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Photos and Review: How Do Morimoto Street Food’s Bao Buns Compare to Pandora’s Cheeseburger Pods??

Morimoto Asia Street Food is now reopened in Disney Springs!

Morimoto Asia Street Food

Select third-party shops and restaurants began reopening at Disney Springs on May 20th. We were there on reopening day to share our experience, and we’re continuing to drop in to check out locations as they reopen. Today, Morimoto Asia Street Food joined the list of reopened locations at Disney Springs, so we stopped in to grab some lunch!

Ordering Process

Similar to other locations around Disney Springs, Morimoto Asia Street Food has social distancing markers set up to show guests proper spacing as they stand in line to order their food.

Social Distancing Markers

We noticed that the large overhead menu which used to be placed above the counter was missing. Instead, there was a copy of the temporary menu, with reduced offerings, displayed in front of the register.

Morimoto Asia Street Food

It wasn’t yet set up when we ordered, but by the time we left, a plexiglass guard was installed in front of the register.

Plexiglass Guard

They were accepting cash payments, although the Cast Member informed us that they are encouraging contactless credit card payments if possible. The self-serve condiment station has been removed, so the Cast Member handed us sauces, napkins, and silverware after we placed our order.

Morimoto Asia Street Food Cast Member

They informed us that they’ve placed an order for packaged silverware and napkin kits, but they hadn’t arrived yet.

Seating

The restaurant removed some tables and spaced out the seating to allow for social distancing while dining.

Seating at Morimoto Asia Street Food

There was also a hand sanitizer station set up by the seating area.

Hand Sanitizer Station

As we were eating, another party finished their meal and left, and a Cast Member immediately wiped down the table at which they were sitting. So, in our experience, the team was on top of sanitation procedures!

Eats

Okay, now for the fun part — FOOD! The restaurant was offering a temporary menu with reduced options.

Morimoto Asia Street Food Menu

First, we tried the BBQ Pork Bun. We were curious to see how it compared to the Cheeseburger Pods from Satu’li Canteen in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!  This was a soft bao bun filled with a creamy pork mixture for $7.

BBQ Pork Bun

We really enjoyed this BBQ Pork Bun! The texture was nice and fluffy, and the flavor was a bit sweet. So this might be a good choice if you’re trying to avoid excess spice! The bun by itself wasn’t super filling, but it would be great as a snack or a light lunch. It’s safe to say, in our opinion, this bao and Satu’li Canteen’s don’t disappoint! Both are filled with rich, meaty mixtures — it may just be a matter of whether you’re craving pork or beef!

BBQ Pork Bun

We also tried the Spicy Chashu Ramen, which had Soy Flavored Pork Broth, Roasted Pork, Scallions, and a Soy Marinated Egg. And as much as we enjoyed the bun, the ramen was the real winner for us! Fair warning, it was pretty spicy, so it’s probably best to avoid this one if you’re not a fan of heat.

Spicy Chashu Ramen

But, in addition to the spice, there was a ton of great flavors in the ramen. We really enjoyed the pork which was sliced super thin and cooked perfectly. The noodles did help balance the spice a bit, and we liked that we could taste the soy in both the egg and the broth. So, the ramen gets two big thumbs up from us!

Overall Experience

We really enjoyed our time at Morimoto Asia Street Food. Both of the menu items we tried were awesome (especially the ramen!) and we took notice of the many precautions the restaurant and its Cast Members were taking. As usual, it was an absolute delight dining at Morimoto Asia Street Food! We’ll definitely be back again soon — we’re still dreaming about that ramen! You can check out our pre-closure review of Morimoto Asia Street Food here!

Have you eaten at Morimoto Asia Street Food? Share your experience in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Counter-Service, disney restaurant review, Disney Springs, Featured, Walt Disney World, bbq pork, bbq pork bun, disney springs, disney springs dining, disney springs reopen, disney springs reopening, Morimoto, Morimoto Asia Street Food, pork buns, Ramen, spicy chashu ramen

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Disney Parks Other

Backstage at the Balloon Room at the Magic Kingdom

Balloon room

It’s every Disney fan’s dream to get behind the scenes at Walt Disney World. Hence the proliferation of backstage-type tours and documentaries. We also, on rare and beautiful occasions, get an extra peek online. That is what happened when Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Creative Photographer, Chloe Rice, decided to take her camera into the “balloon room” at Magic Kingdom park.

According to Rice, the balloon room is so full of balloons that it is hard to get the door closed behind you. Talk about a magical experience! Being surrounded by inflated Mickey heads, all different colors, almost like clouds in a Disney World sky. She brought lighting equipment and an assistant but ended up needing neither, as this beautiful photograph was a spur-of-the-moment capture; a moment never to be duplicated, and for some of us, only available to experience in photographic form.

Walt Disney World is known for many things, with balloons falling somewhere on the top of the list. For many families a trip wouldn’t be complete without the purchase of one of these floating memorabilia. Walking down Main Street would be lacking if a friendly Cast Member did not greet us with a mass of colorful Mickey heads bouquet-ed above them. How many times have we seen an iconic photo of someone borrowing those balloons to hold in front of the castle? Too many to count.

Rice has given us an uncommon glimpse into a version of Walt Disney World usually reserved for Cast Members. She has proven to us that, once again, Disney is every bit as magical behind the scenes.

Photo courtesy of Disney

From our friends at chipandco.com
Filed Under: Parks & Resorts, Walt Disney World, Affordable Disney Souvenirs, Behind the Magic, Behind the scenes, Disney Balloon, Magic Kingdom, Magic Kingdom Merchandise, Mickey Balloons

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Disney Food Disney Parks Other

PHOTOS and Review: We Tried Disney World’s New Frozen WINE & Loaded FRIES Pairing

Earlier today, we shared some very important news from The Basket at Wine Bar George (in addition to these adorable tumblers).

Corticle Tumbers

In case you missed it, they are now pairing their loaded french fries with frozen beverages! So we headed to the recently reopened Disney Springs to see if  THIS could be our go-to snack for the summer!

The Basket’s “Frozen & Fries” are Wine Bar George’s suggestions to make a delicious combo of french fries and frozen drinks to go. Since they are suggestions, they are not being sold as a combo deal at this time. But to refresh your memory, you can choose from the following Frozen & Fries:

They paired Queso Fries with their signature Frosé.

Queso Fries with Frosé © Wine Bar George

Or you can grab the Togarashi Fries with Friezling made with Dole Whip Lime.

Togarashi Fries with Friezling made with Dole Whip Lime © Wine Bar George

And the list continues with California Fries with Frozcato made with Dole Whip Pineapple (because we think there is no such thing as too much Dole Whip).

California Fries with Frozcato made with Dole Whip Pineapple © Wine Bar George

It was a tough choice, but we opted to try the Buffalo Fries with Freaujolais on our maiden Frozen & Fries voyage.

Instagram…

Buffalo Fries with Freaujolais © Wine Bar George

…versus reality! Well done, Wine Bar George. We had to take these to-go because the tables that are normally outside The Basket are currently for the Wine Bar George Restaurant only. But, don’t underestimate our ability to use a trash can (or in this case, a wine barrel) as a make-shift table.

Buffalo Fries with Freaujolais

In a word: YES. These seasoned fries were topped with buffalo sauce, buffalo salt, blue cheese, and chives — and they were delicious. They were served with generous chunks of blue cheese (fortunately we were digging it, but if you aren’t a blue cheese fan, you might not be into it). The fries were well seasoned with the buffalo salt, so you can taste extra buffalo flavor in addition to the sauce.

As far as buffalo sauce goes, we’d probably rate this medium because there was a kick, but our mouths weren’t totally on fire afterwards. But if you’re sensitive to heat, you may want to try a different basket. We thought there was a pretty generous portion of fries and the basket was $8.

Buffalo Fries

It might not be summer yet, but we be sweatin’ in the Florida heat. Or was it the buffalo sauce…hard to say. Either way, the Freaujolais was a delightful way to cool off. It’s made with Beaujolais, Vodka, and Raspberry for $13. We found it to be much more refreshing and not quite as sweet as the Dole Whip drinks (thank you, red wine).

Freaujolais

Overall we thought these Frozen & Fries were a sweet, spicy, tangy flavor combo that we can get behind! If you loved the Buffalo Chicken Loaded Tots from Magic Kingdom, this is a great snack to tide you over while the parks are closed!

Which Frozen & Fries combo would you want to try? Let us know in the comments!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: disney restaurant review, Disney Springs, Featured, Snacks, Walt Disney World, buffalo, buffalo fries, Disney, disney dining, disney springs, disney springs re-opening, Disney World, freajolais, french fries, Fries, frozen drink, Loaded Fries, reopened disney springs, reopening, The Basket, The Basket at Wine Bar George, Wine Bar George

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Disney Food Disney Merch Disney News Disney Parks

Let’s Grab a Slice! Pizza Ponte Has Reopened in Disney World

Disney Springs is back OPEN with places to shop and spots to grab a bite.

Pizza Ponte

While Disney-owned locations won’t be opening until May 27th, there are still SO many restaurants and stores that will be greeting guests again. Today, we’re making our way over to the newly-reopened Pizza Ponte to see how they’re handling the changes.

Pizza Ponte is one of the Pantina Restaurant Group locations reopening (you can see the rest of them here!) to guests in Disney Springs. Currently, the restaurant will be open from 12PM to 8PM with limited menu options. But, these hours are always subject to change!

Pizza Ponte

Patina recently stated that they would be instituting a Dine Safe: Commitment to Care program in order to make sure that health concerns and risks are minimized during operation and the hygiene protocols are at the CDC standard or above.

The Dine Safe Plan stated that the dining room would have the following requirements: face coverings for guests except while eating or drinking, redesigned table layout to allow distancing, enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols, the addition of hand-sanitizing stations, controlled access through designated entrances and exits, and single-use menus.

Dine Safe Certifications and Hand Sanitizer

When we arrived at Pizza Ponte, there were clearly marked entrances and exits for guests to use so the restaurant could control its flow of traffic.

Pizza Ponte

The spot encouraged the use of a QR code menu to reduce contact points with other guests. They had the menu posted as well.

Pizza Ponte Menu

The floor had plenty of clear markings reminding guests to physically distance.

Pizza Ponte

Pizza Ponte has changed its seating lay-out to separate tables to comply with its new procedures as well.

Pizza Ponte

As a part of the Dine Safe program, the Patina restaurant employees will be undergoing health checks when they get to work, sanitizing their hands when they arrive and continue to wash and sanitize their hands every 20 minutes of their shift, wearing masks while they’re at Pizza Ponte, and taking part in a comprehensive training program.

Pizza Ponte

At this time, Pizza Ponte is taking cashless payments only. There was hand sanitizer available at the register too!

Pizza Ponte

We thought that Pizza Ponte upheld the standards that both Disney Springs and the Patina Restaurant Group set in place to keep guests and employees safe. Stay tuned with Disney Food Blog as we explore a reopened Disney Springs for the next few weeks!

Are you visiting Disney Springs during its re-opening day? Let us know in the comments below!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Counter-Service, disney dining tips, Disney News, disney parks, Disney Springs, Featured, Snacks, Walt Disney World, Disney, disney dining, disney food, disney news, Disney pizza, disney restaurants, disney snacks, disney springs, disney springs reopening, Patina Restaurant Group, Pizza Ponte

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Disney Food Disney Parks

SPOTTED: A NEW Colorful Corkcicle Arrives at The Basket at Wine Bar George in Disney Springs

The counter service window at Wine Bar GeorgeThe Basket — is one of the eateries newly reopened in Disney Springs. And some new offerings are already making their debuts at the spot.

The Basket at Wine Bar George

Along with the brand new suggested pairings of “Frozen & Fries” featuring your choice of one of four varieties of topped fries and frozen drinks, there is also a new Wine Bar George Corkcicle up for grabs!

This new and vividly hued Corkcicle arrived brand new on Wednesday of this week.

New Corkcicle

Corkcicles come filled with your choice of frozen drink (with choices including Frozcato made with pineapple or lime Dole Whip, Frośe, or Freaujolais).

New Corkcicle on Display with returning colors

P.S. We spotted the Neon Pink Corkcicle that debuted last summer today as well! As always, they are available while supplies last.

Do you collect Corkcicles? Please let us know with a comment!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Counter-Service, Disney Springs, Featured, Walt Disney World, Corkcicle, disney springs, The Basket, The Basket at Wine Bar George, Wine Bar George, Wine Bar George Corkcicle