Dining Review - September/October 2023

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 9/27/23
We started the day at Magic Kingdom.

In the afternoon, we went to Disney Springs and went to Splittsville to bowl. We ordered a cheese pizza to share laneside and soda. Bowling was a lot of fun.



The pizza was better than we expected it to be and we enjoyed it. The server who brought the pizza was super attentive. He brought us water before we ordered our pizza and soda, checked on us, refilled our sodas, etc. After we paid the bill, he came back over and hugged Scott thanking him multiple times. We often over tip if we feel someone went a little above and beyond, but this guys reaction really made us feel good.

We picked up 6 Everglazed donuts to go. It was very convenient since it’s right near Splittsville. When we told them we planned to freeze some to bring home with us, they gave us several smaller/individual donut boxes in addition to the regular/larger box the donuts were put in.



Our original plan was to freeze two of the donuts, then try them near the end of the trip to see how they froze. If it worked well, we planned to buy more donuts to freeze and bring home. It didn’t exactly work out that way.

While this isn’t when we ate all the donuts, I’m going to put them here to keep the donuts all together. We shared each of the donuts.

Chocolate Iced. We froze this one and brought it back to New Jersey. We didn’t eat it until October 19 and it was still good.




Cookies & Cream. We froze this one and brought it back to New Jersey. We didn’t eat it until October 15 and it was still good. This one is messier when we cut it since it has all that cream on top. The donut itself was still soft. The cookies and cream part is very sweet and there is a lot of it. We shared and I can’t imagine one person eating the whole donut without sugar overload.





Nutella Boston Cream. We at this one after dinner this evening. It was good, but Scott said the Boston Cream donut he had from Wegman’s (a local supermarket) was better.




Apple Streusel. We ate this one after dinner this evening. This was our favorite of the ones we tried. The filling was tasty as was the topping; they were also well proportioned to the cake part of the donut.



The next two donuts will follow in the next post due to picture limits

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 9/27/23 Continued

Purple Ube: We tried this one a different day during the trip (still in Florida) and weren’t crazy about it. It was OK but not something we would get again.



Iconic Donut: We tried this one a different day during the trip (still in Florida). I liked this one a lot. Scott thought it was OK. I prefer plainer donuts than he does.



Later that night we had dinner at Bahama Breeze. We sat at the bar to eat as we like to do.


Scott had a Martini. I had a Strawberry Mojito: Bacardi Dragonberry, strawberries, sugarcane and lime juices.


We shared our food.

Our appetizer was the ChickenTostones: Fried Plantains, pulled chicken, sweet peppers, melted cheese, tomato salsa. The tostones were OK. We wanted to try something different so are glad we tried them, but wouldn’t rush to get them again.


For an entree we ordered the Caribbean Red Snapper: Seared over white rice, tipped with a mango-avocado salsa, pickled red onions and housemade key lime butter sauce. This was OK, but the sauce was a bit odd tasting. It wasn’t bad but had an odd flavor.


Scott was still hungry after sharing the snapper so ordered a burger and fries. I took a bite of the burger and had a few fries. This was good.


Our meal at Bahama Breeze was decent. It’s a cute place if you are looking for something off property. We tried some new to us items tonight, but would order different things if we were at Bahama Breeze again; other than the burger which we would order again here.

When we got back to the resort is when we had the Boston Cream and Apple Streusel donuts from Everglazed.

 

[dznymemories]

Love your reviews and your pictures are always outstanding! There is just something relaxing about following your trips.

 

[Noreen411]

Love your reviews and your pictures are always outstanding! There is just something relaxing about following your trips.

Hi. Thank you so much for your kind words.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 9/28/23
We spent the day at Epcot.

In Les Halles Pasticceria (the bakery in France) we got an almond croissant that we wrapped up to bring back to the villa.

The cut in half croissant picture is from the next morning when we were eating breakfast. This was very good.


We had dinner at Shika Sai in Japan in Epcot. We were excited to try a new restaurant.



For drinks I had the Mt Fuji: Refreshing sake cocktail with blue curaçao syrup and pineapple. While it was pretty, it wasn’t very good. It was just sweet. I like sweet drinks but all you tasted was cloying sweetness. Scott ended up with a Coke since the waitress didn’t understand what he wanted when he asked for Bombay Sapphire.


We shared the various things we ordered

Dragon Roll: Barbecued freshwater eel, avocado, cucumber, and shrimp tempura. This was fantastic with a huge piece of eel on top.


Grilled Wagyu Gyoza: Pan fried dumplings filled with smoky A5 Japanese Wagyu beef. We were both disappointed with this. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it says it’s made with Wagyu beef. It was just like any pork dumpling from a local Chinese restaurant. I think our expectations were too high.


Unagi Don: Grilled freshwater eel served over tamagoyaki on a bed of steamed rice, drizzled with a savory sauce. This was another standout and we really enjoyed it.


Okonomiyaki: Japanese savory pancake filled with bacon. We weren’t sure what this would taste like, we’ve never had this before. It was OK, but probably not something we would order again. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, there are just other things we would order instead.


I took a picture of most of the food on the table together since it all came out quickly, except the Okonomiyaki which came a little later





We were sort of mixed on our thoughts about Shiki Sai. It has a lot of potential with the concept of the changes with the seasons. We were hoping the waitress would have explained that and the menu a bit but she wasn’t able to communicate with us. She was friendly but she just pointed at the pictures on the menu. The dragon roll and unagi-don were great. We will probably give the restaurant another try on a future trip.

We skipped dessert planning to get our favorite Disney dessert later

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 9/28/23 Continued
Later that evening we went to the Tambu Lounge at the Polynesian.


Scott had a martini. I had a Raspberry Mojito: Bacardi Raspberry rum, Mount Gay eclipse rum, lime juice, mint, and raspberry purée topped with soda water.


We’ve always liked the pot stickers here and after the disappointment with the ones at Shika Sai earlier, we ordered them here: Pork and vegetable dumplings tossed in a chili-garlic sauce. We’re striking out with dumplings today. These were dry and not very good. We usually enjoy them here but were disappointed tonight. We each managed to eat one of them but that was it.


That’s OK - the main reason we wanted to come to Tambu Lounge was dessert. Bread Pudding. This is same bread pudding they serve in O’Hana and Kona Cafe. This was a shocker to us but our beloved bread pudding that we compare all bread pudding to and we consider the holy grail of bread pudding let us down. We couldn’t put our finger on what it was, but it didn’t taste the same as it usually does. It was still good, but not the bread pudding we’ve been dreaming of and looking forward to. On prior trips, we’ve come back to Tambu Lounge for the bread pudding several times during our trip.


We had a nice time at Tambu Lounge chatting with other customers sitting near us.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

That dragon roll and unagi don both look amazing! Sorry you had a couple of misses that night but those two looked delish.

 

[erinch]

Here for the ride!

 

[Counting Stars]

Following- love your reviews!

 

[Noreen411]

That dragon roll and unagi don both look amazing! Sorry you had a couple of misses that night but those two looked delish.

Those dishes were fantastic, we would get both again next time we go to Shika Sai.

 

[Noreen411]

Here for the ride!

Hi. Hoping to get another day or two posted soon.

 

[Noreen411]

Following- love your reviews!

Thank you; I appreciate the feedback

 

[Noreen411]

Friday 9/29/23
We started the day at Animal Kingdom.

We went to Disney Springs and had lunch at Homecoming. We found two seats at the bar where we wanted to eat; we didn’t have a reservation, this was a spur of the moment idea to come for lunch.

Scott had Tanqueray Gin with lime. I had White Peach Sangria: Peach moonshine, La PerLina moscato and fresh peach purée muddled with orange and mango. Garnished with a moonshine-soaked peach wedge. This was a good sangria.


We shared most of the food as we often do

Key West Shrimp Cocktail: Seasoned shrimp tossed with avocado, mango, cucumber and house-made cocktail sauce. Served with buttermilk crackers. This was an interesting spin on a shrimp cocktail. The slaw it was served with was very light; the mango and avocado added sweetness to the dish. I don’t like food all mingled so would have preferred the sauce on the side, but that’s just personal preference. The sauce was really at the bottom so easy to eat the parts I wanted without the sauce. The crackers added a different touch to it.



Scott wanted the Mac & Cheese; anytime he sees it on the menu, we get it. He liked it. I had a bite too. I ended up dipping the crackers from the shrimp cocktail into the cheese from the Mac and cheese instead of eating them with the shrimp, somehow it seemed to go better with the cheese. The Mac and cheese was very cheesy.


Thigh High Chicken Biscuits: Three biscuits topped with Chef Art’s famous fried chicken thighs and butter pickles, drizzled with hot honey. These used to be one of our favorite items at Homecoming. The last few times we’ve ordered it, it’s been good but not great. We may need to branch out and try some different items next time we visit Homecoming.


Homecoming is always enjoyable.

 

[Noreen411]

Friday 9/29/23 Continued
Later that evening we drove to the Boardwalk for our dinner reservation at Trattoria Al Forno. We went a little early to have a pre-dinner cocktail at Abracadabar.

Scott had Woodford Reserve Bourbon double with a big ice cube and a cherry.
I had Hoodunit’s Punch: Captain Morgan, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice, Coconut. This is a great drink; probably one of my favorite on property cocktails.


When we checked in at Trattoria Al Forno, they mentioned they were running about 25 minutes behind. That was fine with us since we were sitting and hanging out at Abracadabar which is connected and right in between Trattoria Al Forno and Flying Fish.

They texted us when our table was ready and we were taken to a back room that I didn’t even know existed before. It was smaller/cozier than the main dining room. We ended up really liking it back there.

I originally forgot to take the picture of Scott with the menu when we were seated. We ended up borrowing the menu from the people seated next to us near the end of our meal to take the picture.




We shared our food

They brought us bread with dipping sauce, but since we ordered the garlic bread we didn’t eat the little rolls. The person who dropped them off basically ran over, dropped them, and ran off. We were going to tell him we didn’t need the bread but he was gone so quickly we didn’t have a chance.


Crispy Pancetta Arancini: Risotto balls with a creamy, rich mozzarella center. Scott isn’t usually a fan of rice balls but even he enjoyed these. They were really good. I would have preferred the sauce on the side to dip but that’s just my personal preference; it didn’t take away from our enjoyment of the rice balls.


Garlic Bread. This did not taste like any garlic bread we’ve had before. You didn’t really taste any garlic, it just tasted like dough. We each tried a little piece, but neither of us liked it to we didn’t eat any more of it.



Pizze Margherita: Fresh Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil. We added pepperoni. While a simple dish, this exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed the pizza.


Shrimp Pappardelle: Artichokes, tomatoes, capers, white wine-butter sauce. This was a solid dish we both enjoyed.


We were chatting with the customers seated next to us. They ordered an off-menu pizza: Bianca (a white pizza) that looked fantastic. They both raved about it so we’ll have to try it next time we come here.

We enjoyed our meal at Trattoria al Forno and will definitely return.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 9/30/23
We skipped breakfast today since we are meeting some of my friends/co-workers from the Tampa office of the company I work at for an early lunch. We met them and their families at the Polite Pig at Disney Springs. Scott had some work to do so didn’t stay for lunch but met us after.

I had the Smoked Turkey BLT: sweet BBQ bacon-onion jam, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and Dukes majo, pickles, cole slaw. I asked for no mayo and no Cole slaw. I forgot to tell them no pickle, but it was easy to remove. I also ordered fries and soda. This was pretty good. I’m not really a huge fan of BBQ type food, but this was pretty good.


I didn’t write down the descriptions of what everyone else ordered and didn’t want them to think I was too nutty taking pictures, but they indulged me and I was able to get a picture of everyone’s food. Everyone really liked what they ate.

The different items that were ordered by my friends/coworkers were:
A platter with all sorts of meats and sides. They raved about this and mentioned whenever they come to Disney Springs they usually come here and order this.


Brisket


For the vegetarian, various side dishes


A huge pretzel


I would definitely come back to try some of the other items on the menu.

It was great to finally meet everyone in person; we usually interact over zoom.

After lunch, when everyone else headed back home, Scott and I went to Hollywood Studios.

At Woody’s Lunch Box, we ordered the Raspberry pop tarts. These were wrapped up to go in our ziploc bag we brought for this purpose. I really like these pop tarts. They are not as sweet as the boxed pop tarts from the grocery store. These made it home to New Jersey.

 

[Noreen411]

Saturday 9/30/23 Continued
Later that night we drove to the Dolphin and valet parked for our dinner reservation at Shula’s.

We sat at the bar for pre-dinner cocktails. I like when bars have hooks under the bar to hang your bag; Scott’s knapsack and my bag were both hung here.


Scott had an Old Fashioned. I had a Blueberry Mojito.


We stayed at the bar to eat dinner rather than moving to a table in the dining room. We let the hostess know to free up the table to others.

The bread here is always delicious. It’s warm and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.


We shared our food and started with two appetizers.

Pan Seared Scallops: Sweet Corn Succotash, brown butter vinaigrette. These were really good. I always say I’m not a huge scallop fan, but lately I’ve been enjoying them when they are cooked well. Scott thought the scallops were great.


Bacon Wrapped BBQ Shrimp: Horseradish BBQ sauce, basil. This was another great appetizer. I wasn’t sure if I would like it at first since I’m not a huge fan of BBQ sauce, but this didn’t taste like a regular BBQ sauce. We both enjoyed this.


For our entree we ordered the special off menu, dry aged cowboy steak. We’ve had this in the past and loved it. Today it was just OK


We also ordered the Macaroni and Cheese: Cavatappi pasta, smoked Gouda and cheddar cheese sauce, toasted bread crumbs. This is the best Mac and cheese at Disney. I’m not a big macaroni and cheese fan and I really like this one. Scott loved it.


For dessert we had the chocolate soufflé. This is an amazing dessert. We both enjoyed it. The ice cream cuts the richness of the chocolate soufflé perfectly.



While we always enjoy Shula’s and it has been a restaurant we would normally go to several times a trip, we may wait until our next trip to come back. We didn’t love our steak today like we have in the past. Everything else was great and we definitely recommend Shula’s.

 

[Ellester]

I always enjoy your dining reports! Thanks for sharing, looking forward to reading the rest!

 

[Noreen411]

I always enjoy your dining reports! Thanks for sharing, looking forward to reading the rest!

Thank you. I’m hoping to write a little more today.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 10/1/23
We started the day at Magic Kingdom.

On our way out we stopped at the Confectionary (candy store on Main Street near the exit) to get a few snacks.

Twix Blondie Pie. This came back home to New Jersey with us. When we ate it, it was very good. I would definitely get this again. The picture of it cut in half is when we ate it over a week later.




Mickey Cookie. Scott loved this cookie. He said it was probably his favorite cookie he’s ever gotten at Disney. He ate some of it right away and picked on it over the next few days. He ate an ear before I was able to get a picture.


We headed to Keke’s for brunch.


I think we both had soda to drink.

I had Banana Caramel Pecan Stuffed French Toast: cream cheese-stuffed French toast topped with powdered sugar with choice of filling. I also had crispy bacon. This was delicious; I ate the whole thing (other than a little piece I gave Scott).




Scott had a bacon cheeseburger: two quarter-pound all beef patties with two slices of bacon and two slices of white American cheese on a bun, served with kettle chips and a pickle spear. He also got a side of breakfast sausage (weird combination but that’s what he was in the mood for). He enjoyed his food as well.



Keke’s is a great off-property place with a very large menu. There are several locations in Florida.

 

[Noreen411]

Sunday 10/1/23 Continued
Later that night we drove to Caribbean Beach Resort for dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro.

We had pre-dinner cocktails at Banana Cabana and were surprised to see they removed the bar stools that were there last time we came here.


I had a Banana Cabana: Cruzan Mango rum, Parrot Bay coconut rum, Bols crème de banana liqueur, Minute Maid orange juice and pineapple juice with a float of grenadine. I enjoyed this. Scott had Maker’s Bourbon. They don’t have glasses, just plastic cups since it’s outside and near the pool.


We were seated on time. This is such a cute restaurant.


In addition to the regular meal, we ordered the Fried Coconut shrimp enhancement which is served with a creamy chipotle dipping sauce. I should have asked for the dipping sauce on the side; it was still very good but I like to dip rather than have my food coated in sauce.


The regular meal at Sebastian’s Bistro includes all of the below items

Buttery House baked pull apart rolls with guava butter and caramelized onion jam. The rolls are really good, warming them up a bit would make them even better. Except for the Mickey shaped one which was like a Parmesan crisp; it was cute to look at but we didn’t eat it.


Spice Necklace Salad: Mixed greens and kale with spiced candied pumpkin seeds tropical fruit, and radish with key lime dressing. The salad is great and very refreshing; we ate the whole bowl.


Taste of the Caribbean: Oven roasted citrus chicken, slow cooked mojo pork with mango sambal, grilled chili rubbed beef with mojito relish and sustainable baked fish with Veracruz sauce. We enjoyed this more this trip than we did on our prior trip; it was really good. The fish is a nice addition to the platter.


Cilantro rice and beans, vegetable curry, and grilled seasonal vegetables. The sides pair well with the meat and we enjoyed it.


House made coconut pineapple bread pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. The bread pudding was fantastic. It used to be a close second to Tambu Lounge, but this trip it was even better than the Tambu Lounge version.



We enjoyed our meal at Sebastian’s Bistro and will definitely return.