Vinywaji baridi

Tamu Tamu Refreshments in the Harambe district of Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a history of being a nice stopover for guest venturing into the land from Discovery Island or Asia or out of Africa to other ports of adventure. The singular knock against the outdoor quick service location, if there had to be one, has been that it hasn’t offered many daring menu components. Yet, the crumbling fort turned diner now offers a dish certain the tingle the tastebuds, the Slow-roasted Pulled Beef Sandwich.

The menu board in front of Tamu Tamu Refreshments bills the meal as such: Spicy Beef with a Mint Yogurt Cucumber Sauce on a Pita. For a side dish guests have a choice between apple slices or fresh chips.

The exterior of the sandwich, the pita, is soft and works well with the other elements of the sandwich. The pulled beef has a great stewed curry flavor, which means that it is fork tender, not that you need the fork, with a slow burning kick. The mint yogurt cucumber sauce is chock full of fresh goodies, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and diced mint. The use of yogurt as a cooling agent for fiery foods is a time tested formula. When done correctly yogurt trimmings add unique flavors, dampen the heat of the spices, and all while never overpowering or disregarding the main component. The Slow-roasted Pulled Beef Sandwich succeeds in mixing heat and cooling and fresh and flavor in simple fashion.

As for the sides, I opted for the fresh handmade chips that have increasingly been showing up on menus across Walt Disney World. While I would never believe that they had been cut and fried inside of Tamu Tamu Refreshments, they were warm and included a kick I had not gleaned in the chips elsewhere. My assumption, from the red flecks found on my chips, is that these chips were ramp up with a bit of cayenne and black pepper.

It was great to see something new crop up on the quick service side of Harambe. The Slow-roasted Pulled Beef Sandwich made this new discovery even better by being a homerun! For the adventurous eaters descending upon Disney’s Animal Kingdom, trust me when I say this is a dish you just have to try!