Lunar New Year Disneyland Foodguide – What you HAVE to get!
We finally had the opportunity to head over to Disney’s California Adventure to try the food at the Lunar New Year festival. We have been desperately wanting to go but due to our schedules, we haven’t been able to. We are so glad we made time for it!
Today we will be judging each item based on a 5 point scale as well as letting you know if you should SKIP or SAVOUR this dish! (Get it? It’s like the sip and savour pass, hah hah? I think it’s funny.)
We will be putting the price for each option but we want you to know we purchased our Sip and Savor passes which saved us quite a bit in the long run. If you know you are going to be getting more than 4 items they are definitely worth it. Warning: They do NOT include alcohol. You can get any of the non-alcoholic drinks but if you’re here to get boozy this is not the pass for you, unfortunately. The passes are $45.00 and if you want more information straight from the Disney website click here.
They are slightly different than the ones that were our on Christmas. There is no option other than the 6 dishes one.
PRO-TIP we learned– we found out that you can order all of your dishes from one counter and then go through the park and just hit up the pick-up windows. You will save SO much time!
Now that you get it, lets get started!
Prosperity Bao and Buns
At this Lunar New Year booth, we grabbed the two food items, as we had to skip all of the cocktails in this review. There will be no boozy reviews in this one unfortunately.
Red Panda Bao
Jumbo Pork and Vegetable Bao with Chile-Garlic Sauce $ 9.50
Score: 4 without Chili oil, 5 with!
Skip or Savour?: SAVOUR for sure!
The Red Panda Bao was the first thing we grabbed and we gotta say it was actually pretty incredible and had us excited for the rest of the day. Starting off with a 5/5 made us nervous because we weren’t sure if it was just the hunger talking but when we added the chili oil this Lunar New Year treat really stood out to us. This isn’t just a 5/5 for theme park food, but this is truly just really good bao! The pork was well seasoned, perfectly cooked, and the bao had the absolutely perfect texture. I will definitely be back for this one!
Kung Pao Bao
Vegetarian: Plant-based Chicken, Toasted Peanuts and Scallions $9.25
Score: 3.5 without Chili oil, 4.5 with
Skip or Savour: SAVOUR!
Okay– We have to be fully honest. We didn’t know the Kung Pao Bao was plant-based until RIGHT now. As someone who was vegan for years this is a 5 for me. If both of us rated it a 4.5 without thinking it was a vegetarian dish this has to be a must-have Lunar New Year treat. They pack these full of flavour and even though they are a little on the saltier side, the moment you add the Chili-oil from the other item it is out of this world. This might be one of our favourite booths here.
Red Dragon Spice Traders
Same as the last, at this Lunar New Year booth, we grabbed the two food items.
Spicy Chicken Wings
Gochujang Chicken wings with Seseame-Seaweed crunch $9.00
Score: 5/5
Skip or Savour: SAVOUR (With milk on standby)
I am not exaggerating when I tell you these Fire Chicken Wings brought the HEAT. They were not kidding when they labelled this booth “Spice Traders”. We will say the first initial tastes of these wings are straight Gochujang and I wish it was seasoned with a bit more rice vinegar or something to cut through the almost powdery nature of it, BUT because these were so spicy it gave us an adrenaline rush. They were so phenomenal in that regard we are dying to get them again– next time with ice-cream near by. We aren’t kidding, this is the spiciest thing I have purchased in a public setting that didn’t have a warning.
Spicy Gochujang Chicken Taco
Spicy Gochujang seasoned chicken with Yuja Cirtus Cabbage Slaw $8.00
Score: 5/5 — stay with us here, we promise we didn’t just rate everything highly.
Skip or Savour: SAVOUR
I know this Lunar New Year goodie looks unassuming and just like a basic taco but listen– the Spicy Gochujan Chicken Taco was seasoned so phenomenally and the meat was the perfect texture we will be getting this again. The chicken came on a properly prepared corn tortilla and was a perfect fusion of cuisines. We thought the price was a little high for one taco- but at a theme park, especially Disney, you get what you get. In the grand scheme I would say this is worth the $8.00.
Bamboo Blessings
We got the main food, the dessert, and the non-alcoholic drink option at this booth.
Brown Sugar Milk Tea
Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co.® Ceylon Tea, Hotteok-inspired Brown Sugar Syrup, Maple & Butter Pecan Syrups and Oat Milk, garnished with Banana Milk-infused Whipped Cream $7.50
Score: 2.5/5
Skip or Savour: This is a skip for us, if you like sweet things you might want to stop by here.
Here’s the thing about this Brown Sugar Milk Tea. I didn’t hate it. I am someone who will order 30% sugar when I get bubble tea. This is 125% sugar I swear. I will also say I rated a 3 if you like Milk Tea but on further review after seeing everything that is in this I have to give it a 2.5 only. There are too many cooks in this kitchen–I mean flavours in this drink. We didn’t taste any of them but sugar. There is absolutely no banana flavour or pecan, none of that. If you’re looking for an overly sweet milk tea then get this, if not I would skip it. It is nothing special.
Mini Char Siu Pork Shanks
Mini Char Siu Pork Shanks with Rice and Pineapple Chutney $9.25
Score: 3.5/5
Skip or Savour: Skip for us next time, but keep reading because you might like this one!
This Char Siu Park Shanks was cooked absolutely perfectly. I’m not kidding you when I say this is “fall off the bone”. It’s good but that’s it. It’s incredibly well cooked and if you’re used to more “bland” options but are trying to push yourself into trying new things, this is the dish for you. Especially during a festival where the food options are not typical American fare. The white rice with not really enough sauce just didn’t do it for me especially enough for me to return and get it again. I can’t express enough how well this was cooked though, it just missed the mark for flavour for me– when comparing it to all the hard-hitters during the Lunar New Year.
Strawberry Milk Tea Macaron
Strawberry Mickey Macaron with Buttercream with Milk Tea Center $8.50
Score: 3.5/5
Skip or Savour: Savour…barely (especially when Jolly Holiday is closed)
Disney is always great at making Macarons and this Strawberry Milk Tea Macaron is no different. The macaron is cooked perfectly, the buttercream is always great but I will say they usually have a much fresher taste whereas this one tasted artificial. It tastes like when you smell a really good-smelling strawberry soap. It was not soapy in taste but just so artificial. The Milk Tea centre was a really pleasant surprise and makes this dish. This is one of the desserts I would come back for, but I personally would prefer the raspberry macaron over in Disneyland.
Lucky 8 Lantern
We only got one item at this booth. We decided against getting the Chocolate Firecracker on this go, but let us know if we made a mistake here!
Quesabirria Egg Roll
A Quesabirria Egg Roll Guajillo Pepper Consommé $9.50
Score: 4/5
Skip or Savour: Savour
This Quesabirria Egg Roll is pretty perfect for carrying around the theme park- if it lasts that long. The flavours in this bad boy are incredible. The cheese? Phenomenal. This feels like something Deadpool would love. Thomas described this as the perfect snack for afterschool. I gotta say the consommé just tasted like packaged gravy, but the joke is on you, I have a soft spot for packaged gravy. If this had actual consommé this would be an easy 5, but I’ll sneak it in as a 4 anyways.
Wrapped with Love
We are closing out this food guide with Wrapped with Love which unfortunately didn’t really get the love from us.
Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings
Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings with Plum Sauce $9.00
Score: 1/5
Skip or Savour: Skip, please.
Listen, if I’m paying $9.00 for Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings with Plum Sauce, they have to be better than grocery store. This was so comically bad that I was shocked. The dumplings tasted stale and were cooked for way too long, and I absolutely didn’t taste the lemongrass– especially not with all of that straight-from-the-jar plum sauce. There are so many incredible dishes at this festival, save the room and your wallet and skip this.
Mandarin Orange Cream Puff
Mandarin Orange Cream Puff filled with Citrus Cream and Mandarin Compote $8.50
Score: 4
Skip or Savour: Savour– Even if it’s just for the pics.
This is a very well-made pastry. I personally wasn’t a fan of the texture but we rated it so high because of the quality of the culinary expertise needed for this dish. The Mandarin Orange Cream Puff doesn’t come to play when it comes to orange. It is truly filled with orange zest and the pastry is so light and fluffy. If you’re coming for the Lunar New Year, this one is the most instagram-able so if you’re planning on taking pics this is a must have.
Phở Dip
A Pho take on a “Beef-Dip” with Rice Noodles, Sliced Beef, Shaved Jalapeños, Pickled Onions and Phở Broth. $9.50
Score: 1.5/5
Skip or Savour: Skiiiiiiip! An emphatic skip, a resounding skip from us!
There are soooo many good, cheap options for Vietnamese subs out there. Don’t bother with this one.
We knew immediately that this wasn’t going to go well as soon as we picked it up and realized that the bread was just shy of being rock-hard. Sidney took a wee nibble off the corner just to be thorough, otherwise we both refused to test a full bite of this sandwich.
Instead we went open-faced and tried all the elements. It didn’t really help. The noodles were a flavourless vehicle for adding texture to the mayonnaise. The beef was ok, with the portion being small. Onions and jalapeños are nothing groundbreaking.
The broth was decent, if basic – we’ll give it that. When I order a Beef Dip, I’m looking for good bread and great meat, this Pho Dip was severely lacking, and I’m saying that as someone who was obsessed with Pho for the entirety of college.
Taro Vietnamese-style Iced Coffee
Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co.® Vietnamese-style Coffee, Cocoa Powder and Condensed Milk, garnished with Taro-Chocolate Sweet Cream $7.25
Score: 5/5
Skip or Savour: Savour
Sidney took a little warming up to it, but it did eventually become a 5/5. It’s a very visually appealing drink, but it 100% tastes better once you stir in the Taro-Chocolate sweet cream.
A word though? Don’t be looking over here if you’re out to satisfy your chocolate hankerings. We both honestly forgot that there was supposed to be chocolate in here; drank it; didn’t notice any, or even a hint of any; and rated it a 5 anyways.
The coffee element is of excellent quality. It is not even remotely over-sweet, which is very appreciated when it comes to Disney fare. I (Thomas) also just plain-old love taro flavoured drinks. This drink was genuinely excellent. Get two. Definitely don’t miss out on this Taro Vietnamese-style Iced Coffee.
Conclusion
There are a lot of hard-hitters at this Lunar New Year festival, and in all, you need to try at least one thing from each booth- which is a big step up from other festivals DCA has had in the past! Let us know what you think of the different options and if you disagree with us leave a comment below! We would love to hear what you think!
We also made a vlog for this one over on our Adventure Street Channel.
If you feel like giving it a watch check it out here!
Much love,
Sidney and Thomas
