Disney Food Pictures...Part II

[lurkyloo]

Tokyo Dining

Garden Salad - Mixed greens, tomato, asparagus and seasonal vegetables. Choice of dressing: Ginger, Creamy Sesame, or Oriental

Roppong Tempura Combo - shrimp and scallops

Sushi Deluxe - Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, Isumi-dat, shrimp, conch, squid, egg omelet, salmon roe, and 3 pieces of Tuna roll.

For dessert, they gave us FREE ginger cake because it was our honeymoon! I ate the non-gingery part.

 

[Camster0307]

Thanks for the Tokyo Dining pictures!

I love tempura!

 

[TigerKat]

I love tempura AND sushi......

 

[apostolic4life]

San Angel was one of our must-do places for many years, we LOVED it. That was until our last trip 11/2006. The service was horrible and the food was not seasoned at all, everything was extremely bland. I don't think that's "authentic" to Mexican cuisine. One plate even had canned mixed vegetables on it. It's a shame, we DID love it.

Canned veggies and lack of flavor would be a failure on the part of the restaurant........real Mexican cuisine is defined by fresh ingredients and great flavors. Actually authentic Mexican is not "spicy" (as so many people expect) at all. Often the cuisine is served as individual components in the center of the table, then assembled by each person according to their personal preferences. The components generally will be seasoned with things such as salt, citrus juices, cumin, garlic, ground dried peppers, etc.. The heat for most Mexican dishes comes from added items such as salsa, picante, mole or peppers (served fresh, pickled or cooked) which are added as desired by the person eating it. If you are a "chilehead" like SelfEmployedDebtFree, this means you can make your food inferno hot or you can keep it mild if you do not want to shoot flames from your bum the next day. The food we eat in the USA, served with tons of spice and heat, is what we traditionally call Tex-Mex in the business, not authentic Mexican. Chi Chi's and Taco Bell have really hurt the definition of Mexican cuisine in America. Don't get me wrong, some things in Mexican cooking are spicy, but more often than not, Mexican food is not defined by the level of heat added to it. Every cuisine has it's hot offerings, but the heat of those dishes should not define the culture and the food!

 

[suzimar57]

wow - those pictures in san angel inn are awesome!

how did you take them? (what camera, setting?)

 

[mkycrzy1971]

The bread here is apparently very authentic to italy, judging by the remarks quoted. I think this brings a good point up so I'm going to use this to make a point about another misunderstood Disney restaurant.
A LOT of people HATE San Angel Inn. Its probably the #1 place I hear bad reviews about. (Its a Mexican Table Service at Epcot) We did SAI last year. It was one of the BEST meals we have done yet. We have been to Mexico 5 times. We always went out of our way to leave the "tourist area" to get some "real food". The tourist area serves what "they THINK you as a tourist will like". I don't want "tourist food". I want AUTHENTIC local food. That said, we LOVED San Angel inn. I felt it tasted more like TRUE Mexican food than like the CRAP you get at your local "Authentic Mexican Restaurant" here in the states. The fact is, if they are SO authentic, how come ONLY white people and black people are eating there!!!!??? If its SO Authentic, WHERE ARE THE MEXICANS??? They are at HOME eating REAL Mexican food!!!
I asked a couple of my Mexican friends if they ever ate at our local La Fuentes here in NC, they said "Thats Tex-Mex, and mostly Tex."
Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm just making a point.

So if you hear a screaming bad review about San Angel Inn, its probably some gringo that wouldn't know REAL Mexican food if it hit them in the head, and if they THINK its real Mexican food its because they ate "Hot Dog Pizza" at Blue Bay Marina in Cancun and THOUGHT it was real Mexican food.

I don't know if it changed anything (I doubt it did), but we spoke Spanish to our server and stressed that we did NOT want "Americanized" food. I asked her what was most authentic, and she said all the food was actually quite authentic. She made a few recommendations, we chose one each from her list, and it was a 5 star meal.

I can't help but wonder how many people go in there expecting bland Tex-Mex and come out disgusted at what they got.
I also wonder how often this happens in other "region specific" restaurants in Disney.

With that being said, I threw in some San Angel Inn pictures I took. Sorry, I didn't get any food pictures. I like these pictures because I used the burn in mode and I got "ghost riders!" Cooooooooollll!

The entrees are authentic...but those little round Tostadas and Pace salsa do nothing for the place! THAT was a very big SHOCK!

 

[TigerKat]

Canned veggies and lack of flavor would be a failure on the part of the restaurant........real Mexican cuisine is defined by fresh ingredients and great flavors. Actually authentic Mexican is not "spicy" (as so many people expect) at all.

Exactly!! The restaurant failed, which is why I won't go back and won't recommend it to anyone. The total lack of flavor, not spice, was what made the food inedible.

 

[racefanof88]

The entrees are authentic...but those little round Tostadas and Pace salsa do nothing for the place! THAT was a very big SHOCK!

I have to agree. The food was great but, I can get the chips and salsa at Walmart.............

 

[Camster0307]

I have to agree. The food was great but, I can get the chips and salsa at Walmart.............

True - but only the San Angel Inn has them sprinkled with pixie dust!

 

[mkycrzy1971]

True - but only the San Angel Inn has them sprinkled with pixie dust!

Okay, okay...you are 100% correct...I should have thought that one through!

 

[Smile4Me]

Tokyo Dining

Garden Salad - Mixed greens, tomato, asparagus and seasonal vegetables. Choice of dressing: Ginger, Creamy Sesame, or Oriental

Roppong Tempura Combo - shrimp and scallops

Sushi Deluxe - Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, Isumi-dat, shrimp, conch, squid, egg omelet, salmon roe, and 3 pieces of Tuna roll.

For dessert, they gave us FREE ginger cake because it was our honeymoon! I ate the non-gingery part.

Lurkyloo were you on the dining plan? Thanks for the pictures!

 

[Iggipolka]

Strudel is nowhere near being a light option.

I totally agree with that. My family is from Germany, so I know good strudel. While it's not a light option (poor choice of words on my part), is also usually not oozing oil. The strudel we got at Coral Reef had a huge grease ring around it and was just dripping fat. It was nasty.

We didn't send it back and probably should have. We were happy with our appetizers and our dessert and just let it go at that.

 

[lurkyloo]

Lurkyloo were you on the dining plan? Thanks for the pictures!

Nope - we paid out of pocket

Thanks for the Tokyo Dining pictures!

I love tempura!

Me too! But then, I'll eat fried just about anything!

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

Mexican food is not defined by the level of heat added to it. Every cuisine has it's hot offerings, but the heat of those dishes should not define the culture and the food!

Oh, I agree. Its the unusual tastes and ingredients like Mole with a hint of chocolate, cactus, tomatillo, tamarindo, dried shrimp, and chorizo to name a very small few that make it different. Most of the few ingredients I just listed (off the top of my head) can't be found in most Tex-Mex places. Don't get me wrong, I'm a chilehead, but if its authentic and mild thats good too!
I have eaten in Mexican restaurants thatserved lettuce, tomatoes, and ranch dressing or sour cream with every meal. Sorry thats not authentic. I'm reminded of a really funny movie saw called America 101. These 2 Mexicans crossed the US border (with a lot of heartaches) and they stopped at a Mexican restaurant. The first Mexican opens his burrito and this horrible look comes over his face. "Ewwww It has BEANS!!!" The other opens his and says (in disbelief) "Mine has LETTUCE!!!" LOL Ya just gotta see it. Its a good movie.

wow - those pictures in san angel inn are awesome!

how did you take them? (what camera, setting?)

Olympus Stylus 410. The perfect vacation camera. I used night "burn in mode". I rested it on the railing. They would have been clearer but there were some kids playing on the rails. The burn in mode takes a slow picture. You really need a tripod, and a remote helps (or use the timer), but isn't mandatory.
I like the Stylus 410 because its smaller, is water resistant (it will float for a few seconds if you drop it which I do NOT recommend), and I like the close it and its off feature, which means means no more accidental "inside pocket pictures". Also when you close it, the lens is protected and stays scratch and fingerprint free. The cons are it has a HORRIBLE zoom, and Macro feature could use improvements.

Sushi Deluxe - Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, Isumi-dat, shrimp, conch, squid, egg omelet, salmon roe, and 3 pieces of Tuna roll.

What does the Salmon Roe taste like? I've had the rest of it. Whats the texture like?

And does anyone have any Japan Teppan Edo pictures?

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

I should also clarify that I still LOVE Tex-Mex (even though i called it crap ). I just think it pales in comparison to the real thing. I've had really good Tex-Mex, and really BAD Tex-Mex as well. And in defense of the Mexican Restaurants in this area, if they DID offer authentic food, they probably wouldn't have the business they have now, because I would assume that if given the choice, most Americans would choose the bland Tex-Mex.
There was a REALLY good local place that served 100% authentic Mexican food. All the Mexicans ate there, and thats about all that ate there. But then it LOOKED like the type of restaurant that only Mexicans would eat at. It had posters all over the windows in Spanish and such. The food was AWESOME!!! I did all their plumbing. The manager was always trying to persuade me to try the Tongue. I just can't eat tongue. I'm sure its every bit as tender and delicious as he said, I just couldn't bring myself to eat it!!!

 

[suzimar57]

thanks for the "how to" for the interior san angel inn - i have an olympus as well - will have to see if we also have the night "burn in mode"

 

[MUDisneyCouple]

These aren't the greatest, but it's what we got...the food was great! It was well worth the wait for us to eat there and we will eat there again and again...

Tic-Tac-Toe

Asakusa - Steak and Shrimp - YUMMY!!! Mushrooms and noodles, well, what is left of it

Ginger Cake and Fruit Tart

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

Those sure are good pictures of the ginger cake and fruit tart!

 

[emmabemmainc]

Wow--this thread went from lots of pics of food to how to get out of debt and who knows more about mexican food!

 

[racefanof88]

True - but only the San Angel Inn has them sprinkled with pixie dust!

That is true. And with a margarita who cares...............