Tonga Toast

I didn't mean to do two breakfast recipes this week...  And I didn't mean to do yet another recipe from Disney's Polynesian Village Resort...  Yet, here we are.  I can't help it.  I love that resort and I adore their food options.  What other place has more classic dining experiences under one roof than Disney's Polynesian Village Resort?  Dole Whips, chicken wings, welcome bread...  It's all amazing!  But what food-related profile of Disney' Polynesian Village Resort would be complete without mentioning possibly the most famous, the most sought after, the most coveted breakfast of all?

That's right...  Tonga toast.

Oh, Tonga toast...  Let's talk about the fanatical, devoted fanbase that people have for Tonga pineapple pancakes and Tonga toast.  You wake up to that smell every morning?  You just have to have it.  You can't blame them for being practically obsessed with it.  And the people not at the Polynesian?  Let's just say I've seen some insane daily plans from people, plans that involve getting up super early, taking multiple buses, or walking a mile just so they can get to the Polynesian to have their slice of Tonga toast.  It's no joke people...  Tonga toast is a big thing.
toast.  The Run Disney runners are obsessed with it because it's a bounty of perfect race foods...  Bananas, carb-loaded toast, heaping piles of sugar.  I think Kona Cafe becomes on par with Be Our Guest during race weekends in terms of how hard it is to get a reservation.  Runners want their Tonga toast.  Guests at Disney's Polynesian Village resort are equally as obsessed with the stuff.  How can they not be? Every morning the only smell that hits you in the lobby is

I didn't get the magic of the Tonga toast until I stayed at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort for the second time.  On our last day, my mom had ordered it at Kona and I tried a bite.  That one bite left me hooked.  It was sweet banana heaven on a plate (my mom didn't like it...  She's not a fan of French toast...  I know, she's crazy).  I very nearly regretted ordering the pineapple pancakes instead.  Nearly...  I'm obsessed with pineapple.

Anyway, this is like an eggless banana-stuffed french toast meets sweet Monte Cristo sandwich.  Banana is stuffed in bread, deep fried until golden, drenched with sugar and cinnamon and served warm, sometimes with syrup, sometimes without.  Occasionally people get a strawberry puree drizzle on top and I've seen one strange soul claim that ketchup (?!) on it is the bomb.

This recipe made my mouth and my tummy so happy (then immediately made it sad again because I'm on a diet for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and sugar coated toast isn't part of the training plan).  This tastes exactly, to the smallest detail, exactly like what they serve at Kona Cafe.  Sweet, warm, banana so warm it's gooey, crunchy, and just plain good.  It smells like heaven, it tastes like heaven.  Put a blindfold on me and turn on some tropical music and I'd tell you I was sitting in a gorgeous tropical-themed lobby of one of my favorite resorts getting ready to grab a monoral for a day at EPCOT.

The morning before the half marathon in November, I have a breakfast scheduled at Kona for 7:30.  I'm going to go, load up my plate, and eat this like I'm about to run 13.1 miles and not regret a bite of it.  I can't remember a recipe that's made me this antsy to get back to Walt Disney World as this one has.        

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Tonga Toast

As is served at Kona Cafe and Capt. Cook's, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

 

°o°  1 cup granulated sugar  
°o°  2 teaspoons cinnamon  

°o°  1 loaf sourdough bread, sliced into 2 inch thick pieces  

°o°  2 bananas, peeled, cut in half crosswise, then sliced lengthwise  

°o°  canola oil  

Mix sugar and cinnamon until completely blended in a large, flat bowl or dish.  Set aside.

Take the thick-sliced sourdough bread and cut in the middle, but not all the way through, making a hot dog-bun like cut.  On one side, scrape out a very small amount of bread, but do not scrape all the way through (you're creating a small well).  Stuff with 3 pieces of banana.  Set aside.

Add enough oil for frying to a deep pot or pan and heat until 350.  Add stuffed bread to oil and fry for 1 minute.  Carefully flip and fry the other side an additional minute.  Carefully remove and allow extra oil to run off, then place the toast in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Coat liberally on both sides with cinnamon and sugar.  Put on a wire rack or paper towel to drain for 1 minute.  Repeat process with other stuffed toast pieces.

Serve warm with maple syrup, strawberry drizzle, fresh fruit, or as a stand-alone meal.    
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