No pictures for this review, as my camera batteries died on this day trip.It's been a while since my updates...sorry everyone! Work and relocation have made my year so busy. I'm hoping in the new year, things will get slower so that I can add more reviews!I just got a chance to try out the new Udi's goods. Ok, I'm sold on the buns!! I'm still confused why Chefs are so upset over the changes -- Udi's does seem to cover a lot of food allergies. The desserts are definitely not an improvement--sorry the "OMG It's gluten free!" stuff isn't that great (although ask them to warm them up for you--much better)But on to Kona...As many of you know, this is one of my most favorite breakfast restaurants on property...tasty food and affordable! Best Mickey waffles ever! Dinner has always been rather blah to me, so I decided to try it for lunch after seeing the menu.I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Island Chicken sandwich, minus the bacon and swiss cheese. It came with sweet potato fries, but I asked for regular fries instead. I also got the curry mango mayonnaise on the side. The sandwich was very good. I looooved the curry mango mayonnaise. Wow! So tasty, I used it for the sandwich and dippping of the fries. The chicken was nicely grilled and the bun (Udi's) was the best GF bun I've ever had (my mom even said it tasted like regular bread). Next time I'll add the bacon! The chef also let me test taste the slaw made with bacon -- very good and subtle bacon flavor (it was tossed w/bacon grease).Overall, I would recommend this restuarant. The server we had was great -- she was very diligent about my allergies and she and the chef were on top of things when the cooks accidently put my chicken on regular bread (we had a little bit of a wait b/c of this).I'd give this a 9 out of 10. I'd like to try some other lunch options next time! Breakfast and Lunch are outstanding here!
Kona Cafe -- Polynesian -- Table Service
Ah, breakfast at Kona Cafe....I dream about those Mickey Waffles from Kona on a regular basis. They are soooo good. I seriously can't believe they are gluten and dairy free. This trip ended up bringing not one but two breakfasts at Kona. The first was planned, as we had made ADRs for this months in advance, the second was a spur of the moment, made the ADR the night before because my brother wanted to treat us to breakfast. Fine by me! Both meals were great as usual. The second meal, the chef was Kristina (I believe that is her name) and she had waited on me in the past--she was the chef who gave me butter on the plate--eek! But she was very good this time and I had no problems. I so far have no desire to veer from the Big Kahuna meal--so that is what I got both times, along with Lilikoi juice! YUM! Another solid 9 out of 10 for being a consistently good breakfast and good service.
Me and my mom enjoying our Lilikoi juice!
Big Kahuna at our first breakfast...
And from our second breakfast....gotta love those Mickey Waffles!Kona Cafe--Table Service--Polynesian
One of my favorite go-to table service breakfasts at WDW is the one served at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian resort. On my last trip, I had an amazing experience and one of the yummiest breakfasts I've had since going GF/CF! Chef Kim was fantastic, and he really treated me to a great meal and bent over backwards to give me a good experience. This time another chef came out to greet me. (though we did see Chef Kim, so he is still there!) She was very friendly (I believe her name was Karina?) and enthusiastic. She said my restrictions were easy compared to many, and she said she'd make me the Big Kahuna with Mickey waffles and such. I was so looking forward to this. I also ordered the Lilikoi juice, which is very tasty! However, when my meal arrived, I noticed there was butter in a cup. I asked the server if this was Earth Balance butter (safe for dairy free diets) and she said she wasn't sure. The chef came out and said it was their butter/margarine blend and she forgot about my dairy allergy. Um, not good. She went to replate it and said everything was OK. But one taste of my eggs said otherwise. When you don't ever get any kind of dairy product and you get exposed to it you know. Eggs cooked with olive oil taste much different. At this point, I didn't want to bug the chef again, and I was really hungry (everyone else was halfway through their breakfast...a trend I seemed to have most of this trip), so I just didn't eat the eggs after the first few bites. The one addition from this version from the last was the pineapple on the side. I ate a bit of it, but not much because of the texture of pineapple and the irritation it might cause to my Crohn's. Overall, it was still good. The portion of this entree was smaller than the last time, perhaps Chef Kim was just being really generous!
My modified Big Kahuna, unfortunately there is butter on this plate.Dining Review -- Polynesian, Kona Cafe Breakfast
The Polynesian is one of my favorite resorts, and I love the restaurants here. Kona Cafe has my favorite breakfast at WDW hands down. The Big Kahuna is the best. But, since going GF/CF I wasn't sure if I would be able to really enjoy my favorite breakfast. But, Chef Kim and the rest of the Kona staff made sure I did! Upon being seated, I told the waitress that I had dietary restrictions. She then went to the back and brought out Chef Kim. He was hilarious! We were greeted with a great big Aloha and he proceeded to ask all sorts of questions. He had a pad where he wrote my name, my restrictions and what we decided I wanted to eat. He asked what I liked and I told him I really, really liked the Macadamia nut pancakes; however, I couldn't really eat nuts at the time (b/c of the Crohn's flare) and Chef Kim said he could try, but that I couldn't blame him if it tasted terrible. Well, I can't say I blame him. At least he was honest. I told him, I love the Big Kahuna and he said he would see what he could do. About 10 minutes later, Chef Kim came out with 2 piping hot plates. One for me and one for my mom. He joked how special we were because he doesn't normally run food. I was really impressed with his service! I ended up getting the Big Kahuna modified. He made me scrambled eggs, Mickey waffles, and everything else that comes with the meal. I swear, I got double everything. It was HUGE. Here's what mine looked like: 
Now here's what my mom's version of the Big Kahuna:
Yep, I did not wind up being hungry. Everything was just great. I definitely recommend this for dietary restrictions; they were very accommodating and very friendly. 10 out of 10.