Lotus Blossom Cafe
For a look at all of Epcot’s quick service reviews, see this post.
Location: Lotus Blossom Cafe is located in the China Pavilion on the left as you enter.
Food Type: Asian.
Dining Plan: One quick service credit and some items count as snacks.
Lotus Blossom Cafe Menu:
Pull up the full menu at DisneyWorld.com here.
Unique Items: Most.
Advantages:
- Usually plenty of covered, outdoor seating.
- Service is the fastest and among the friendliest at Epcot.
- Among the cheapest quick service meals available.
Disadvantages:
- Food is Panda Express quality.
- Menu is fairly limited.
- No indoor, air-conditioned seating.
Value: Average. Since most entrees are a couple of dollars less than others, the portion size and quality of the food get a bit of a pass. But it certainly isn’t outstanding.
Reputation: Poor. They would have to do something special to stand out. And they don’t.
Food Choices:
Egg Rolls
If a quick, filling snack is what you’re after, then Lotus Blossom has you covered with a couple of crunchy Pork Egg Rolls. They’re probably defrosted, but just about everything tastes good fried.
Potstickers:
$6+ buys you three potstickers and a small cup of a thin, soy-based sauce. They don’t present a lot of value in my estimation at more than $3 each. If they gave you five then the value prospect might be there, but these are otherwise your standard frozen potstickers nicely pan-fried. With that said, these things are extremely popular during the Food and Wine Festival at two for $5. So there’s that.
Orange Chicken
The Orange Chicken is exactly what you would expect – white meat fried and slathered in a thick, orange sauce. It’s no-nonsense mall-quality Chinese. That may or may not be what you’re after, but it’s an entirely inoffensive dish. They’ll also have it in your hands in about two minutes.
Beef and Noodle Bowl:
It arrives with a lot more tender, flavorful beef than you might expect, which a cast member then delicately places on a bed of noodles and spinach with a few onions mixed in for good measure.
I’m not sure I can overemphasize how big the portion was. It’s a ton of food with the beef helping to flavor the salty broth underneath. Granted that, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, after never really having a particularly positive experience here in the past.
Sesame Chicken Salad:
This is a full dollar less expensive than the vegetarian salad from Mexico and includes five pieces of lightly battered, fried chicken on top.
The salad dressing was a nice blend of ginger, soy, and peanut flavors with the sweetness from the duck sauce on top of the chicken adding another layer of flavor, in addition to some subtle nuttiness from the sesame seeds on top of the fresh, crunchy lettuce. It’s a good value for the money. And hey, it’s a salad, so it’s healthy, even if it’s topped by fried chicken. You could easily spend 25%-60% more on a quick service entree elsewhere and come away less satisfied.
Shrimp Fried Rice with Pork Egg Roll:
The rice is devoid of flavor, there’s only a couple small gummy shrimp, the egg roll was frozen at some point, and it’s a smaller portion than it appears to be. This is about the last thing I would order at Epcot and I’ve ordered everything.
Ginger Ice Cream:
For about four dollars each, the ice creams are worth trying. Be aware that the ginger flavor is very ginger-forward with actual chunks of ginger throughout. SimI found the Lychee flavor refreshing, but nobody else in our group enjoyed it. You might search out more of a sure thing if you’re not feeling terribly adventurous.
Iced Peach Oolong Tea:
The cup of Iced Peach Oolong Tea has a nice sweet peach flavor to it. While refreshing, the tea was a lot warmer than you’d expect from an iced tea, like it hadn’t been adequately chilled since being brewed. You might have more luck or more patience waiting for it to cool down.
We’ve seen the beers and wines elsewhere. In this instance, my recommendation would be the Foo draft, which is also available at the Joy of Tea kiosk out on the promenade.
Seating:
The seating section is mostly picnic tables and tables for two. Temperatures were high on the day of my most recent visit (as they are most of the year), so it was hot because it’s still outside. There are fans, but they don’t help much.
Condiments
Adjacent to the seating area, packets of soy sauce, duck sauce, and hot mustard sauce are available, among others.
Above all, Lotus Blossom serves its purpose, feeding fast food Chinese to the masses.
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