Epcot Archives - Foodology

In American

Finding Croissant Doughnuts in Epcot

July 14, 2016

Walking around Epcot, you can’t help but look at the different kiosks to see the different snack options. Strolling along Epcot, I spotted Croissant Doughnuts at the Refreshment Port.

Using my dining plan, I grabbed the Croissant Doughnut tossed in cinnamon sugar.

It was pretty large, but it was drenched in oil and hard to eat. You’ll need a knife and fork for this.Grab a napkin because it will come in handy. I wouldn’t get this again.

We Rate Croissant Doughnut:

Address:
200 Epcot Center Dr, Lake Buena Vista

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/refreshment-port/

In Canadian

Le Cellier: Canadian Cuisine in Epcot

July 11, 2016

Le Cellier Steakhouse is a top restaurant in Epcot and reservations are highly recommended as they are always packed. The restaurant has savour tender steaks, fresh seafood, cheesy poutine fries and other regional cuisine inspired by the provinces of Canada.

As a Canadian food blogger, I had to check out their interpretation of what Canadian Cuisine is all about.

Disney Meal Plan

If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, this requires 2 dining plan credits as it is a signature restaurant. You are then entitled to a non-alcoholic beverage, an entree, and a dessert.

Exterior

Head to the Fairmont hotel replica, where you will find Le Cellier Steakhouse underneath. It is a pretty nice area around this restaurant, so make sure to take a stroll through the different areas when waiting for your seat.

When we got there, they were about 15 minutes behind schedule, so we say around enjoying the view until one of the lovely staff told us our table is ready.

Interior

The interior was like an underground wine cellar, thus the name. I liked the dark warm atmosphere since it had a more cozy atmosphere.

Complimentary Bread

Pretzel Breadsticks, sourdough bread and multi-grain bread came to the table and there was a good portion of it. The butter had a but of maple sugar to it, so it reminded me of honey butter. So good.

Entrees

Le Cellier Filet Mignon has AAA Canadian tenderloin, mushroom risotto, heirloom Toy Box tomatoes, and a truffle-butter sauce.

The Filet mignon was melt in your mouth delicious, but that risotto was very salty. This dish was pretty small, compared to some of the dishes here, but the quality is there.

Black Angus Boneless Rib-Eye has a Fall spice butternut squash purée, roasted marble potatoes, pickled onions, and maple-sage butter. The rib eye is a lot larger than the Filet Mignon, so it’s a better option if you have a big stomach. The rib eye was tender and had a good amount of flavour.

Dessert

Chocolate Whisky Trifle has malted milk panna cotta, caramel popcorn, whisky-caramel sauce, and buttered popcorn gelato. Very cute to have the gelato sit on top of the chocolate lace, but it did break after it arrived on the table. It was a very sweet dessert with hints of saltiness and the slight aroma of whiskey.

Camembert Cheesecake has double-cream cheesecake, cherry gelée, and pistachio cream florentine. It was a unique dessert and not too sweet. I was surprised at how well the pistachio would pair with it.

Overall, the food was good but it is expensive, but good thing we had the Disney Dining Plan. If I wasn’t on the dining plan, I think we would have chosen cheaper options. They also have lunch options, but it isn’t any cheaper on or off the dining plan.

We Rate Le Cellier:

Address:
200 Epcot Center Dr, Lake Buena Vista

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/le-cellier-steakhouse/

In Epcot

Cool Zone: Finding Free Drinks at Epcot

July 10, 2016

At the Walt Disney World Parks, buying cold drinks is pretty expensive. Since the Summer’s are so hot, sometimes fountain water isn’t going to cut it.

Head over to the Club Cool area to sample international sodas from Coca-Cola near Innoventions West inside Epcot.

Walking inside, you can feel free to try any of the 8 flavours for no charge. Other things you can do here is purchase Coca-Cola merchandise. Let’s be real, everyone was free for the free and exotic drinks.

Gurana Kuat is a guarana berry flavoured soft drink from Brazil. it first launched in 1997 and guarana comes from the Guarani word guara-ná, which translated to “fruit like the eyes of people”.
Inca Kola is known as The Taste of Peru, this soda has an unusually sweet fruity flavour similar to bubblegum.
Sparletta Sparberry is from Zimbabwe, a raspberry flavoured cream soda launch in 1955.
Bibo is fruit-flavoured juice from South Africa since 1998. It features characters like Johnny Orange, Taka Strawberry and Paolo Peach. The flavour today was Kiwi Mango.
VegitaBeta is a Japanese soft drink that was launched in 1992. It is a non carbonated beverage with apricot and passionfruit flavors and is rich in Beta-Carotene that contributes to its unique yellowish-orange color.
Fanta Melon Frosty is the top soft drink in Thailand and known for its melon flavour perfect for the hot tropical climate.
Fanta Pineapple is an original flavour from Greece. It has a sweet flavor with no caffeine. There are more than 90 flavors available in 180 countries.
Beverly is a carbonated soft drink marketed as a non-alcoholic apéritif in Italy.

The 8 flavours are fun to try, but there are a few flavours that will make you question why these sodas were ever made. All of them I felt were decent except for Beverly.

Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/epcot/

In Epcot

Mission: SPACE at Epcot with Intense Training

June 17, 2016

Inside EPCOT, there’s not a lot of rides compared to the other Disney World Parks, but one of the interesting rides we went on was Mission: SPACE. Seems pretty fun and FastPass+ is offered.

When you walk in, there are 2 levels of training for the cadets. You can be part of the Green Team, which is less intense and only a motion simulator ride. Or you can be part of the orange team with more intensity and uses a centrifuge to simulate speed and G forces.

I went with Team Orange for the more intense training as I don’t get motion sickness. They give you a corresponding launch ticket so the staff know where to guide you.

You and 3 others are part of a cadet crew heading to your mission to Mars in a space shuttle. Each person in your crew has a specific role to complete as a navigator, pilot, commander or engineer.

They have barf bags inside the simulator and I thought it was just one of the silly props in the simulator. Lets just say in the end of the ride, M and I felt pretty sick.

We didn’t throw up, but we did feel like we needed a break from the Summer heat and just grab a cold drink and sit for a while. For a ride that only lasts just under 4 minutes, that G-Force really hits you.

If you are prone to motion sickness or not feeling 100%, you will want to join the Green Team. Of course, I shouldn’t be scaring you out of the Orange Team. It’s fun but you might have a slight chance of motion sickness.

Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/mission-space/

In American

Funnel Cake Cart: Disney World

June 16, 2016

There are a few places in Disney World to get Funnel Cakes:

Funnel Cakes are a popular snack at carnival and theme parks in America. You really can’t leave without getting one. I went to the one in Epcot in the American Pavilion.

All they serve are funnel cakes with different toppings.

Funnel Cake with Sugar is the classic choice, plus you can use your dining plan to get this as your daily snack. They dust the top with powdered sugar.

This came right out of the fryer, so it was really hot. Parts of it was light and crisp, then other parts were a little more limp.

Overall, a good snack to share, but nothing that I would go out of my way to find.

Address:
Near American Pavilion in Epcot

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/funnel-cake/menus/

In Brewery

Beer Selection in Epcot Japan Pavilion

June 15, 2016

Right in the centre of the Japan Pavilion in Epcot World Showcase, you can get some Japanese beer on tap, also the infamous Frozen Kirin Beer. I’ve had this before in Vancouver, but I really didn’t enjoy frozen beer. Anything ice cold on draft was good enough for me.

Their 2 choices were Sapporo and Kirin Ichiban. They also have other drinks on the menu, but I just wanted a nice cold beer.

Sapporo on draft and it golden in colour. It is light and crisp without a hoppy aftertaste. For a hot summers day, I definitely prefer light beers.

We grabbed our beers and listened to the taiko drumming performance – Matsuriza that happens a few times daily.

Location:
Japan, Epcot World Showcase

In Epcot

Weinkellar: German Wine Tasting in Epcot

June 14, 2016

What did we do in the German pavilion in Epcot? Instead of having German beer, we did a wine tasting at Weinkellar. Blasphemy right? This space was heavily air-conditioned, which perhaps contributed us to staying inside a bit more.

M loves his red wines, so it was something he wanted to try. We have a lot of good Canadian wine in Vancouver, but we have never tried a German wine before.

Each flight has 3 samples and its 2 oz in each cup.

Graf Neipperg Lemberger
light ruby-red greets the noise with aromas of cherry, plum, slight spice with harmoniously balanced tannins

Hex Vom Dasenstein Pinot Noir

has an earthy and mineral qualities balanced with classic notes of dark cherry, plum and robust tannins

Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose

light with aromas of fresh strawberries along with hints of grapefruit and melon with a clean zippy finish.

The Hex vom Dasenstein Pinot Noir is $23.95 /bottle. Not a bad price. Tasted pretty good and the art on the bottle is really nice.

Who would have thought there would be wine tastings in Epcot? What’s awesome about Epcot is that everyone is drinking and having a beer. This is definitely a place for adults to unwind.

Location:
German Pavilion, Epcot

In Epcot

Tangierine Cafe: Morocco in Epcot’s World Showcase

June 11, 2016

Take a stroll into Tangierine Café, where it reminds me of Aladdin. It is located in the Morocco area of Epcot’s World Showcase. If you’re lucky, you might be able to spot Aladdin and Jasmine close by.

This quick service restaurant serves up shawarma, wraps, and different types of platters.

The meat on the large skewers look severely processed. Traditionally, you will be able to see the different layers of meat, but this just looks like it was ground up with filler and spices, then moulded into shape.

We got 2 platters and ate outside in the shade.

Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter has a side of hummus, tabouleh and couscous salad with Moroccan bread. Very flavourful items and I liked the platter as you don’t have to get messy eating a wrap.

Shawarma Lamb Platter has the same side as the other platter. The only difference is the meat.

They have a few different items for dessert, but we went with the baklava.

Baklava is a sweet pastry made of filo, chopped nuts and honey. It was very sweet and we only could have a few bites each.

To wash all that food down, coke and water had to do. We usually end up sharing the coke and saving the water for later when we need it. It’s a lot easier to carry it around the park or put it into our bag without spilling.

Overall, the food was good compared to some other quick service restaurants in Epcot. If you compare this to real authentic Moroccan cuisine, it doesn’t even come close.

We rate Tangierine Cafe:

Address:
1510 N Avenue of the Stars, Orlando, FL
Morocco – Epcot

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/tangierine-cafe/menus/

In Epcot

Teppan Edo: Japanese Teppanyaki in Epcot

June 7, 2016

Right after we got out of the airport and checked into the Disney Resort, we made our way to Epcot to catch our dinner reservations at Teppan Edo. We had a little time to kill, so we walked around Japan Town to check out their large souvenir store. Their store has pretty cool stuff from Sailormoon to Dragon Ball Z figurines.

Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining are both located in this large building. Teppan Edo on the left and Tokyo Dining on the right.

Teppan Edo is known for an interactive dining experience where an Teppanyaki chef comes out and cooks on a hot grill right in front of your table.

We made reservations weeks ago in advance via our travel agent.

With reservations, I found that you get seated promptly at your reservation time. All the staff were nice and friendly.

Ichigo is a non-alcoholic cocktail with strawberries, pineapple juice, and lemon juice. Nice and refreshing for a hot Summer in Orlando.

Shochu cocktail with fresh grape fruit. It comes with half a grapefruit, which you need to squeeze out all the pulp and juices.

Then you pour it into your glass. M did enjoy it.

Seating is communal and you are all seated at the same time. Each table sites 8 people. We sat with people from California, Florida and Brazil, which was pretty cool.

We both ordered entrees and it is served with a garden salad, udon noodles, vegetables, and sukiyaki beef rice. We were on the Disney Dining Plan, so we knew to order the 2 most expensive items on the menu to make it worth it.

First the garden salad arrives with a tomato, cucumber, greens and a lot of sauce. It’s basically drowning in all that sauce buried below.

The chef then does a few tricks on the grill to get the show started. The person that we got wasn’t very good, he accidentally tossed a spatula towards a guest and dropped his utensils. It kinda started the dinner off on a bad note as no one really looked too impressed. The other chef at the table across from us had no issues at all.

At least he made us a volcano with steam before he began mixing the veggies with udon.

The udon has a pretty good portion for each person. It was very salty. I think he added too much soy sauce to it. We did finish it, but we were in dire need of more water.

We got the Filet Mignon ($34) and Julienne Beef ($32). Both nice cuts of beef. Expensive, but with the dining plan, it was worth it.

We got the Filet Mignon cooked to medium rare. You really can’t go wrong with a filet mignon as it is already so tender.

Julienne beef was good too but I felt it was a bit heavy handed on the salt.

To go with the beef, the sukiyaki rice bowl arrives. It was ok as well.

Vanilla-Green Tea Swirl Soft Serve Ice Cream ($4.95) came in a good sized bowl, but we were so full that it was very hard to finish.

Green Tea Mousse Cake has layers of green tea sponge cake with green tea mousse and whipped cream. Was light in green tea flavour, but it was sweet to balance out the natural bitterness of the tea.

Overall, the food was quite salty from the soy sauce and excessive salt. The Japanese food here is definitely Americanized and isn’t very authentic. For one dining credit, we got our value out of it, but I wouldn’t return. The experience is definitely dependent on the chef you get. Ours was pretty bad, so the magic fizzled out quite early on in the meal when our chef kept dropping his utensils.

Of all the restaurants we’ve been to at Disney World, Teppan Edo was one of our least favourites.

We Rate Teppan Edo: