Review: Australia 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

We continue from Shimmering Sips.

Australia is the first Festival Marketplace that you’ll see on your left as you head towards Canada. It’s almost across from Shimmering Sips, which is on the right. Refreshment Port and Canada are up ahead, both on the right.

This is the third different take on the Lamb Chop in the last three years, and the Deconstructed Pavlova replaces last year’s Lamington. The beer and wines return.

Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bushberry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas – $6

The shrimp get smaller every year and it was a little more fun when they arrived on a skewer, but Australia’s Bushberry Shrimp are a relatively “safe” offering  with some spiciness from the onions and peppers contrasting nicely against the sweet tropical pineapple. I actually prefer the pea pods to the shrimp because they enjoy a robust earthy flavor and a nice, crisp bite to them. Overall, it might be worth picking up if you’re in line for something else, but I’m not sure I would go out of my way.

Taste: 5/10

Value: 4/10

Roasted Lamb Chop with Sweet Potato Purée, Bushberry Pea Salad and Pistachio-Pomegranate Gremolata – $7.75

The Lamb Chop has long been a Festival favorite. Two years ago, Disney changed things up and went to a Lamb T-Bone that was not particularly well received, before moving back to the grilled version with mint pesto and potato crunchies. This year, we have yet another take, this time roasted. I was impressed by the quality of the Lamb Chop – the past couple of years, it’s been on the chintzier side of things with just a little bit of tough meat clinging to the bone alongside a thick layer of fat. Here, the Lamb was roasted perfectly, tender and pink with flavors of rosemary and garlic. The Pistachio-Pomegranate Gremolata is interesting – typically, it would be made with garlic and lemon, but the tartness of the Pomegranate used here helps to brighten the flavors of the Lamb even more, thanks to the caramelized sugar, while the Pistachio brings a fresh flavor and a little crunch. I’m not sure what they’re going with on the Bushberry Pea Salad front – it may just be a reference to the couple of pomegranate arils in the garnish. Finally, the Sweet Potato Puree adds a silky quality and helps sweeten things up even more with a little bit of earthiness. $7.75 is more than I like to pay for Food and Wine Festival dishes, but Lamb is on the expensive side and our dish was executed incredibly well. I was impressed.

Here’s the popular version served with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies. I always thought it was a soggy, oily, fatty mess.

The year before, it might have looked even more unattractive.

At $7.75, the Lamb is a no-brainer for a snack credit on the Disney Dining Plan. Out of pocket, it’s almost worth it. I hope your luck is as good as mine.

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10

Deconstructed Pavlova with Pastry Cream, Citrus-macerated Berries and Lemon Myrtle Meringue – $4

It may or may not be a coincidence that Australia is housed inside of the same building that Disney uses for the “Deconstructed Dish” during the Festival of the Arts. During the January/February Festival, we see a number of “deconstructed items,” whether it be cheesecake or a corned beef sandwich. For this year’s fall Festival, Australia brings us a Deconstructed Pavlova.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a Pavlova in Australia. The picture above is from a couple of years ago with berries and vanilla cream on top of a meringue.

On to the task at hand, this is a delicious blend of sweet, fresh, fruity flavors. There’s a luscious layer of vanilla cream underneath an assortment of ripe, juicy berries and several pieces of meringue, each of which is crispy around the edges with a softer, chewier inside that isn’t far off from a marshmallow. It’s an absolute steal at four dollars and worth adding to any order. You might also appreciate it more alongside a glass of sparkly from Simmering Sips than the Cheesecake Trio that we saw there.

Taste: 8/10

Value: 10/10

Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale -$4.50

Coopers Brewery Limited is Australia’s largest and only wholly-owned brewery, dating all the way back to 1862. They are also the world’s largest producer of home brewing equipment. Anyway, this 4.5% Pale Ale is balanced and smooth with a sweet grassy taste with just a little bit of a hop presence. It’s not stellar, but it’s worth trying on draft here should you have interest. I hadn’t tried it before picking up a cup a couple of years ago at the Festival when it debuted. It’s always fun to try something new.

Wine Flight – $6.25

With Hope Estate “Wollombi Brook” Semillon, Franklin Tate Estates Chardonnay, Yangarra Shiraz

This is a solid flight with three Australian wines that taste like wine.

This is the first year that I think I’ve been able to rave about the Lamb Chop. The Deconstructed Pavlova should also be a sleeper hit at the Festival, providing a lot of fresh, sweet deliciousness at a relatively low price. The beer and wine are solid too.

Refreshment Port is up next.