THE POLYNESIAN AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

The Polynesian is Disney’s island style resort where little adventures lurk in every nook and cranny. The landscapes of this hotel are rather impressive with a volcano style pool, the jungle atmosphere and a little beach to lounge around in.

The lobby is a flurry of activity where you might find a group of residents doing the hula to island beats or others just enjoying the gorgeous waterfall and greenery that adorns this space.

The Polynesian offers a few choices for dinning and thought we missed the popular “Luau” dinner we did have breakfast at the following spots. The food is very average but the wonderful servers more than make up for that.

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal: Food, Orlando, Florida

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

8504 Universal Blvd

Orlando, FL 32819

With two kids who are obsessed with Harry Potter, we had to hit the brand new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal this past summer. It was a wonder for the kids to see one of their favorite stories come to life. They have done a great job of Hogwarts but I found everything was made a little too small – I think they grossly underestimated the popularity of this world. In any case here are some of the food spots we hit whilst at Harry Potter world.

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Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

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Animal Kingdom – Food, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

This might just be my favorite Disney theme park. Animal Kingdom has been fashioned with utmost care. Its Disney brilliance a its best.

They truly have managed to recreate an authentic, nostalgic feeling of Asia and Africa, right here the USA.

I really enjoyed soaking up the great attention to details that every little tea stand and food stall has been done with.

Here are some of my favorites ( more about the aesthetics than the food).

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EPCOT: FOOD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Epcot is my lifeline when it comes to food.With all the countries represented in the World Showcase, you have to figure there are some decent meals to be had.

I always try and schedule Epcot towards the middle of our trip because by that time I’m really hankering for anything ethnic. For me spice is quintessential to my survival. When I reach Epcot, the very first thing I do is head to Mexico to the indoor market place to buy me some kicking habanero sauce. This stuff is seriously potent – I mean a 9 on the Richter scale of heat. Once I’m armed with this sauce – any bad meal can be turned into passable as long as it is doused in this heavenly hot sauce!

My favorite Epcot World Showcase food spots are the Tangerine Café in Morocco, Yakitori House in Japan and a semi decent meal at San Angel Inn. The very worst are in the UK – The Fish and Chips place and Lotus Blossom Café in China ( it really is despicable food). France offers a nice little dessert stop off at its Patisserie and China has a nice little tea stand which offers some interesting teas to cool you off.

Here are some of the restaurant I tried:

SAN ANGEL INN

TANGERINE CAFÉ

YAKITORI HOUSE

NINE DRAGONS

LOTUS BLOSSOM CAFÉ

TUTTO ITALIA RISTORANTE

1900 PARK FARE AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

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NARCOOSSEES AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Narcoossees is the extremely popular seafood restaurant at the Grand Floridian. The setting is very charming as it overlooks the lagoon and is a great spot to watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom from. One can also catch the night-lights show on the lagoon.

Narcoossees is one of the fine dinning restaurants that the Grand Floridian offers. The price points are high and in my opinion the food does not live up to the hype. The scallops was the best dish of the night and their desserts were pretty good but other than that nothing impressed me. Next time, I’d save my Disney dollars and spend them elsewhere

Here is some of what we ate:

Crab Cakes

Crab Salad

Steamed Whole Maine Lobster

Scallops

Crab-Crusted Mahi Mahi

Grilled Filet Mignon

Warm Chocolate-Almond Gateau

Strawberry Shortcake

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Overall
	* Restaurant Name
	Narcoossee’s
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	American New / American Traditional
	* Street Address
	4401 Grand Floridian , Orlando, FL 32830
	* Phone
	(407) 939-3463

THE GRAND FLORIDIAN CAFE AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

The Grand Floridian Café is a casual café, which offers a nice relaxed setting for those who would like to have more leisurely, sit down meals.

The food is reasonably good – a shade better than Gasparilla Grill. I would recommend trying the Lobster Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

The service is a little slow but the servers are very charming and friendly. They spend a good amount of time chatting you up which is a quintessential part of the phenomenal Disney service. So if you are in a hurry to hit the theme parks and don’t want to dwell on your meals, the Grand Floridian Café may not be an ideal choice.

Here is some of what we ate:

PANCAKES

STEAK AND EGGS

LOBSTER EGGS BENEDICT

TWO EGGS WITH BACON AND HOME FRIES

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Overall
	* Restaurant Name
	Grand Floridian Café
	★★★☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	American Traditional
	* Street Address
	4401 Grand Floridian Way , Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
	* Phone
	(407) 824-3000

GASPARILLA GRILL & GAMES AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Gasparilla Grill is the essential, informal, hang out spot for any family with young kids. It’s a casual cafeteria style; self serve café, which offers a reasonable range of quick foods

The offerings at Gasparilla Grill are superior to the regular hot dog and chicken nugget menu that you get at most kid friendly restaurants. They have a nice selection of hot foods served at each meal and a fresh sandwich bar. They also have a host of cold foods that include sushi, wraps and salads.

Gasparilla Grill is a great option for those who want to eat quickly and get to the theme parks on time.

Here is some of what we ate:

BREAKFAST PLATTER

PANCAKES

HAMBURGER

FLORIDIAN TURKEY CLUB

LASAGNA

Restaurant Information

tabelog.us

	* Overall
	* Restaurant Name
	Gasparilla Grill and Games
	★★☆☆☆
	* Neighborhood / Cuisine
	American Traditional
	* Street Address
	4401 Floridian Way , Orlando, FL 32830
	* Phone
	(407) 824-3000

THE GRAND FLORIDIAN AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

The Grand Floridian is the grandest of resorts within Disney World. The old world, elegant charm it exudes is unmatched.

The lobby is my favorite spot to hang out in where you can sit and soak in the enchanting ambiance. It’s not unusual to find Cinderella and Prince Charming taking a whimsical stroll through the hotel lobby whispering sweet nothing to each other.

In my opinion, the Grand Floridian offers some of the better food choices within the theme parks and neighboring hotels. They have plenty of restaurants to choose from which cover a good range of price points and sophistication.

Here are a few that we tried:

GASPRILLA GRILL & GAMES

THE GRAND FLORIDIAN CAFE

NARCOOSSEES

1900 PARK FARE

MAGIC KINGDOM – CINDERELLA’S ROYAL TABLE BREAKFAST AT DISNEY WORLD, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Food: ☆

Service: ☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Getting a seat at Cinderella’s Royal Table is one of the toughest ticket in town!

You really do have to book a few months in advance to get a seat at this table.

I guess in Disney terms – it is the ultimate destination – dinning at the Cinderella’s castle. The room has a lot of old world charm – you really do feel like you are dinning at the castle (which in fact you are!). After all it is all about location, location, location!

The food is possibly the worst breakfast I have had at any of these dinning experiences but no one (other than me) goes there for the food. With Cinderella and her barrage of princess friends who keep showing up to entertain their tiny guests, one stays distracted enough from what is going in the mouth.

Do call a few weeks ahead and make reservation at 1-407-WDW-DINE or book online, as last minute reservations can be difficult.

Here is some of what we ate:

Bacon, eggs and french toast

Magic Kingdom – Food, Orlando, Florida

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Malini Sood Horiuchi

Do not go to Magic Kingdom expecting cuisine. There is none!

Most of the restaurants at Magic offer the standard theme park fare.Here are a few of the restaurants that we visited whilst on our trip.

I liked Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn in Frontier land – mostly because they have an amazing fixing’s bar. You could create an entire meal for yourself just off of their fixings bar. I really enjoyed making myself many rounds of yummy salads.

Columbia harbor house was another place that served pretty decent food. Their sandwiches were pretty good and they served a good fried shrimp basket.

Tony’s Town Square is very popular but in my opinion might be some of the worst Italian I have eaten recently but I guess its important to remember that with all the fun things to do, who really has time to care too much about the food? (other than me!!)

Here is some of what we ate:

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