The Drinker and Dessert Fiend are Back - Completed 6/26!

[cbg1027]

Foodcourt breakfast! Tell me about it!

I am so with you on the "Bounty Platter". Tried it ......... no thanks!
But if they have to make something fresh it is quite good - we had waffles at the Pop foodcourt and they were pretty good!
Never tried an omlette, but I have made a note that it is something to seriously consider at the food court!

I always want waffles the night before, but when I get up in the morning I end up wanting something with protein. You need a lot of fuel for Disney!

In response to your question: I had the pork loin something or another....it wasn't that great. What was even worse was the bland, no flavor barley side dish.... I would order anything but that again!

Anyway....looking forward to more of your review!

Sorry the pork wasn't good either. AP seems to get mixed reviews.
Thanks for reading!

Great start! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your reviews.

joining in...great start and can't wait for more yummy reviews...

subscribing.....

Subscribing! Can't wait to read more!!

Thank you for reading everyone!

subbing! So sad you didn't have a great meal at AP- that was my last signature restaurant to try, and I really felt like I saved the best for last- that salmon is TDF, I hope you go back and try it (and the mussels...OMG, they are amazing!!!).

I do want to try AP again, and I'm definitely getting the salmon next time!

Ooh just caught up with your wonderful reviews

We have an ADR at AP for our next trip but I have already decided I want the Salmon

I can't wait to try La Cava for the fist time

Looking forward to reading more

Probably a smart choice on the salmon.
La Cava is amazing, I just love it in there. You'll be hooked!

Ahhhhh, the Ditch! LOVE that little place and those crab tostadas!

Don't all the friendies love The Ditch?

Great reviews so far! Your tostadas at La Cava look great! And I agree with you, I would have been disappointed if that Pomegranate Margarita was too sweet...when I was reading the description it didn't sound like it would be! Can't wait to read more

I like sweet drinks, but I prefer my margaritas on the not too saccharine side. I would definitely go with the Pepino (cucumber) for a less sweet choice.
Thanks for joining in!

I love that ditch!! Best attraction in WDW!! FWIW, the blood orange rita is another very sweet one- ask the bartender, sometimes they will give you a little sample if they are making it for someone else, so you can try before you buy. The jalepeno, cucumber, habanero, and avocado are the savory ones, I think.

Oh what a good idea about asking for a sample!
I heard the avocado is sweet now - they added Midori to it and made it a frozen margarita.

Great review of 'the ditch'! May have to check it out on our trip

Thanks! You should DEFINITELY make some time to check out The Ditch! It's a not-to-be-missed 'attraction'!

 

[cbg1027]

After our drinks and my light lunch, we decided to head over to the Germany Pavilion for some treats with lots of butter and sugar - aka CARAMEL!

I had heard many good things about the new Karamell Kuche (Caramel Kitchen) and couldn't wait to try it!

The place is somewhat small so there seems to always been a line out the door. Even though the crowds were light that day, there was still a long line. I didn't mind though because it gave us lots of time to drool over the selection of treats and decide what we wanted! You can also watch them making some of the treats. The easiest thing to watch being made is the fresh caramel corn, which smells absolutely intoxicating!

When we finally got to the front of line, we placed our order and came out of the Karamell Kuche with significantly lighter wallets.

For our first indulgence, Mark and I shared a large bag of Caramel Corn:

We watched as this was made so it was still hot and super fresh. I will never eat a Cracker Jack again! This was AMAZING! Light fluffy popcorn coated with super buttery, still slightly soft and warm caramel...what's not to love? If you go to buy some of this, wait until they make a fresh batch before you get any...it is a wonderful food experience!

Mark also went for a Dark Chocolate and Caramel Coated Strawberry:

This looked amazing as well, but I didn't get to try it. The berry was huge, ripe, and fragrant. Mark thought it was excellent.

We got a couple more treats we ate later too!
Dark Chocolate and Caramel Coated Apple

This was my pick. I love a caramel apple...but throw on an extra coating of dark chocolate? Oh my..... This looked prettier when it was in the case, but they cut it for me so I could eat it without too much trouble. The apple was a crisp and tart green variety which went really well with the sweet, buttery, and chocolate flavors around it. I ate a quarter for a snack over the next few days and even though the apple turned a bit brown, it was super delicious!

Mark got a Dark Chocolate and Caramel Coated Marshmallow Kabob:

I didn't taste this since I don't like Marshmallow, but Mark enjoyed it.

Karamell Kuche is a DO NOT MISS 'attraction' while you're in Epcot!

An enthusiastic grade A+!!!!!!!

 

[phabric]

I enjoyed reading your reviews with the pictures.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yeah...Karamell Kuche snacks!! Have seen many pics and every time they make me hungry! That chocolate covered strawberry looks lush and as it includes fruit it's still healthy, right?

 

[cbg1027]

I enjoyed reading your reviews with the pictures.

Thank you for reading!

Yeah...Karamell Kuche snacks!! Have seen many pics and every time they make me hungry! That chocolate covered strawberry looks lush and as it includes fruit it's still healthy, right?

Hey, as far as I'm concerned, it's completely healthy. A strawberry gives you some fruit and dark chocolate has lots of antioxidants.

 

[MAJ RN]

The caramel corn looks amazing!! I can't wait to try it! Looking forward to reading more of your reviews!!



Melissa

 

[saralexander97]

Okay, that carmel corn looks soooooo good, it totally just made my snack list.

 

[Linda67]

Oh boy that Caramel Corn has just jumped to the top of the list

It's now way ahead of Soarin'

 

[kelleigh1]

Oh my! I almost licked my computer screen looking at that strawberry. Fantastic photo. If that doesn't scream FOOD PORN, I don't know what does.

Great report so far! I was thinking of trying AP on our next trip and immediately upon looking at the menu, I thought "Cedar Planked Salmon". Sorry you picked something else and were disappointed. But glad that you talked to someone else who had it an loved it.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Oooooooooooh those caramel treats look delicious! I always forget that Disney will slice the apples for you (do they do this everywhere?), so I always admire the apples and don't get them for fear of complicated snacking. That caramel corn looks delish too!

 

[DLo]

a little late joining the party. enjoying your reviews so far. We went to the Karmel shop in Oct - awesome. Hard to decide what to get . Can't wait to try something different next trip.

 

[cbg1027]

The caramel corn looks amazing!! I can't wait to try it! Looking forward to reading more of your reviews!!

Melissa

It was amazing! Don't miss it!
Thanks for reading.

Okay, that carmel corn looks soooooo good, it totally just made my snack list.

You might want to fill it in for more than one snack!

Oh boy that Caramel Corn has just jumped to the top of the list

It's now way ahead of Soarin'

Oh my! I almost licked my computer screen looking at that strawberry. Fantastic photo. If that doesn't scream FOOD PORN, I don't know what does.

Great report so far! I was thinking of trying AP on our next trip and immediately upon looking at the menu, I thought "Cedar Planked Salmon". Sorry you picked something else and were disappointed. But glad that you talked to someone else who had it an loved it.

Thanks for looking at my food porn.

Oooooooooooh those caramel treats look delicious! I always forget that Disney will slice the apples for you (do they do this everywhere?), so I always admire the apples and don't get them for fear of complicated snacking. That caramel corn looks delish too!

I don't know if they will slice the apples everywhere. I had never eaten a candy or caramel apple at Disney before my visit to Karamell Kuche. The guy packaging it for me just asked if I wanted it sliced. I'm so glad he did because the little plastic knives back in our room would not have done the job!

a little late joining the party. enjoying your reviews so far. We went to the Karmel shop in Oct - awesome. Hard to decide what to get . Can't wait to try something different next trip.

Same here! I'm already pondering what to get next time. Thanks for joining in!

 

[cbg1027]

As if we weren't already stuffed with sweets from Karamell Kuche, we were in for more gorging that evening in the form of a 6:40 ADR for dinner at 'Ohana! I wasn't particularly excited about the meal because of mixed reviews and the fact that I consider myself a bit of a food snob. I eat most of my meals at Disney in signatures so I didn't think 'Ohana would really do it for me. But Mark really wanted to try it (what man doesn't like all you can eat meat?) and since it was his vacation too, I said ok.

As expected, there was a line just to check in when we arrived around 6:20. Luckily, we only waited about 5 minutes to check in. The place was so busy they had run out of buzzers so the hostess told us to 'check back in a little while'. Whaaaaa? Last I heard, the restaurant is supposed to notify the party waiting to be seated. Do they expect us to wait in the line to check in to see if our table is ready? 'Ohana was grinding my gears already, but we managed to find a seat in the Tambu Lounge area and decided booze was in order.

A cocktail server showed up fairly quickly and Mark placed an order for the seasonal Sam Adams beer. Sorry, I didn't get a photo of that because I figured you could get it in any supermarket so it's nothing exciting to review. I went with something more unique to our vacation, a selection from the new Disney standard drink menu.

I present the Red Grape Sensation:

Wow! This was amazing! My favorite drink of the trip and my new favorite alcoholic beverage. The thing that really made this drink was the Red Grape Hibiscus vodka. The flavor was completely unusual - fruity, floral, tart, slightly sweet, and somewhat acidic. It was very refreshing and the alcohol wasn't over powering. I don't like my drinks too strong since I'm such a lightweight and this was just perfect for me! When I got home, I hunted down the vodka and now keep a few bottles in my house for making Red Grape Sensations!

The drink definitely put me in a better mood and while I was nursing the beverage, a host called my name. We had waited about 30 minutes, not so horrible for 'Ohana (I think?).

Were led past the Tiki Gods and our host picked up a loaf of 'Ohana Pineapple-Coconut Welcome Bread which was left at our table.

This was not a good first impression for the food. This must have been a leftover loaf from the day before because it was super stale. The crust was thin and crumbled right off and the inside was way too dry. Blech.

It took a while for a server to make it over to us. There was a large party next to us that was clearly giving the guy a a hard time and taking up a lot of his attention so I wasn't too perturbed by it. He finally was able to break away from them and got our drinks orders. Mark had long finished his Sam Adams, so he decided to get a Mojito while I went with water.

I tasted the Mojito and thought it was great. You can see all the fresh lime and mint.

A runner brought us out the salad course - Mixed Greens with Honey-Lime Dressing:

This was ok. The greens were nice, fresh, and crispy, but that's all there was. Just some lettuces, an occasional shredded carrot piece...but nothing else except dressing. The Honey-Lime vinaigrette was really delicious though. So the salad was good for what it was, but some other veggies would have been a nice addition.

Before we had taken more than 2 bites of salad the runner appeared again with Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings:

and Fried Pork Dumplings:

The wings were really great! Moist chicken meat with a somewhat crispy fried skin, tossed in a sweet and tangy honey-coriander wing sauce. I totally get what the fuss over these is all about!

The dumplings were good, but nothing too special. I'm not a big dumpling fan though, so that may have something to do with my assessment of these.

While we were still working on all of our appetizers, the skewer man came by our tables with Marinated Sirloin Steak. I wasn't expecting much from these as I assumed they would be well-done and this dried out. I only asked for two pieces and quickly regretted that decision when I cut in to a piece and saw this:

Is that pink? In the steak? Yes!!!!! It was only cooked to a medium! I couldn't believe my eyes, so I took and bite and was very happy to find a tender, delicious piece of steak in my mouth. The marinade was delicious and you could taste the oak fire charring on the steak. Dare I say it...the steak at 'Ohana was quite good!

Oh yes, let's not forget the dipping sauces they serve with the meats:

The top bowl was some sort of terryaki-ish sauce. It was pretty boring and lacked much flavor. The bowl on the left was a sweet and sour sauce that had waaaaay too much sweet and not enough sour. The bowl on the right, however, was a slightly spicy peanut sauce that was quite delicious. This was the only sauce both Mark and I cared for, so we cleaned that bowl dry!

The next meat skewer that came around was the Spicy Peel-and-Eat Shrimp:

I was, again, pleasantly surprised to find, tender and moist nicely spiced shrimp. They were not overcooked in the least and again, that oak fire flavor really made them.

This is where the magic happens!

Can I just come get it myself?

But the meat was not done! We had only had half of the offerings.
Asian BBQ Pork Loin and Chicken were brought out next:

Pork on the bottom, chicken on the top.

These were good, but a tad on the dry side for me. Still had nice flavor though. I stuck with more shrimp and steak for the rest of my meal though.

We were also served Lo-Mein noodles and Stir-Fried Broccoli and Sugar Snap Peas. I didn't even take a photo of those dishes because they were boring and completely underwhelming. The noodles were like the worst Chinese take out Lo-Mein and the veggies had no flavor and were much too oily.

It didn't really matter to me because there was so much food I liked so I focused on those items (wings, salad, steak, and shrimp!)

After we had finally had our fill on the meats, the famous 'Ohana Bread Pudding with Bananas Foster Sauce was brought out:

I get why this is somewhat of a Disney 'cult food'. It was sooooo good. The bread pudding had a perfect pudding texture, it was moist and the flavor was outstanding. The sauce was what really made it though. The burnt-sugar flavor on bananas and bread pudding with vanilla ice cream was just heavenly. The ice cream even had real vanilla bean specks in it! Be aware though, this is a heavy dessert! It's easy to eat way too much and feel like the CM's will have to roll you out of the restaurant!

Overall, 'Ohana was an unexpected surprise. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It won't be an every trip occasion for me, but I would definitely return in the future.

Grade:B

 

[Tracerr00]

Thank you for the honest Ohana review! This is one of the places that my sister and I are going to in August and I was sort of on the fence about it. My sister and I like very different things but I think that there are enough options here to satisfy both of us. I think I'd like the steak and she'd like the shrimp.

I'm enjoying your reviews and this one certainly helped!! I'm am absolutely going to go for it with the Red Grape Sensation too!

 

[TanzUnited99]

I enjoyed reading your review of Ohana! What was the deal with telling you to return and not letting you know when your table was ready. I get that it was busy but still...not very Disney like.

The Red Grape Sensation looks great...am glad you enjoyed it. The bread doesn't look well in the photo so am not surprised to hear that it was stale

on finding items of food you enjoyed eating!

 

[kelleigh1]

That bread sounded like it would be so good. I'm disappointed that you ended up with a stale loaf.

Great review though. I love the detail on the drink. (I'm also a lightweight and don't drink much, but might need to try that.) Ohana is on our maybe list and it sounds like it had some good and some bad, which seems to happen at most places.

 

[lblume91]

Love the pics from the caramel shop! I'm not sure which looks better, the caramel corn or the strawberry... Great pics from Ohana as well!

 

[Linda67]

Great Ohana review

I've never tried it but the bread pudding is making me want to

 

[youcansmellit]

Ohanas bread pudding and Karamell Kuche caramel corn are amazing. They are both loved so much, I assumed that they could never live up to the hype. They both do. Great reviews and Pictures.

 

[jess20k]

The Red Grape Sensation sounds amazing! I can't wait to try one in May!

Your 'Ohana review made my mouth water!!! We used to love it there, then over the past few years, we have had both good and bad experiences there. So, we usually give it a break and go every other year. We are going back in May, so I am hoping it will be great!