Let's celebrate 15 years together by eating around the World! 05/24 F&W

[nanienamou]

We got to Epcot the following morning around 11 o'clock for a Food and Wine "brunch". We actually grazed all afternoon, between some touring, movies and rides.

First booth we hit: Ireland, where we got the Fisherman's pie and the Irish coffee on ice.

Lobster and seafood fisherman's pie

This is overkill for me. We had it last year and I found it too rich and greasy. Same thing this year. It's good, but cream sauce, with rich mashed potatoes and melted cheese on top makes it simply to heavy for my taste. DH loves it, though, and we got many pieces of seafood. It is also a big portion.

Bunratty Potcheen Chilled Irish Coffee

Again, a pick mainly for DH. Boy this was strong! I was still in wake-up mode and this gave me a jolt! DH commented that it had more "Irish" than "coffee" in this and that made me laugh! We would get this again, but maybe not so early in the morning!

Then we stopped at the Canada booth for the anticipated filet.

"Le Cellier" wild mushroom beef filet mignon with truffle butter sauce

Definitely overcooked...

This was not a hit. The meat was tough and chewy and overcooked for my liking. I find that filet lacks in taste past the medium-rare cooking stage. My personal pick is rare, I know that it's not everyone's taste, but serving a filet medium well to well done is, for me, a sacrilege. Also note the lack of sauce. A couple of drops and it was tasteless. The mushrooms were comparable to those I make at home, so again, we were not blown away.

Next stop: Greece

Griddled Greek cheese with pistachios and honey

Very nice but a massive portion, much bigger than last year. It was hot and freshly made, a good thing because it tends to congeal quickly. Just the right amount of pistachios to add crunch and nice honey to contrast with the saltiness of the cheese. In my opinion, the most interesting dish of this booth.

At the Desserts and Champagne booth, we got the trio.

Yogurt panna cotta with orange cake, raspberries and pomegrenate, Lemon custard verrine with blueberry compote, dark chocolate mousse with chili and salted caramel

Last year, we were underwhelmed with the trio of desserts offered, so we wondered if it would be better this year. I must say we were happily surprised! All three were delicious. The chocolate mousse was DH's favourite, you could feel some heat from the chili and the caramel was nice and salty. The panna cotta had a nice not-too firm texture with a tart yogurt taste. The sauce and the cake added some fruity sweetness. The lemon custard was awesomely tart and fresh and paired so well with the blueberry. I just did not care for the crunchy bits on top since they were on the softer side, having absorbed humidity. This was a great value, too!

Hawai'i was next and I chose the tuna.

Tuna poke with seaweed salad and lotus root chip

Very good but not outstanding. The seaweed salad was your run of the mill wakame salad, the lotus chip did not add flavor, but the tuna was fresh, chilled and buttery. The chunks were quite big, too.

We hit Caribbean for a drink.

Bacardi Torched Cherry frozen cherry limeade

I love anything cherry and this did not disappoint. Great drink, more on the mellow side, not too sweet and awesome to drink in the hot sun to cool down.

We made our way to Argentina...

Grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato purée

The beef was surprisingly very tender, more than the Canadian filet. It was not overcooked, the sauce added a nice "herby" taste. The boniato purée was a little loose in texture, but still good, with a mellow taste. We enjoyed this dish a lot and would get it again.

We wanted to try the lamb at the Australia booth.

Grilled lamb chop with mint pesto and potato crunchies

Overcooked... again.

No pink whatsoever in the meat... so disappointing. There seems to be inconsistencies at this booth since I read reports of lamb underdone, too. Flavor-wise, we did not detect any real mint flavor, which was weird, the pesto was tasteless. The potato crunchies did not do it for me, they were of the salt and vinegar type and seemed a little stale. I preferred the potato salad last year. Also, the chop was really tiny. There were literally 2 small bites of meat on it and it was a little fatty.

 

[nanienamou]

We then headed to Scandinavia.

Xanté Sunshine

This was really nice with a pear taste that was out of the ordinary. It was stronger than I had expected.

Taste of Scandinavia - Cured Salmon, Herring and Shrimp Salad

This was one of our favorite dishes last year and again, it did not disappoint. The salmon was so good, I love that it is cured and not smoked, so no overpowering smoky flavor. The herring is buttery in texture, with a delicate taste. The shrimp salad is good, but a little heavy on mayo. It goes well on the cracker. The dill mustard is awesome with the fish. Everything was fresh and cold.

We stopped at the China booth.

Mongolian beef in a steamed bun

This was interesting in a very good way. The bun had a denser texture than the steamed buns we are used to eat, but was still good, hot and fresh. The shredded beef did not have a lot of flavor on it's own, but paired with the spicy sauce, it was really good. And those fried noodles added a great crunch factor to the dish. There were also some grilled onions on the bun.

South Korea was next.

Jinro Chamisul Soju Fruit Slushy

The cup was overflowing. Soju is a sweet potato alcool, but there was no distinct "boozy" taste to this drink. It was very weak and tasted a little like a tropical fruit slushy. Not very good, all in all. Would not get this again.

Lettuce wrap with roast pork and kimchi slaw

Very good this year again, but it is impossible to eat as a wrap as it leaks everywhere. We ate the filling with a fork. It's basically pulled pork, spicy slaw and a drizzle of a mayo-like sauce, but everything goes really well together and there is a nice spiciness.

We were off to the Brewer's Collection.

Schöfferhofer Grapefruit

I'm not a beer fan, but this was right up my alley. A great citrus taste, cool, refreshing without being too "beery". I think the cup disappeared in less than 5 minutes.

While I was enjoying my beer, DH went to the cheese booth.

Artisan Cheese Selection

My favorite was the bleu, DH preferred the goat brie. We never met a cheese that we did not like, and we found that these were good, but somewhat on the tamer side, even the bleu. The cheddar was also good with the honey. The crouton was meh - it went in the trash.

Germany's turn...

Roast bratwurst in a pretzel roll

This is kinda funny looking after all the alcohol we had consumed... The sausage was good especially with the dark mustard, the roll was a little stale, so that was disappointing.

Two stops left for the afternoon...

Hops and Barley - Pumpkin mousse with Ocean Spray Craisins brand dried cranberries and orange sauce

Loved this, the flavors are perfect together, but the portion is tiny. It is not too sweet and nicely spiced. It tastes like autumn.

Fife and Drum - Red Stag Frozen Lemonade

I swear, this is one of the stronger drinks available at the Festival. Be warned. It is however awesome, a nice frozen lemonade with a distinct cherry taste. Great drink.

We made our way out while sipping on the lemonade, at this time it was diner time for most and the crowds were picking up. I was a little tipsy, DH was near a food coma and we were ready for a rest at the hotel.

 

[smile4stamps]

Great brunch/lunch around the world!

I'm sorry your Filet from Canada was not good. Ours was delicious! I really wanted the lamb chop but we never made it there :-( Also my Torched Cherry drink from Caribbean was so tart and had no alcohol in it that I could tell. That was a disappointment as I love Torched Cherry Bacardi.

 

[rachel09985]

Great F&W Post! i am so jealous you got to try the grapefruit beer! It was sold out when I was there.

 

[Linda67]

Love your updates from F&W

Great nails by the way

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there! I'm finally back in town and getting caught up!

First, congratulations on purchasing DVC!!! How exciting!

The Argentina beef skewer with chimichurri looks really wonderful. Thanks for sharing the Fantasyland photos (even Gaston) and the food/drink options including the pork shank.

Glad that you had a great Jiko dinner - I'll definitely keep that on the list to try one day. As for your other Signature dinner at Cali Grill.... that's so odd about asking you for a passport for ID to order alcohol. I like how you adorned your water glass with Mickey-fetti! Very cute!

BTW: I love the tiara!

I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[nanienamou]

Great brunch/lunch around the world!

I'm sorry your Filet from Canada was not good. Ours was delicious! I really wanted the lamb chop but we never made it there :-( Also my Torched Cherry drink from Caribbean was so tart and had no alcohol in it that I could tell. That was a disappointment as I love Torched Cherry Bacardi.

We came to the conclusion that many items were pretty hit or miss depending who was preparing the food, the time of day and if the items had been sitting out too long. But in average, the experience is wonderful.

 

[nanienamou]

Great F&W Post! i am so jealous you got to try the grapefruit beer! It was sold out when I was there.

Oh no, that's a bummer. Hope you get to try it in the future. It was really good.

 

[nanienamou]

Love your updates from F&W

Great nails by the way

Thank you for reading along! And thanks for the nails. They are actually acrylic tips. I have a bad habit of biting my nails when stressed and it grates on DH's nerves a lot, so he actually sends me to get my nails done.

 

[nanienamou]

Hi there! I'm finally back in town and getting caught up!

First, congratulations on purchasing DVC!!! How exciting!

The Argentina beef skewer with chimichurri looks really wonderful. Thanks for sharing the Fantasyland photos (even Gaston) and the food/drink options including the pork shank.

Glad that you had a great Jiko dinner - I'll definitely keep that on the list to try one day. As for your other Signature dinner at Cali Grill.... that's so odd about asking you for a passport for ID to order alcohol. I like how you adorned your water glass with Mickey-fetti! Very cute!

BTW: I love the tiara!

I'm looking forward to reading more!

Thank you for reading along!

The passport thing was so weird and akward! Later, while our DVC purchase, I told the CM that mI had forgotten our passports at the hotel when he asked for id, but he said that the driver's licence was valid proof. So my driver's licence was valid proof of id when trying to buy a several-thousand DVC contract, but not when buying a 15 $ glass of wine? We had a great laugh over that.

And I'm thinking we need to get back to Disney sooner rather than later so that I can wear my tiara again.

 

[nanienamou]

After our rest, we were headed to Magic Kingdom since it was closing late. We had a late stop at Cosmic Ray's to share a bite.

We ordered the turkey sandwich

with the cucumber salad

and a side of fries

The sandwich was good but basic. It had lettuce, tomato slices and cucumber, with a slice of hard cheese that was really too mild. The bread was grainy and fresh, really good for a counter-service. The mayo had no big taste even though it seemed seasoned. The cucumber salad was my pick, I love cucumber. This was a little vinegary and sweet. I liked that the pieces of cucumber were very crunchy. The fries were basic, but who doesn't love them once smothered in plastic cheese?! All in all, a good, solid counter service meal.

Past midnight, we were making our way out of MK, and my energy and bp were a little on the low side so I was looking for a quick salty snack. We stopped at Casey's for corn dog nuggets.

Freshly made and well-drained, these hit the spot. Of course, nothing spectacular, but still great!

 

[nanienamou]

Saturday, October 20th was a non-park day for us. We slept in, which was nice and decided on an early lunch at The Fountain - it opens at 11:00. My pictures are low quality today because we just brought our little point and shoot with us.

DH had the same selection as last year, except he didn't ask for fries, so his burger came with chips.

Seared Ahi tuna burger

The chips clearly came from a bag and were quite ordinary, but that was the only negative. Again, the tuna steak was a nice size and of good quality. It was seared perfectly to our liking and the slaw added interest and crunch. So good.

I had the tomato soup

It was hot and nice, tasted like fresh tomatoes and was well-seasoned. It seemed homemade and I enjoyed it.

We made our way to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. When finished, I had to make a pit stop at the Margarita Bar for a Habanero Margarita.

This was strong but good! There was a great spicy kick, too. I won't lie, I was a little tipsy since at this point it was 2 or 3 in the afternoon and the only thing I had eaten was the soup.

We decided it would be nice to share a sandwich from Earl of Sandwich. The line was out the door, but it moves quickly.

A really lousy pic of the Original 1762

It is a roast-beef, cheddar cheese and horseradish sandwich. It was pretty good, however, we found the bread was a little undercooked in the middle. It might be because they were so busy. The filling was delicious, nice shredded lean beef, melted cheese and the sauce had just enough kick for us horseradish fans.

I also ordered the Earl Grey's lemonade.

I love this drink. So refreshing without being sweet.

And we got a brownie sandwich with vanilla filling/icing to nibble on the next few days.

Very good but a little on the sweet side, obviously. The brownies were nice and fresh and the icing was generous, without being overkill.

We returned to the hotel to relax a little. We also had no dinner plans that night, so we had to think about that.

 

[nanienamou]

It's quiet around here, I hope I'm not too boring. Anyway, I have a couple of free hours, so let's update.

That day, we had no parks to visit, we were relaxing. However, the Epcot resorts were super busy because of the Gartner Symposium. It was getting late, and we were pondering where to have dinner. DH wanted to try a walk-up to Il Mullino. I had Kimono's as a back-up plan. So off we went to the Swan.

We checked in and they sat us immediately! DH was happy! However, the place was busy and noisy, because of all the symposium people seated in large groups. We still had a nice diner.

First off, a little cocktail.

This is the Testarossa - Red Head (Ketel One Vodka, Grand Marnier and Cranberry juice, muddled with strawberries and fresh basil leaves topped with ground pepper)

Delicious, different and refreshing, with definite pepper and basil notes.

The amuse-bouche - eggplant compote and house-made salami

This is very good, especially with the parmesan sprinkling on top of the eggplant.

Bread!

Good, fresh and crusty, sourdough slices. The onion bread was outstanding.

First, we shared the Insaccati Misti for Two - A Platter of Italian Delights: Prosciutto, Mortadella, Soprassata, Cacciatorini, Parmigiano Reggiano, Roasted Red Peppers, Cherry Vinegar Peppers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella

We had ordered this platter last year and loved it. It did not disappoint again. Everything was fresh and tasty. The only thing we don't really like is mortadella but it's our personal taste. I find it tastes like baloney. I love the capers added to this platter, they have an awesome bite and can add so much flavor. The cured salami is my favorite. DH loves the hot peppers. A great plate.

Then we had the Carpaccio Di Carne - Thinly Sliced Tuscan-Style Beef served with Arugula, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Fresh Lemon Juice

OMG! so good! The sauce was bursting with flavor, a tangy mustard base with some lemon. Underneath the meat was some arugula that had been seasoned and oiled, with great peppery taste. The beef was thinly sliced, beautiful and fresh. It melted in your mouth.

We also had a side of Escarole - Sauteed Escarole with Kalamata Olives and Anchovies

Sadly, I did not taste this. Too much goodness going on to sacrifice tummy space to these. However, DH ate most of the dish and liked it. He said he would not choose this again, but it was still good. Hw liked the olives but our dish did not have anchovies. It had some almonds in it, though. It was nicely seasoned, fresh and hot.

We were of course to full for dessert and I was a little disappointed that we were not offered limoncello. I'm not certain if they still serve it.

So after a nice meal, we decided to walk around Crescent Lake, it was so nice outside.

At the end of the evening, we stopped at Boardwalk Joe for a margarita. I ordered a pineapple margarita. But this is what I got...

Hum... A little too orange for a pineapple cocktail? It was, in fact, the mango margarita. Now I like mango, but I can't handle too much of it at a time. And this tasted, of course, strongly of mango. So I changed it for the pineapple margarita.

And it was not very good. It had a fake pineapple taste and was very weak. I'm starting to see that I prefer my margaritas on the rocks even though I'm usually a frozen drink lover. It was very sweet and I did not finish it. DH did not like it either.

 

[nanienamou]

This morning, we made rope drop to Animal Kingdom. Now I like all 4 Disney parks, but there is something about Animal Kingdom that just charms me so much. I could explore that park without doing any attraction and it would never get old. It's so beautiful and well-themed.

So after our first safari of the day, we were a little hungry so we stopped at a little kiosk near the ride where we picked up this little beauty.

The jalapeno-cream cheese pretzel that was as good as always. One of our favorite snacks for sure. It was hot, with a little spicy kick and some nice not-too-liquid cheese in the middle.

While I was ordering, I spotted this drink on the menu...

Frozen jungle juice! I've read so much great reviews on this juice at Tusker House that I had to try it. It was pretty good! More on the sweet side that I would have preferred, but still a great choice on a hot day. I would get this again.

We had a lunch ADR that day...

Love this place. It's so beautiful with all the artefacts. Our server was wonderful here! He was an older gentleman and he seemed to truly enjoy his job, taking time to speak to us, even trying some French.

I started with a Bonzai Blast.

Nice and tart cocktail, not too strong and much less sugary than the Yak Attack. Very good!

We decided to share a main course. the Malasian seafood curry - Mahi Mahi, scallops, little neck clams, mussels, shrimp, zucchini, roma tomatoes, red curry coconut broth, and jasmine rice

This was a massive dish packed full of seafood. The broth had a nice flavor especially with a squeeze of lime and some fresh cilantro. However, it could have used a little more heat. The rice was moist and absorbed the broth really well. A small negative: the dish was more on the lukewarm side. We would have preferred it a little hotter, but still, it was fantastic.

The server took our pic.

Here, I knew we needed to have dessert!

Fried Wontons - Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, honey vanilla drizzle AKA heaven on a plate. These were greatly enjoyed by DH and me. It's not an overly sweet dessert, since the cream cheese is not sweetened, but the vanilla sauce ads just enough flavor, especially with the ripe pineapple and strawberries.

Yak and Yeti is a must for us when in AK. It was one of our rare repeat restaurant.

Later that afternoon, before leaving, we made a pit stop at Kusafiri Bakery for this beauty...

The cotton top tamarind cupcake. The frosting on this was delightfully "light", not too sweet and airy. However, the cake had a much more heavier feel, it was exactly like a generic store-bought triple chocolate muffin with lots of chocolate chips. The lollipop is cute, but was really hard and waxy, so we didn't really eat it. We were happy to try it, but we won't get it again.

To wash down all that sugar, I needed a drink from Dawa bar!

The African margarita. This was awesome, strong and perfect. I would (and I did...) get this again in a heartbeat.

We were feeling the heat, so we made a quick exit to rest at the hotel a little bit.

 

[Ro Z]

We had ordered this platter last year and loved it. It did not disappoint again. Everything was fresh and tasty. The only thing we don't really like is mortadella but it's our personal taste. I find it tastes like baloney. I love the capers added to this platter, they have an awesome bite and can add so much flavor. The cured salami is my favorite. DH loves the hot peppers. A great plate.



I agree!
Mortadella does taste like bologna. but IMO the freshest and best bologna ever! I love it! LOL! I do like it better in a sandwich than just a slice of it. Never tried Il Mulino. But I am gonna try to fit it in next time. Anyone remember when Palo was there? Loved that place!

 

[nanienamou]

I agree!
Mortadella does taste like bologna. but IMO the freshest and best bologna ever! I love it! LOL! I do like it better in a sandwich than just a slice of it. Never tried Il Mulino. But I am gonna try to fit it in next time. Anyone remember when Palo was there? Loved that place!

I don't mind mortadella in a sandwich, but like you said, just bitting in a slice is a little less exciting.

 

[jecskc]

Just stopping in to say that I am still reading along and enjoying your reviews. Thanks so much for sharing !!!

 

[emmysmommy]

A woman after my own heart!!! A fellow Y&Y fried won ton lover!!

Il Mulino looks lovely. There are not a lot of reviews for them on the dining boards. Glad to see that you liked it.

I really wanted one of those brownie sandwiches when we went to EoS this week but they had sold out. Darn! Seeing the photo of yours is giving me a craving all over again. Yum!

Great updates, please keep sharing.

 

[jmm476]

I have never seen frozen jungle juice at AK before! I love the juice, so I'll have to look for it. And the jalapeno cheese pretzel is my all-time favorite snack at WDW.

Have you ever tried the cream cheese pretzel? I didn't care for it, and I was wondering how similar the cream cheese inside the fried wontons at Y&Y would be to the pretzel?

 

[nutz2notz]

Wonderful reviews.