Yak & Yeti

Asia, Animal Kingdom Park

January 2015
Overall Rating:  7.1 
Ambiance:  8 
Food:  7 
Service:  7 

The Yak & Yeti is an Asian inspired restaurant located in the Asia section of Animal Kingdom.   It blends in so well with its surroundings that I have failed to give it proper notice, until this trip.




Ambiance/Theming:  8 

It is themed so well, that you barely notice it is even there.  Don't get me wrong, it is a large building, but it remains truthful to its area, surroundings, and other buildings, so you can easily miss it all together if you aren't looking.   The interior of the restaurant is no exception.

It is a two level restaurant with a large staircase in the center (as well as an elevator for those needing assistance).   We were seated on the 2nd floor which has no shortage of charm and appeal.   From what I could tell from my somewhat ignorant experience, there was no predominant culture or country represented, but rather a fusion of several.   It was in order, but not overly done, so it felt real-world rather than cartoonish as some can.

Food:  7 

The food, much like the decor, was Asian fusion.  So if you are looking for Chinese food, or Thai food specifically, you are better served elsewhere.   This made the experience fun and new for all of us.

For an appetizer, I had the Pork Egg Rolls with chili plum sauce.   They had good flavor, but the plum sauce was a bit disappointing, and, as many egg rolls are, they were greasy.   I would not recommend these as they were akin to standard egg rolls you can get virtually anywhere.

For the entree, I chose the Chicken Tikka Masala.   If you are familiar with Masala, you know that it is an Indian blend of spices (not an Italian wine... see Marsala).   This served as the flavor base to a slow-cooked chicken dish in a yogurt sauce.   I would say it tasted like a blend of Indian with Moroccan.   Granted, not necessarily "Asian," but very much like a Moroccan tajine.   This dish was fun and different, but is not necessarily something that I would clamor to eat again.  In fact, I probably left over half of the dish uneaten as there was nothing served with the dish to offset the flavor profile, so it started to get rather boring.


The dessert was the shining moment of this meal.   Fried Wontons.   The name does NOT do it justice.   What this is are skewers with alternating fried cream cheese wontons and roasted pineapple drizzled with a warm vanilla sauce and served with a scoop of ice cream.   After the two previous courses, I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the dessert, but I was.   My words can't do this justice, so I will just say "MUST. DO."   You can thank me later.

Service:  7 

Our waiter was kind and attentive.   Drink refill factor: excellent.   However, it was on the high end of "meets expectations" for me, but it certainly wasn't exceptional service.   

Summary:

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone, even those who don't enjoy asian cuisine.  There are both bold offerings as well as safe choices for the less daring.   There aren't a lot of table service options in Animal Kingdom, and so far, I feel this is the best.