Epcot 2012 Food and Wine Festival Menus, Pictures, Reviews, Alternatives etc. Part 4

Continuing from Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, we’ll continue our walk around World Showcase to check out the Food & Wine Festival booths.

Singapore

Singapore returns to the Festival on the left side (or right side if you’re walking toward Japan) across from Morocco.

The Beef Rendang returns, but last year’s Shrimp Cake with Singapore Noodles is replaced with Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice and “Singa” Sauce.  The “Santinela” is also new.  I like the use of quotations.

The Rendang is not the ummmmmmmmmmmmmm most photogenic dish out there.  It’s also one of the spiciest and most authentic, making it decidedly “not for everyone.”  Luckily, Disney hasn’t dumbed it down to cater to our McDonalds’ palettes.  If you like spicy dishes that taste of coconut and beef, you’ll like this one.  Last year, the menu stated that it’s “coconut braised beef.”  For whatever reason, you have to guess what it is this year.  At $3.25, it’s an expensive experiment if your group is a little more adventurous.

Monica described the Mahi Mahi as “just okay.”  It certainly looks good and a decent piece for the price.

Tiger Beer comes from Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd in Sinapore.  It’s another 5% American Adjunct Lager that is not particularly special as far as taste is concerned, but it’s unlikely to be found at your local grocery store.  Total Wine carries 6-packs for $7.49 here in Florida.  This is basically a Budweiser from Singapore and it’s served from an 11.2 ounce bottle.  Not necessarily recommended, but it’s another refreshing lager without much complexity.

The Singapore Sling may not look like much sitting down there on the curb, but let me assure you that there’s more alcohol in this than most drinks.  This one is probably a solid 75% alcohol, if not more.  I’d say we’re talking about a solid two to three shots of Hendrick’s Gin.  I am no longer a big gin drinker.  I used to drink Potter’s Gin in college because it was intolerable.  People only asked if they could “have some” once.  This one’s going to taste strongly of gin, but it’s still drinkable as Hendrick’s is a pretty decent gin.  I wouldn’t order it unless you’re looking for alcohol content and like gin, but it’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for alcohol content and like gin.

The ‘Santinela” is actually a rioja wine from Spain that’s pretty well rated.  Recommended if you’re looking for a red wine pairing as it may be harder to find.

Morocco

Morocco also returns in the same location in the Morocco Pavilion near the Mo’ Rockin stage.

The Merguez Sausage replaces the Harissa Chicken Roll.  The Amazigh Red is also new.

I enjoyed the Kefta Pocket last year.  It isn’t overwhelmingly spicy and it’s a pretty good amount of food for the money with the large pita.

Think of it as a Moroccan Meatball Sandwich.  It’s pretty hefty.

Pretend this is the Casa Beer.  Somehow I have misplaced my picture.  I really cannot overemphasize that this is not a professional outfit.  Anyway, Casablanca Beer hails from Brasseries du Maroc in Morocco.  It’s a 5% Euro Pale Lager similar to Birra Moretti, Stella Artois, Kronenbourg 1664, Harp, and others widely available at the Festival.  This is one of the better Euro Pale Lagers available, though you’ll be served a simple bottle’s worth.  Crisp and refreshing, there’s a complexity there that you’re not going to find from the Kronenbourg and others.  Since it’s relatively rare, it’s not a bad choice if you’re in the market around this area.  Belgium is going to have a few options (Stella, Leffe, Hoegaarten), but I’d take the Casa over the Tiger beer in Morocco or Kronenbourg in France.

The Mimosa Royale, which has increased $1 in price over last year.  Considering the $12+ glasses of Moet, it seems reasonable I suppose.  You may be able to ask for just the champagne without the “Royale,” but it would be helpful to be a blonde woman.

Unless something has changed, the sangria is pre-bottled and pretty sad.  It’s certainly not terrible, but sangria is about as Moroccan as that Spanish wine we saw in Singapore is from Singapore.

New Zealand

New Zealand has moved further down near Belgium.  That’s the Belgium seating area to the right.  You’ll see this across from the France kiosks before arriving at Chefs de France.

The Lamb Meatball with Spicy Tomato Chutney replaces the Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney.

You may recall last year’s Slider, which looked like this.  Many people described it as being a meatball inside of a bun and it looks like this year Disney just decided to call it that.

Tanya sent in a picture of this year’s version with the following review, “It was just as good as last year’s slider, but just in different form.  Less bread, more sauce, but that’s OK cuz the sauce is delicious!  The meatball itself was actually pretty juicy.  But with the sauce and juicy meatball combined, that made the bottom of the bread bowl a little soggy.  They prepared it fresh while I waited, so it wasn’t just sitting around getting soggy either.  Overall, pretty good!”  She’s been the last four years, so I think we can take her word for it.

This year’s scallop is the same as last year’s, though Ashley was kind enough to send in this nice shot.  She says, “This was such a fantastic dish! There are no words adequate to describe how wonderful this was. I wish I had a whole plate of these!”  That sounds positive to me.  Last year, I said, “Excellent and highly recommended.  I saw a lot of people enjoying this one out on the promenade today.”

Kim Crawford wine legitimately hails from Marlborough, New Zealand.  Bottles run $16 – $20 retail, so the slightly higher pricing compared to other wines isn’t an unnecessary upcharge, necessarily.  The Sauvignon Blanc is the best rated at 88 points from Wine Spectator.  Kim Crawford should have decent distribution, but they’re among the better wines if you’re looking for something around here.

Bathrooms, Places to Sit, Better Alternatives, Notes in This Area

There aren’t a lot of better alcoholic drink options around, but we’re only a minute away from France, where you are going to have the Grey Goose Slushes that are popular with the ladies as well as some additional wine options.  Better beer options are coming up in Belgium in the form of the Stella Artois, Leffe, and Hoegaarten.

The Frozen drinks in Morocco are pretty lame.  It’s just the non-alcoholic frozen drinks poured on top of a half ounce of Castillo Rum.  Castillo Rum costs around $17 for 1.5L in Florida and is about as Moroccan as Australia is from Russia.  Casa beer is offered in Morocco year around.  In this area, I’d stick with the Santinela (even if it isn’t from Singapore), the Singapore Sling, and the Kim Crawford wines or wait until France.

Morocco has decent bathrooms, especially compared to the United States Pavilion and down around Canada.  There should be stalls open.  If lines are terrible, you could opt to head outside of the International Gateway exit, where there won’t be a line of any kind and you’ll have more privacy.  That’s a solid five+ minute walk though.

There’s a lot of bench and ledge seating in Morocco as you can see in front of us.  Tangierine Cafe will also have indoor and outdoor tables to use, especially if you’re not eating from 11:30am – 1pm or 6pm – 8pm.

In Part 5, we’ll continue with Belgium, France, and Ireland.