Seafood Allergy Alert: Morimoto & Homecomin'

[Wildflowerz]

I thought I'd pop in and let you know about a couple if issues we had with our most recent trip, so hopefully others with a seafood allergy will be aware.

MorimotoAsia: We went here our last trip and loved it. But after we left, we were told by plenty of people that their ribs were the best. So, on this trip, we made sure to order them. After we ordered them for an app, our server asked about allergies. The ribs have hoison sauce on them. Even though hoison sauce literally means fish sauce, it usually doesn't have fish actually in it (or so Google tells me...and I've had hoison sauce plenty of times and never had any issues), Morimoto's hoison has fish in it. So, I move on to my entree and I want the fried rice. It has shrimp, in addition to beef and chicken, but I ask if they can leave it out. They can, but that sauce in the rice ALSO has fish in it, so they'd have to leave that out too. I ended up getting the beef lo mein and it was REALLY good. The server was great and despite this being a Signature Dining place (on the old dining plan), this was actually our least expensive table service. Anyway, I just wanted any allergy sufferers to be aware.

Chef Art Smith's Homecomin': This one annoys me the most. So, our last vacation before lockdown was WDW, in February 2019. So, we've been eagerly anticipating this one. We've been pouring over touring plans and perusing menus. So, I knew exactly what I wanted at all the restaurants we had booked. At Homecomin', it was the fried chicken. So, we're seated and the first question is about allergies. I tell them about my seafood allergy and they waiter says they can't control their cross contamination for the fried chicken. They fryers are right next to each other and the chicken and fish one splash into each other. My incredulous look gets them to bring out a manager to explain further. They manager reveals even more. Not only is there the splashing issue, but they drain both fryers into the same container at the end of the day. That oil is cleaned (or whatever it is they do to it), and then redistributed back into both fryers. We look at the menu for a few more minutes and decide we had to go. There's nothing that appealing there that isn't fried and my hubs said he wasn't gonna order fried chicken when I was sitting right there and couldn't eat it. We ended up leaving and eating at Chicken Guy. I get it more with Morimoto cause they do a lot of fish, sushi, etc. But Homecomin'?

Anyway, if you didn't know, then now you know.

 

[FrannyFrogs]

Thank you because my husband has a seafood allergy and I was thinking of trying Homecomin on the next trip!

 

[StarCruzer]

Pretty wild, especially considering fish/shellfish allergies are fairly common.

 

[fantasia73]

I feel your pain! I am allergic to coconut, so anytime I see coconut shrimp on the menu, I automatically don't order anything fried.

 

[toesmom]

I thought I'd pop in and let you know about a couple if issues we had with our most recent trip, so hopefully others with a seafood allergy will be aware.

MorimotoAsia: We went here our last trip and loved it. But after we left, we were told by plenty of people that their ribs were the best. So, on this trip, we made sure to order them. After we ordered them for an app, our server asked about allergies. The ribs have hoison sauce on them. Even though hoison sauce literally means fish sauce, it usually doesn't have fish actually in it (or so Google tells me...and I've had hoison sauce plenty of times and never had any issues), Morimoto's hoison has fish in it. So, I move on to my entree and I want the fried rice. It has shrimp, in addition to beef and chicken, but I ask if they can leave it out. They can, but that sauce in the rice ALSO has fish in it, so they'd have to leave that out too. I ended up getting the beef lo mein and it was REALLY good. The server was great and despite this being a Signature Dining place (on the old dining plan), this was actually our least expensive table service. Anyway, I just wanted any allergy sufferers to be aware.

Chef Art Smith's Homecomin': This one annoys me the most. So, our last vacation before lockdown was WDW, in February 2019. So, we've been eagerly anticipating this one. We've been pouring over touring plans and perusing menus. So, I knew exactly what I wanted at all the restaurants we had booked. At Homecomin', it was the fried chicken. So, we're seated and the first question is about allergies. I tell them about my seafood allergy and they waiter says they can't control their cross contamination for the fried chicken. They fryers are right next to each other and the chicken and fish one splash into each other. My incredulous look gets them to bring out a manager to explain further. They manager reveals even more. Not only is there the splashing issue, but they drain both fryers into the same container at the end of the day. That oil is cleaned (or whatever it is they do to it), and then redistributed back into both fryers. We look at the menu for a few more minutes and decide we had to go. There's nothing that appealing there that isn't fried and my hubs said he wasn't gonna order fried chicken when I was sitting right there and couldn't eat it. We ended up leaving and eating at Chicken Guy. I get it more with Morimoto cause they do a lot of fish, sushi, etc. But Homecomin'?

Anyway, if you didn't know, then now you know.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea. I have son with fish allergy and we are always careful, even in Disney. Scary to hear this

 

[fantasia73]

I'm allergic to coconut and I have to be super careful if restaurants serve coconut shrimp. I've gotten to the point if I see that on the menu, I won't order anything fried.

 

[Her Dotness]

That's very odd about the hoisin sauce as it's typically vegan, made only from soybeans and various seasonings. I suspect the ribs may have also contained fish sauce or oyster sauce which would be typical for added flavor.

It's wise to check if a restaurant is Disney-owned before booking, particularly if in Disney Springs where many are not. Those that aren't don't necessarily adhere to the WDW allergy protocols and may or may not try to modify dishes.

We found that out the hard way several years ago when the Wolfgang Puck TS server (restaurant since closed) told us they didn't make substitutions, not even for allergies. DH had a somewhat disappointing meal as a result due to our being too tired to try finding another restaurant that late.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I have shellfish allergies and we’re planning on eating at Homecomin’. That mixing of the oil is terrible! It sure cuts down what I can get. I’ll have to check and see if they still do that.