ANOTHER 21 days in WDW+DXDDP=hundreds of food pics (COMPLETED 3/2!)

[iluvpluto27]

I do like the look of the delicious cakey offerings you've posted. Yum!

I'm pleased to hear your hotdog from BW Joe's was better than the one I had there a few years back. It was literally the worst dog it has ever been my misfortune to be acquainted with (I think it had been cooked for about five years )

The desserts in the lounge were really good.

That pineapple thing looks soooo yummy!

It was very tasty!

I'm anxiously awaiting your next review! I am soooo happy that I found your thread this year. Your 2008 food reviews were the first I'd ever read, and is one of the main reasons hubby and I are getting DxDDP when we go in December for my birthday.

Thanks for all of the pictures and detailed reviews-better than posted menus!!

Thank you very much. I'm really pleased my reviews were helpful and glad you're giving the dxxdp a try. I hope you enjoy the plan as much as we do.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We started today with our usual breakfast in the lounge before walking across to Hollywood Studios for rope drop. On our way to the Indiana Jones show we stopped at Min and Bills Dockside Diner for a chocolate milkshake.
This was good but it was way too thick to drink easily, it was basically just chocolate soft serve icecream in a cup.

We had a 1:20 reservation at The Rose and Crown, so walked across to Epcot around lunch time. Today was a Saturday and I read all the advice about avoiding Epcot on a weekend during the F&W festival, but I figured popping in for lunch wouldn't be that bad.

I can honestly say we'd never really experienced crowds at Disney until today, and I'm so glad we get to travel during low crowd times. The place was absolutely packed, just walking around without bumping into people was difficult.

Now this restaurant was DH's choice, and I don't really know why! We checked in slightly early and asked if we could be seated inside (I'm not a huge fan of dining outdoors and it was crazy hot), and were paged about 10 minutes later. We were sat at an outside table which I wasn't thrilled with but never mind.

To drink I had a Welsh Dragon which was a sweet, but refreshing cocktail. DH had a Bumblebee (half Guiness and half Boddingtons) which he enjoyed.

I chose Fish and Chips for my entree. It was served piping hot and was a big portion. The fish was well cooked in a crispy, thick batter, and the chips were thick cut and not too greasy. This was a good, enjoyable dish.

DH had the vegetarian Shepards Pie. It was basically a type of mushroom ragout, topped with creamy cheesy mash. He really enjoyed this, saying it had plenty of flavour. It was served with a side salad topped with a flat mushroom, which was a rather strange side and didn't really compliment or add anything to the dish.

Service was fine here, a little slow but nothing to complain about. We both enjoyed our food, but I prefer a restaurant where you have a choice between dining inside or out. I can understand why it's an issue at night with the fireworks as everyone wants to be on the patio, but at other times I feel diners should be allowed to choose.

After our meal we walked back to the Boardwalk and grabbed a cookie from the lounge for dessert. These were good, they were available all afternoon and always soft and fresh.

We spent the rest of the evening at the Boardwalk, checking out the entertainment, had appetisers in the lounge and watched Illumniations from our balcony which was fantastic.

As there weren't many pictures in this update, I'll include a few I've missed out from previous updates.

While watching Illumniations in Epcot, I bought a Kir Royal from the french wine stand. This was very tasty and served in a cool light up glass.

These treats were from Seashore Sweets, where we used up the last of our snack credits.

Fudge - mint chocolate, rocky road, caramel and vanilla, and cookies and cream.

Chocolate covered pretzel (I didn't like this, the chocolate had a funny, artifical taste and wasn't sweet enough to compliment the salty pretzel) and an M&M cup (I didn't realise this was simply solid chocolate with m&ms, I put it in the fridge and nearly broke a tooth trying to bite into it!, it was good but hard to eat other than nibbling on it)

 

[klacey1]

LOVE fish and chips, but the rest of Rose and Crown's menu never really appealed to me. The snacks look delish, though-- love fudge. That pretzel looks yummy, too, sorry it wasn't great.

 

[zhazhazsu]

Just wanted to post I love your dining reviews, and how much detail you remember about each meal.

 

[cbg1027]

It still cracks me up that you guys make a point go to eat in the UK pavilion.

Mmmm Kir Royale is possibly my all time favorite beverage. That one looked like it had a lot of Cassis liqour.....just the way I like it! I'll have to try one next time!

 

[goldielocksraj]

To drink I had a Welsh Dragon which was a sweet, but refreshing cocktail. DH had a Bumblebee (half Guiness and half Boddingtons) which he enjoyed.

That Welsh Dragon looks absolutely delectible (sp?)! I've seen that on the posted menus and drooled over it many times.

 

[iluvpluto27]

LOVE fish and chips, but the rest of Rose and Crown's menu never really appealed to me. The snacks look delish, though-- love fudge. That pretzel looks yummy, too, sorry it wasn't great.

The fish and chips were good, but there wasn't that much else on the menu that appealed to me either. The fudge was delicious!

Just wanted to post I love your dining reviews, and how much detail you remember about each meal.

Thank you very much. I only remember the detail because I wrote notes each night when we got back to the room, otherwise I'd have no chance!

It still cracks me up that you guys make a point go to eat in the UK pavilion.

Mmmm Kir Royale is possibly my all time favorite beverage. That one looked like it had a lot of Cassis liqour.....just the way I like it! I'll have to try one next time!

I would definitely have skipped the Rose and Crown, but I gave DH a choice of restaurants and that's what he picked! Still don't really know why but it was a decent meal. And Kir Royale is one of my favourite drinks too!

That Welsh Dragon looks absolutely delectible (sp?)! I've seen that on the posted menus and drooled over it many times.

It was a really tasty cocktail, and as they serve it in a pint glass it was a really good sized drink!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Today was the day we left WDW but we were heading to our other favourite place in Orlando, Universal!

We enjoyed our last breakfast at the Boardwalk before packing up and transferring to the Hard Rock Hotel. I love this hotel for the location mainly, you just can't beat the 5 minute walk to the Studios.

We checked in, rode a few rides and grabbed a quick CS meal at Louies which was fine. We did the Unmasking the Horror Tour at 1pm, which was absolutely fantastic and one of the highlights of the trip.

We then headed back to the hotel for a quick nap before HHN. Before heading back out we grabbed a couple of glasses of wine and some food in the club lounge.

Newly decorated lounge

Appetisers - Chicken wings with barbeque sauce, corn dog nuggets (I love these things and you can't get them back home), and bean salad which was very tasty. DH had some cheese and the bean salad.

At HHN we enjoyed a blood bag cocktail - really just a jello shot but pretty tasty.

Then after a fab night at HHN we grabbed a pastry to eat back in the room. This was ok, the pastry was soft rather than flaky, but the apple filling was good.

 

[iluvpluto27]

We enjoyed a lie in this morning (one of the reasons DH loves our Universal stays is he's allowed to lie in as we don't have to be up for rope drop!), and had breakfast in the lounge.

There was a good selection of fruit, cereals, oatmeal and pastries. I chose a raspberry bran muffin, cinnamon roll and some fruit.

We spent the morning in the Studios then walked into Hard Rock Cafe around 1ish. I must admit this is one of the things I prefer about universal, no need to make dining reservations months ahead, just walk in on the day to the vast majority of restaurants there.

The restaurant was only around 1/4 full and we were seated immediately. Our waiter was very good here, he greeted us straight away, was friendly and efficient.

I had a Fruity Palooza to drink which was a sweet, but refreshing cocktail which came with a souvenir glass.

We shared the Santa Fe spring rolls as an appetiser. I love these things, spring rolls filled with beans, spinach, chilli, corns and cheese served with sour cream and salsa. They had a spicy kick but not overpowering, only criticism is they could have been served hotter as they were just warm, but still good.

For my entree I chose the Honey Mustard Grilled chicken sandwich. This was very nice, the chicken was moist, the bread was soft and the honey mustard sauce had a good flavour but was very thin. It was served with fries that were hot and crispy, and coleslaw which was crunchy, tangy and slightly sweet.

Vegetarian offerings are pretty limited here so DH had a veggie burger, topped with caramised onion, sauteed mushrooms and swiss cheese. He said the burger was pretty standard, but the topping was very good.

We had another good meal here and no doubt will be back on our next trip. We were pretty full for the rest of the day so just grabbed some appetisers in the lounge for dinner.

Coming up next - Tchoup Tchoup

 

[TigerKat]

Can't wait for Tchoup Chop!! We ate there last October for the first time and loved it!

 

[podsnel]

I forgot you were going to HRH!! So happy the food is continuing! We stayed there this past November for 2 nights- really enjoyed the convenience to the parks and the restaurants.

 

[tinkerbell48]

I'm in

 

[tinkerbell48]

Love your food porn!!

 

[tinkerbell48]

This looks so yummy! Will have to pick one up on our next trip!

TY for your reviews!!!!!

Can't wait to try one of these!

 

[tinkerbell48]

I realised when I was writing my Mama Melroses review, I'd missed out a report on our previous trip to the Writers Stop, so I'll include it now.

While planning this trip, I kept hearing good things about the writers stop, and specifically the Carrot Cake cookie. It sounded delicious, so after our meal at Brown Derby we popped in to get one.

Nothing in the case is marked as a snack credit, but when I asked the cm she said it was pretty much all included. I got a Carrot Cake cookie and nibbled on it for the next couple of days.

I really liked this. The carrot cake was very soft, and it was filled with plenty of soft, cream cheese frosting. Delicious and a great use of a snack credit.

This looks great!

 

[tinkerbell48]

Today we were supposed to be going to Epcot and having lunch at Tokyo Dining. Unfortunately my ankle really started to hurt while walking around DTD the previous day, and it swelled up quite badly. I'd managed to get to Cali Grill the previous night, but there was no way I'd make it round Epcot today, so we decided to have a relaxing day by the pool.

DH went to Artist Pallate for breakfast and brought us back Cherry Danishes. These were good, flaky pastry, sweet filling and tart cherries, a nice breakfast pastry. He was also able to get another Tokyo Dining reservation for two days time, which I was happy about as I really like that restaurant.

My ankle felt a little better after a morning keeping it elevated by pool, but I didn't really want to chance walking far so DH went to Wolfgang Pucks to get take out.

I chose Spaghetti and meatballs, which was served with foccaia bread and a side salad. This was huge portion, and was still hot when he got back to the room. The pasta was well cooked and the meatballs tasty, the tomato sauce was tangy and flavourful.

DH chose the Four Cheese Pesto Pizza. This was a really good pizza, a thin crispy base, the goats cheese was fresh and combined well with the pesto flavour and sliced tomatoes.

He got us cookies for dessert which seemed soft and fresh, but I'm not sure they ever got eaten. WPE is excellent value and remains our favourite CS restaurant.

DH also popped into Goofys candy co to use up some snack credits. DH got a German Cookie which I'd never heard of before but was absolutely delicious, it was a chocolate and nut cookie, topped with some sort of caramel icing and coconut.

He got me a peanut butter cookie which was also very good (although not quite as nice as his), soft cookie with huge chunks of chocolate and peanut butter inside.

He also got some peanut butter fudge which we both nibbled on for the next couple of days, very sweet, smooth fudge with a good, strong peanut butter flavour to it. Even after picking up these treats we still had 26 snack credits left and only four days to use them!

Coming up next The Turf Club.

Wow, takeout looks great!

 

[klacey1]

We love that Hard Rock Cafe. Sometimes the temp of the food can be off-- like how your spring rolls were just warm, but overall, we really love it! Also, we think HRH is the best on-property hotel. It has such a cool atmosphere!

 

[johnsonet]

Wanted to say thank you for your fabulous dining reviews. I happened upon them by accident - my lucky day!

 

[iluvpluto27]

Can't wait for Tchoup Chop!! We ate there last October for the first time and loved it!

We both really enjoyed Tchoup Tchoup, it's a really nice restaurant.

I forgot you were going to HRH!! So happy the food is continuing! We stayed there this past November for 2 nights- really enjoyed the convenience to the parks and the restaurants.

I love HRH, the location is just fantastic.

This looks great!

The cookie was delicious!

Wow, takeout looks great!

It was really good. SSR location was really good for that, it was great to be able to grab food from WPE rather than relying on the hotel food court.

We love that Hard Rock Cafe. Sometimes the temp of the food can be off-- like how your spring rolls were just warm, but overall, we really love it! Also, we think HRH is the best on-property hotel. It has such a cool atmosphere!

We love HRH, it does have a cool atmosphere and it's location can't be beat. We visited Portofino for the first time this trip and I was totally blown away by the theming it was just stunning. I keep thinking about staying there next time but the location of HRH keeps drawing me back.

Wanted to say thank you for your fabulous dining reviews. I happened upon them by accident - my lucky day!

Thank you very much. Glad you found them and enjoyed them.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Today we had our usual breakfast in the lounge, then headed to Universal for a few goes on Rip Ride Rocket while it had no queue!
After that we had a bit of a chill out day and went to the pool then cinema. Lunch was nachos at the cinema, so we were ready for our dinner reservation by the evening.

I'd read almost universally good reviews about Tchoup Chop so decided we would give it a try this trip. We caught the boat across to Royal Pacific and arrived about 30 minutes early at 7:30.

The restaurant didn't look very busy so we asked if we could be seated early which was no problem. We were given a large booth in a corner, so we had plenty of space. The decor is very pretty here, and as it was under half full it had a nice quiet atmosphere.

Inside the restuaurant:

Service here was truly excellent. We had a team of three waiters, who delivered stellar service all night. They checked on us enough to make sure we didn't need anything, but they weren't overly intrusive.

To drink I had a glass of pineapple white wine sangria. This was really good, I'd never had sangria made with white wine before, but it was tasty, had a good pineapple flavour to it and wasn't too sweet.

To start I chose the California Roll as I was in the mood for sushi. This was a nice roll, the rice was very tasty filled with imitation crab and fresh avocado. It was presented well and was a big portion with eight rolls. As it was only $6 I was only expecting to get a few pieces, but eight were too many for me as an appetiser and I didn't finish it.

There weren't a a lot of vegetarian appetisers on the menu so DH decided to try the vegetable sushi. He said this was alright, it had an aubergine and bean filling which was tasty and the rice was good, but he's not a huge sushi fan so I doubt he was ever going to love this dish.

For my entree I chose the Thai Basil Seared Mahi Mahi served on a fried rice cake with vine ripened tomato fumet. It was served with the sauce in a little teapot, which was poured over the fish tableside which was a nice touch. This was a good light dish, the fish was well flavoured and perfectly cooked, and you could really taste the basil and thai spices. The rice cake was ok (but I'm not a big fan of rice cakes anyway) and the tomato fumet was a bit weaker than I expected, with not a particularly strong tomato flavour to it. Overall a nice dish, but I would have preferred a stronger flavoured sauce.

DH had the Vegetable Moo Shu Plate which he really enjoyed. It consisted of fried rice, beans, noodles, pancakes, and tofu which was his favourite part of the dish, as it was very well flavoured. This was big portion, but it was a unique, well balanced vegetarian dish.

We were both pretty full so decided to share dessert. We chose the creme brulee trio, which conisted of Baileys, Kahlua and Amaretto flavoured mini creme brulees. The texture of all three was perfect, smooth, creamy and slightly firm with a thick burnt sugar topping. The amaretto one had the best flavour as it had a strong taste of amaretto, the other two just had a hint of Baileys and Kahlua. Overall a very good dessert.

In summary we both really enjoyed our meal here. The food was good, the atmosphere quiet as it was mostly adult diners, and the service was excellent. I thought the prices were reasonable, as it was cheaper than a Disney signature restaurant and we will definitely return.

Coming next - Lunch at Mythos.