JiJi's Asian complimentary stir-fry lunch -- no longer offered on Horizon?

[Pellaz]

I checked for recent posts regarding Jiji's and didn't turn up anything.  

 

We're sailing on Horizon next month and in the past they've offered complimentary stir-fry at JiJi's for lunch. 

However, when I looked at the "For Your Dining Pleasure" page at GoCCL, the lunch stir-fry wasn't shown for ANY ship.  

Is it still available?  It's one of my favorite meals on Carnival, along with Mongolian Wok.  

 

If it isn't, that's IT!   I'm cancelling our cruise and booking on a quality line, like Margaritaville At Sea!   😄  

 

 

[Mr305]

I was on Horizon a couple of months ago and it was being offered, had lunch there on embarkation day.  I don’t remember it being advertised anywhere, just head there when you board.  It’s a quieter venue, compared to the Lido madness.  Menu is limited and if you are looking for certain beers they might be limited due to provisions being underway.

[ninjacat123]

9 hours ago, Pellaz said:

I checked for recent posts regarding Jiji's and didn't turn up anything.  

 

We're sailing on Horizon next month and in the past they've offered complimentary stir-fry at JiJi's for lunch. 

However, when I looked at the "For Your Dining Pleasure" page at GoCCL, the lunch stir-fry wasn't shown for ANY ship.  

Is it still available?  It's one of my favorite meals on Carnival, along with Mongolian Wok.  

 

If it isn't, that's IT!   I'm cancelling our cruise and booking on a quality line, like Margaritaville At Sea!   😄  

 

 

We were on Sunshine, which has JiJi's and had the complimentary stir fry lunch.  Different than the Mongolian Wok, we wrote down on a order sheet our choice of rice noodles or linguine-like pasta.  Beef, shrimp or veggie I think.  A nice light lunch but not Mongolian Wok. It was nice and quiet there.

[cxr133]

we were on Horizon 4th of July crusie and it was closed on embarkation day

[Pellaz]

7 hours ago, Mr305 said:

I was on Horizon a couple of months ago and it was being offered, had lunch there on embarkation day.  I don’t remember it being advertised anywhere, just head there when you board.  It’s a quieter venue, compared to the Lido madness.  Menu is limited and if you are looking for certain beers they might be limited due to provisions being underway.

 

It's an awesome alternative to the Lido Buffet Madness (tm).  But shhh, don't tell anyone; it's best to keep it a secret...sort of.  😉 

 

4 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

We were on Sunshine, which has JiJi's and had the complimentary stir fry lunch.  Different than the Mongolian Wok, we wrote down on a order sheet our choice of rice noodles or linguine-like pasta.  Beef, shrimp or veggie I think.  A nice light lunch but not Mongolian Wok. It was nice and quiet there.

 

Yes, the pencil and ordering sheet is what I've experienced before at JiJi's for lunch and that's fine with me.  Not the same as Mongolian Wok, to be sure, but there's 100% less standing in line for 30 minutes.  🙂  

 

49 minutes ago, cxr133 said:

we were on Horizon 4th of July crusie and it was closed on embarkation day

 

See, NOW I'm getting concerned.  To borrow a phrase from The Princess Bride's Prince Humperdinck, if there is no complimentary lunch stir-fry at JiJi's, I shall be very Put Out.  😄  

 

Pretty sure the complimentary pasta bar is still offered across the vestibule at the Cucina, so even if JiJi's is closed, there's still an awesome nearby alternative to Lido Buffet Madness.   (Along with the complimentary Guy's Smokehouse lunch offerings, which are also not well-advertised.) 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Pellaz
adding italics

[Pellaz]

For reference -- pretty handy for ALL dining venues and all ships -- here is the same "For your dining pleasure" page, but on Carnival's website itself, not GoCCL:  

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4252

 

Note that, while the Mongolian Wok, Chibang! and the Cucina's "Pasta Bar" are mentioned as lunch options, the lunch stir-fry at JiJi's is not.  😮  

 

 

[ohioNCLcruiser]

On the Panorama two weeks ago it was open however it is no longer a "create your own" kinda place. They had three pre-made bowls that you could choose from. The quality was def not the same. JiJis at dinner was as wonderful as always!

[Pellaz]

4 hours ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

On the Panorama two weeks ago it was open however it is no longer a "create your own" kinda place. They had three pre-made bowls that you could choose from. The quality was def not the same. JiJis at dinner was as wonderful as always!

 

Wow.  Curioser and curioser!   

 

I guess we'll just head to Jiji's and the Cucina (they're across from eachother) upon embark and I'll be pleasantly surprised if JiJi's is open...and grumpy as all get-out for a period of not less than 10 seconds and not more than 30.  I'll be on a cruise, after all!    

 

[TiredTrucker]

Now I'm confused, I was led to believe that Mongolian Wok was what lunch at JiJi's was called...so what the heck is Mongolian Wok???

[Pellaz]

26 minutes ago, TiredTrucker said:

Now I'm confused, I was led to believe that Mongolian Wok was what lunch at JiJi's was called...so what the heck is Mongolian Wok???

 

"Mongolian Wok" is an area of the Lido Buffet on some ships that serves Mongolian stir-fry.  It's similar to a land-side wok setup where you stand in line, then get your items, and have them cooked in front of you by the Wok crew. 

This is available on Breeze, Dream, Freedom, Liberty, Magic, Splendor, and Valor.

 

JiJi's lunchtime version of it is a bit different:  sit-down service, and -- at least in the past -- you'd fill out a card with the items you want (meats, veggies, noodle types, etc.) and they'd cook it fresh and bring it to you.  

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Pellaz
Added ships offering Mongolian Wok

[ProgRockCruiser]

FWIW, I just checked Vista, which is my next cruise.

 

JiJi Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano are listed as Dinner, additional cost, but the Captain's Pasta Bar (located at Cucina del C) is Lunch and complimentary.  There is nothing listed for anything like JiJi or Mongolian Wok for Lunch.  But that doesn't mean something won't be offered one day as a Lido Buffet offering anyway, I suppose. 

[SummerRoze]

I just got off the Horizon last week and JiJi's does offer a free lunch option until 2:30p, but it is not a Mongolian wok menu. There were a handful of pre made bowl options to choose from, but nothing where you build your own noodle/protein/veggie bowls unfortunately.

[Pellaz]

7 hours ago, SummerRoze said:

I just got off the Horizon last week and JiJi's does offer a free lunch option until 2:30p, but it is not a Mongolian wok menu. There were a handful of pre made bowl options to choose from, but nothing where you build your own noodle/protein/veggie bowls unfortunately.

 

Huh, that's interesting.  I'll be checking it out in two weeks, but that's disappointing.  I wouldn't think it was THAT much more difficult to collect our filled-out cards, toss the items onto a wok, and cook 'em. 

 

[edspec]

They offered the bowl options in February on Panorama. I really enjoyed them. They were steaming hot, tasted fresh and the combinations were wonderful. 

[Pellaz]

23 hours ago, edspec said:

They offered the bowl options in February on Panorama. I really enjoyed them. They were steaming hot, tasted fresh and the combinations were wonderful. 

 

Do you mean the "pre-made" bowl options?   Now I'm getting really curious about them.  

 

Oh, well, if I don't like any of the combinations there's always the Cucina across from JiJi's...  And Guy's Smokehouse, Guy's Burger Joint, Blue Iguana Cantina, Fresh Creations, the Deli, the pizzeria, and oh yeah, the Lido Buffet.  🙂  

[edspec]

I wouldn't use the term pre-made as much as I'd use bowls made according to a specific recipe.  They tasted fresh and hot.  TBH I was happy because I'm so indecisive I'd be a basket case trying to figure out what I wanted w/ a full Mongolian Wok option list 🙂

[cruisinpips]

We were on Horizon last week. Jijis for lunch is always our go to on the first day. To say the least, we were all disappointed and went to Pig and Anchor for BBQ afterwards. They now have pre-made bowls that are bland and lacking any meat. I selected the beef bowl, and if there was 1 oz of beef in it, I would be surprised. Same with shrimp and chicken. It was not good! And that reminds me I forgot to put that on my survey yesterday😡

[john91498]

I was on the Panorama last month and Jiji's lunch was definitely not freshly made. We were very disappointed and took 1 bite and left. 

[Pellaz]

16 hours ago, cruisinpips said:

We were on Horizon last week. Jijis for lunch is always our go to on the first day. To say the least, we were all disappointed and went to Pig and Anchor for BBQ afterwards. They now have pre-made bowls that are bland and lacking any meat. I selected the beef bowl, and if there was 1 oz of beef in it, I would be surprised. Same with shrimp and chicken. It was not good! And that reminds me I forgot to put that on my survey yesterday😡

 

10 hours ago, john91498 said:

I was on the Panorama last month and Jiji's lunch was definitely not freshly made. We were very disappointed and took 1 bite and left. 

 

 

Well, aren't y'all a huge ray of sunshine?   🙂   

 

Oh, well, I guess I'll find out for sure in less than two weeks.....

[john91498]

Just being honest. Out of all the food venues, Jiji's was our only disappointment.

[ninjacat123]

48 minutes ago, john91498 said:

Just being honest. Out of all the food venues, Jiji's was our only disappointment.

Are you talking about lunch?  Dinner at JiJi's in my opinion is sooooo delicious!

[john91498]

22 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Are you talking about lunch?  Dinner at JiJi's in my opinion is sooooo delicious!

 

We had dinner at the steakhouse, Pig & Anchor, Italian, Bonsai, the Teppanyaki place and both elegant nights in the MDR. We didn't even consider Jiji's as lunch was so bad. 

 

Maybe next cruise we'll give it a shot. 

[ninjacat123]

30 minutes ago, john91498 said:

 

We had dinner at the steakhouse, Pig & Anchor, Italian, Bonsai, the Teppanyaki place and both elegant nights in the MDR. We didn't even consider Jiji's as lunch was so bad. 

 

Maybe next cruise we'll give it a shot. 

Do try it!  The duck is awesome and the stock pig, the short rib....so good!!

[Pellaz]

As a followup, I can now confirm that the more limited menu is now in effect aboard the Horizon at Jiji's, with certain preselected ingredients for each choice of bowl or broth.  I'll append a photo of the menu below.  

I liked both the beef and the chicken options (I don't care for shrimp); I thought the beef bowl was slightly better.   I was leery of it at first because of the Sichuan peppercorns ("Sichuan" means "hot and spicy" to me, and I prefer milder food), but the server said it wasn't TOO spicy and she was correct.  🙂  

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Pellaz
"peppercorns"

[devinc]

I had the chicken broth and noodles on Vista in Sept and felt they were seasoned and cooked better than before.  Not as much protein but better imo.