Mr. Disney & Kevin lunch with the Princesses in Norway!

[Mister Disney]

It all began innocently enough.....2 grown men, who love to eat......offer up to our friends the ability to pick where we'll eat and do reviews during our trip to Disney over Easter Weeekend.

Somehow we got hoodwinked into reviewing Akershus Royal Banquet Hall's Storybook Princess Luncheon!

Can you imagine it? 2 adult men, lunching with Disney's version of Royalty? Well, it is true...it happened....and here comes the review!

 

[eeyore45]

oh goody, I'm all giddy with the prospect of Mr. Disney's dining review!!!

 

[stitch63]

I was hoodwinked - I thought the review was done!!! I guess this means I have to wait for your witty review and great pictures...

 

[Mister Disney]

Not wanting to miss one moment of our time with the "Royals" we got up early to shower and shave and otherwise make ourselves presentable for our "experience".

We experienced no long lines with the Disney version of the Transportation Safety Administration's bag check and arrived at our Norway destination in record time and approximately 45 minutes early for our ADR. We were amazed at the sight to behold. There was hardly anyone there! We proceeded to the door and went to register ourselves and they told us that we would have to come back in a 1/2 hour as the Royal Dining Hall was not presentable yet.

We proceeded to stroll around the World and arrived back in Norway again at the appointed time. We were even MORE amazed at the sight to behold when we arrived back. HUNDREDS of minuture versions of every Princess you could imagine ALL vying for their chance at fame!

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

This is the review I've been waiting for as I currently have an ADR scheduled there for next week. And your reviews, Mister Disney, have more than lived up to their reputation.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Yay!! Can't wait to read your report and see the pictures!!!!

 

[Mister Disney]

As we checked in, we were asked by the Royal Footpeople whether we would like a chance to "visit" with Ariel in her "grotto". We passed on this opportunity, because in our opinion she's just another wet fish!

They led us to our table which afforded us a very close position to the banquet table.

The Royal Chefs had just finished laying out the vast feast, so before anyone descreted the beautiful presentation, Mister Disney captured these few photos of the impending smorgasbord

An assortment of white, whole wheat and flat bread, with a green garden salad and several choices of dressing:

The next area featured an assortment of coldcuts, various styles of fish and stuffed eggs.

Continuing on, we found prepared salads, such as tomatoe, mickey pasta salad, chicken salad and ham and egg salad, beet salad and the like

Finally we arrived at the the cheese selections on the left of the prepared salad offerings

 

[Pixiedust34]

I love your reviews! Please keep 'em coming!

 

[Mister Disney]

Our diningroom wench arrived at our table to explain the days offerings.

She explained to us that the banquet table laid out before us was actually NOT lunch, but just appetizers to wet of taste buds and that we were free to gather and eat "as much as we cared". She then explained each of the "plated" luncheon offerings to us to determine what we would enjoy sampling for lunch that day.

As we pondered our options, Kevin and I partook of the feast on the tables and Mister Disney brought back the following:

 

[Mister Disney]

Starting in the lower left corner, I started with the delicious flat bread and paired it with the chicken salad and another little "roll-up" with the egg and ham salad.

The flat bread was excellant, not at all "floury" tasting as some tend to be. The chicken salad, was quite bland and need doctoring up with salt and pepper. As I moved onto the ham and egg salad, I felt this was very savory. The ham imparted just the correct amount of saltiness to the eggs.

Onto the stuff eggs, WOW....I think Emeril must have been in their kitchen. These eggs were totally different, just because of the little "cream" on top of them. This was a salmon mousse of some sort. At first bite, not expecting it, I was a bit shocked, but afterwards it was quite a great combination of flavors, and I would definitely consider making stuffed eggs in a similar nature in the future.

The smoked / peppered herring. TOO PEPPERY one bite of this baby, and I was through. Not another piece of that fish was passing my lips, so I moved onto the rolled turkey and ham coldcuts. Eh, coldcuts what do you say?

Onto the cheese offerings. The "peanut-butter brown" cheese was a goat cheese. The triangular cheese was jarlsberg and the "orange" rind cheese was munster. The jarlsberg had a bit of a bit too it as it should, which would probably be a bit strong for the small "princess - wanna - bees" in your crowd. The munster cheese was nice....mild and creamy. The goat cheese, stood out above the rest. It was a very interesting texture and flavor, and a hit of sweetness, Mr. Disney went back for seconds on this cheese!

Moving onto the Mickey Pasta.....I can't judge this as it was "corrupted" with green peppers and Mr. Disney HATES green peppers!

The slivered beet salad on the other hand...was "ok", but not like what I make, which is a sweet version. These beets were definiely pickled and had a bit of a sour bite to them.

Overall, the offerings on the "appetizer" feast was good with what I felt was plenty of offerings for adults and children alike. All I can say, is to be adventurous, if you are willing to try something new, your children will too!

 

[Mister Disney]

As we were finishing up our appetizers, our plated luncheon offerings were brought out.

We decided on Braised Lamb, served with Thyme Oil-infused Cabbage

and Traditional Kjottkake, with Cauliflower, cheese infused mashed potatoes, seasonal veggies and a red wine beet sauce

 

[Mister Disney]

The Braised Lamb - these were quite chewy, and tough and grizzley. Not something I would ever order again. The cabbage, as pickled cabbage goes was not half bad.

Traditional Kjottkake, with Cauliflower, cheese infused mashed potatoes, seasonal veggies and a red wine beet sauce. Basically this was salsbury steak with mashed potatoes. Our server said this was the most traditional dish they had to offer on their menu. It was tastey, the sauce smooth and not bitter and the mashed potatoes were nicely flavored with a hint of cheese in them. I might add....cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies and I did not find even one scrap of a piece on my plate!

 

[Thumper's Tara]

Great report so far...I can't wait to read more!

 

[baileygirlsmom]

We enjoyed the brown cheese last year as well, except ours was just brought to the table as a sampler of appetizers. I wish we could just has a plate of the flatbread and that cheese, yum, yum!

 

[Amphigorey]

Thank you for the review!

Onto the cheese offerings. The "peanut-butter brown" cheese was a goat cheese. The triangular cheese was jarlsberg and the "orange" rind cheese was munster. The jarlsberg had a bit of a bit too it as it should, which would probably be a bit strong for the small "princess - wanna - bees" in your crowd. The munster cheese was nice....mild and creamy. The goat cheese, stood out above the rest. It was a very interesting texture and flavor, and a hit of sweetness, Mr. Disney went back for seconds on this cheese!

The brown cheese you liked is gjetost, and is my favorite cheese! It's goat cheese, as you note, and the interesting thing about it is that it's caramelized - hence the brown color and the slightly sweet taste. I find that it's best when eaten with fruit, especially watermelon and nectarines. (It's pronounced "yay-toast," by the way.)

They used to serve a fruit and cheese platter that included lefse (the flatbread) and gjetost at the Kringla Bakeri, but it's been gone for years, which makes me very sad. It was my favorite light lunch in the World Showcase. At least you can still get gjetost if you eat with the princesses. (Of course, you can also get it at your local supermarket, but then you're not in Epcot.)

 

[Mister Disney]

As we were dining, out of the corner of my eye, I see Ariel WALKING!?!?!

NO this is NOT a fishtale, she was actually walking out of the dining hall!

Before I could pull my camera out she had vanished like a mirage on a desert island. Had I really seen Ariel walking? I guess we will never know!

 

[Ang1e]

It's great to see a buffet before it's been handled.

I must say the Kjottkake looks so much more appetising than the Lamb.

Lookig forward to reading more of your reports.

 

[Mister Disney]

As Ariel vanished, I caught the sight of the most wonderful Princess in the World, NONE other than Cinderella!!!!!

She graciously came up to our table when it was our turn and greated us and asked us if we would like our picture taken with her. I felt like saying "Do you know who you are talking to? You should be asking to have your picture taken with me, Mister Disney of the DIS Board!"


In the light of being a man and taking the high road, I decided to accept her offer of our picture being taken with her.

 

[Mister Disney]

The brown cheese you liked is gjetost, and is my favorite cheese! It's goat cheese, as you note, and the interesting thing about it is that it's caramelized - hence the brown color and the slightly sweet taste. I find that it's best when eaten with fruit, especially watermelon and nectarines. (It's pronounced "yay-toast," by the way.)

THANK YOU for the info. I will definitely be picking up some of this at home. We have a very good cheese shop in our local market.

 

[Cruz Family]

As we checked in, we were asked by the Royal Footpeople whether we would like a chance to "visit" with Ariel in her "grotto". We passed on this opportunity, because in our opinion she's just another wet fish!