6 Dishes to Attempt, Disney’s California Journey Lunar New Yr Pageant

This 12 months’s annual Lunar New Yr pageant at Disney California Journey options six completely different kiosks serving Asian-inspired dishes, with the one-off meals objects operating from January 20 till February 15. Anybody with a ticket to Disneyland’s sister theme park has entry to the food and drinks specials, which are supposed to have a good time the Asian vacation season. The menu options loads of Disney-specific preparations, like a Mickey Mouse-shaped scorching canine or macaron, although a lot of the dishes are simply tasty snack-sized parts for affordable costs.

There are a couple of other ways to navigate the considerably complicated and disorganized setup, so right here’s the very best technique. First, step as much as the primary ordering kiosk situated close to the entrance of the park and place all of your orders. Upon fee, take the receipt to every kiosk’s pickup line to breeze by means of and decide up every dish. It is a lot sooner than ready at every kiosk’s particular person ordering line.

There are six kiosks sporting Lunar New Yr names (like Bamboo Blessings or Purple Dragon Spice Merchants) unfold throughout California Journey, every serving two dishes and possibly a specialty cocktail. Right here now, are the highest six issues to eat at Disney’s Lunar New Yr pageant.

Purple spice fried hen bites at Purple Dragon Spice Merchants

Red spice fried chicken bites. — Purple spice fried hen bites.

Form of a mash between Panda Specific’s fashionable orange hen and Korean fried hen, this tray provides the sweet-spicy punch of gochujang coated round crisp hen chicharrones for $8.75. The bites will get somewhat soggy after time so it’s finest to take pleasure in quick; given the separate items, it’s a pleasant one to share whereas strolling by means of California Journey’s important walkways. There’s an honest hit of spice, which appears stunning for theme park meals, too. One solely needs it got here with a facet of fried chow mein (but it surely doesn’t).

Quesabirria egg roll with guajillo pepper consomé at Fortunate 8 Lantern

This tacky, crispy chunk pits considered one of California’s hottest dishes, quesabirria, into egg roll kind. It’s simply essentially the most creative and enjoyable thought from the Lunar New Yr pageant, although it falls simply wanting expectations as soon as eaten. That’s to not say this dish is unhealthy — fairly the alternative, in truth. The wealthy, stringy cheese embeds tender beef birria whereas the tangy guajillo pepper consomé acts virtually like a Mexican model of a basic Chinese language egg roll dipping sauce, however with further spice and umami. If the egg roll got here straight out of the fryer, this could simply be the highest dish. The $9 worth feels a bit steep given the scale of the egg roll.

Mickey Mouse-shaped scorching canine bun at Bamboo Blessings

Mickey Mouse-shaped hot dog bun. — Mickey Mouse-shaped scorching canine bun.

This bizarre scorching canine state of affairs is actually distinctive, and really Disney-like. An opulent mouse head-shaped brioche comes studded with scorching canine cylinders, sesame seeds, and inexperienced onions. The entire dish is probably presupposed to resemble a (very) free model of a Chinese language bao, however the dough’s brioche-like texture provides it a buttery richness as an alternative. This dish is finest damaged aside to be shared, and loved with some mustard or ketchup. A bonus is that the modest $7.50 worth offers loads of shareable bites.

Mickey Mouse-shaped crimson macaron at Bamboo Blessings

Red macaron with sweet potato buttercream. — Purple macaron with candy potato buttercream.

Simply essentially the most visually enjoyable chunk of the pageant, this Mickey Mouse-shaped macaron received’t win any awards from pastry cooks for its ridiculous buttercream-to-cookie ratio, but it surely does earn fashion factors for the gold accent and colour distinction. There’s an honest crunchy texture to the macaron, whereas the buttercream’s sweetness doesn’t overwhelm it. A little bit of creme fraiche is meant to maintain all of it collectively, however it may be onerous to really discover in every chunk. Nonetheless, that is arguably the tastiest dessert of the pageant and one that ought to dominate social media.

Spicy pork dan dan noodles from Longevity Noodle Co.

Spicy pork dan dan noodles at Disney California Adventure. — Spicy pork dan dan noodles at Disney California Journey.

Disney’s cooks did a pleasant job making an attempt to duplicate dan dan noodles right here, utilizing commonplace spaghetti noodles and a hearty dose of chile-laden floor pork. The outcomes are stable for a theme park dish, and one by no means knew how nice it will be to slurp up noodles whereas strolling round. The one want would’ve been for possibly an oz. extra of noodles to steadiness out the wealth of floor pork and greens. The kitchen isn’t shy with the inexperienced onions, offering a contemporary crunch, whereas the dish mixes in crushed peanuts and pan-fried greens for further texture. $8.50 for a single serving.

Mandarin mousse cake at Fortunate 8 Lantern

This stunning fancy patisserie-style dessert comes with a gelatinous coating of tangerine glaze and mandarin orange mousse round a vanilla cake and clementine compote. Inside, don’t count on Parisian-level pastry building, however for a theme park, it’s virtually exceptional to see one thing this well-decorated on a paper tray. The chocolate stem and edible leaf full the trompe l’oeil look. This dessert is much less candy because of the steadiness of the fruit in comparison with the macaron, so for those who’re simply ordering one dessert, this could be the decide.