So after finishing off waiting in line for Pirates for five gazillion years (seriously, FP+ that attraction, that line has gotten crazy), we headed over to Epcot (after a coffee stop). We wandered around the front section of the park, looking at all the gardens and the like there, then headed to the back to get food and look at more gardens.
First stop, England!
And here, we went very simple. Scones and lemonade. I know, I know, it should be scones and tea, but I like lemonade.
The lemonade is made with Simply Raspberry Lemonade, I believe, and perhaps some raspberry syrup: not that disgusting minute maid light stuff with added fake pomegranate Disney wants me to drink (I refuse, I say!). It's very sweet, but it still has an actual lemon taste and doesn't taste fake-sweet (though some may find it syrupy). I liked it well enough, but I drink Simply Lemonade when I can.
Scones? Much better then I expected them to be. They're very lightly lemon flavored, then the red stuff is berry preserves and the white stuff is creme fraiche. Both were nice, but there's really not enough dipping/spreading (honestly, we found it easier to dip then try and get the sauce on a knife) sauce for two scones. They're being quite skimpy with the sauce, there. Thankfully, as said, the scones are better then I expected and tasted good enough on their own. It would be nice if they were warmer- the colder these are, the less good they're going to taste- but you can't really determine when you're going to get them 'fresh'ish.
Hanami (that means 'flower viewing', and generally refers to going to see the cherry blossoms or the plum blossoms) sushi! That's a piece of salmon, a piece of scallop, and a piece of 'beef' (I believe cow) on top of a rice ball- no nori/seaweed. It's accompanied by shiso ('perilla') violet sauce. The sauce tastes nothing like mint, and is rather sweet. It really makes the dish.
This sushi is actually pretty good: better then the usual sushi at Food and Wine, which usually tastes like 'grocery store sushi', to me. I think it's the lack of cheap, chewy, nori- with just the rice and the 'meat', as long as the meat's not horrible (and it wasn't), it's a pretty plain dish, and hard to ruin.
The day after this, it was raining, and we ended up spending time in the Japan department store talking to one of the cast members. She (rather apologetically, which was both sweet and adorable) explained that the food served at the booth is nothing like traditional Japanese food (we're like, "We know!"- we encouraged her to try it anyway, to see what us odd American's make of her country's food). Nowhere is that more true then this dish, I think.
These are basically thin rice cakes, with green tea whipped cream and sweetened red bean paste/jam, covered in some sort of strawberry or raspberry sauce, some sort of vanilla or coconut sauce, and then random sprinkles. It's like someone was like 'The Japanese like rice! And green tea! And red bean! And fruit! WE WILL PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER AND IT WILL BE VERY JAPANESE. Also, sprinkles!' It's... kind of silly.
But it's also pretty yummy.
The best thing to do is probably squish it all together like an ice cream sandwich and eat it that way: that's what we did. It's a nice, sweet little dish.
Just, you know, a silly one.
Orange Mango Slushie is for some reason listed as an alcoholic drink and thus not allowed as a snack credit, but I'm not sure I really believe it. Can they prove that alcohol went in here? I don't think they can. It's nice and light and refreshing (and there's hardly any orange taste- it's all mango). But alcoholic? Really?
Even if you hate sake, feel free to order this. You're not going to taste any sake, trust me. I suppose you probably shouldn't give it to children, as someone will inevitably arrest you for it, but... there's no alcohol taste, nor will you get even the slightest bit of a buzz even if you go broke and drink like, ten of these. It's a very, very light drink.
Italy's three cheese manicotti. There's not much to say about this dish: it tasted like manicotti. Cheesy, of course, but nice. I've heard reports about rubbery pasta, but ours wasn't at all rubbery. Wasn't exactly al dente, either, but that would be a bit much to expect from a stuffed dish at a booth. I liked it well enough.
Shrimp and Grits at Florida Fresh (which apparently went out, mugged last year's Germany booth, and stole its spot). Comes with andouille sausage, sweet corn, tomatoes and cilantro. This was one of the best dishes at the F&G booths, and I'd strongly recommend it. The grits were cooked just right, the shrimp was cooked just right, the portion was decent sized, and all the flavours of the various items came together in one of those party-in-the-mouth type ways. Try it.
Kumquat pie. I've never had a kumquat, but going off of this, they must be pretty good. The pie is sweet, with the slightest hint of tart- but more sweet then anything. I'm not really sure what fruit it's closest to. The 'crust' of this pie was good, but the inside filling was a bit grainy. Still, I think the taste was good enough that one could ignore that, but if you're very sensitive to textures, this may be one to skip.
Also, the 'Garda' (Italian Wine Blend) from Quantum Leap Winery. The only note I made on this wine was 'neutralish'. It didn't really have much going for it. It wasn't a bad wine exactly, but it certainly wasn't good. I'd skip it.
(The wine at the booths this year was mostly disappointing- almost all repeats from the F&W festival, that we skipped, and then the few new ones having their own little problems. Save for in maybe two cases, I'd recommend going with the mixed drinks, or if you like beer, the beer.)
Now, THIS is a good drink.
Just like at last years F&W, China's putting out the stops with it's drinks. Tipsy Ducks in Love was only a start, they say. Soon they will take over their portion of the World Showcase with drinks that actually taste like alcohol rather then 'sweet, vague fruits'.
(Just avoid the Green Tea slush at the Joy of Tea stand. It hasn't caught the memo yet. Stick with Tipsy Ducks in Love. Mmm...)
This, in particular, is the South Sea Storm- Guava juice with light and dark rum. It tasted like, well, guava and rum. If you don't like rum, I would avoid this, as it definitely has a rum taste (usually, with mixed drinks around the world showcase, you can ignore the alcohol it's said to include because you won't taste it anyway, but here, you definitely can't). If you do like rum, though, this is all yours.
These are, amazingly, authentic. Candied-strawberries are served in the street markets of Beijing. That's, what, one item out of thirty or so?
(I kid, I kid.)
These are exactly what they look like: strawberries dipped in the same candy coating you'd use to make candied apples. If you like that coating and strawberries, you'll like this; if you don't, then you won't. We like them.
Hold a napkin under your mouth when eating these. The candy coating has a tendency to crack and break when you bite in to them, falling off the strawberry. If you have a napkin, you can save the coating, place it back on the strawberry, and continue eating. If you don't, then, well, candy coating on ground, non-candied strawberry in your hand. Sad fate.
(Strawberries are in season right now in Florida, so eat them when you get the chance. They're great- I know the bottom one in the picture looks a bit white, but it was juicy, red and delicious on the inside.)
A very blurry picture of the Spring Pancake with grilled chicken and green apple. You can find a better picture by just typing that in to search on the boards, I imagine. (If search decides to come back.)
This dish is pretty basic, which makes it a bit hard to subscribe. You've got the spring pancake (no scallions or onions in this one). You've got the chicken, which seemed to have been marinated in... something yummy. You've got what I believe (going off of reports from last year) Hosin sauce and Siracha sauce. You've got those crisp crunchy noodle things. Then you've got the onions, cabbage (I think it was cabbage, anyway- could have been bok choy or lettuce), and green apple.
The green apples really make this dish: without them, it would be pretty plain. With them adding just a bit of sweet and tart, this dish was actually quite enjoyable. It makes for a light snack.
Urban Eats. Ghost Pepper dusted Tilapia with crisp Winter Melon Slaw and Mint Oil featuring the Original Sauce Man's Kick It Up Rub.
Whoever the Original Sauce Man is.
This dish is mildly creepy, being as the booth is right next to the demonstration of an aquaponics system where a gazillion little fish swim around in their tiny little pool looking sad as they wait for someone to come eat them. I don't think the fish were tilapia, but it still struck me as odd. It's like putting your milk cows right next to your beef butchery.
Anyway, this dish. First, to my relief, it didn't taste anything like mint. Second, to my disappointment, it didn't taste anything like ghost pepper, either. And whoever the Original Sauce Man is, his rub is either pretty tasteless or they're not using enough of it. Tilapia isn't really a strong enough fish to stand on it's own without some sort of rub/sauce/general excitement, I personally think, so this was sort of plain.
The slaw was yummy, though.
Now, this is a funny dish.
Why? Because I liked it more then mom did.
If you meet us, you'll note that my dear mother is not a very picky eater in the slightest (unless it comes to those dreaded bell peppers and the occasional onion). While I am very much picky and prone to turning my nose up at things that aren't fine dining.
Yet this dish- Land grown Eggplant "Scallop" with romesco sauce and spaghetti squash- was one I was quite fond of, while she was more indifferent to. She felt the skin should have been removed on a piece of eggplant this size: I think she used the word waxy. Me, I didn't taste anything out of the ordinary, and thought the eggplant was fine with skin on. Sort of a weird situation, for us.
Once again, though, the side might have been better then the main dish- the squash was quite good.
And that was our first day of F&G, save for one little intermission that I'll post in a few hours.
The next day, we went back to F&G, and we ate at even more booths and we (by we, meaning 'mom') drank a lot of that strange substance known as beer. That post will be happening, I imagine, tomorrow.
Post to let me know you're here! :3
