Festival of the Arts at Epcot is not only the chance to meet some of your favourite artists and check out their artwork, but also a great time to try out some new dishes from around the world. Here are 5 of our favourite savoury dishes from The Festival of the Arts 2023... which we highly recommend you try at The Festival of the Arts 2024!
Wild Mushroom Risotto
By far, one of my favourite dishes at the Epcot Festival of the Arts 2023! The rice was perfectly cooked, not too stodgy and had a nice bite to it. The flavour was lovely and creamy, with a perfect blend of cheese and mushroom. This was one of the pricier dishes I tried, $9.75* inc. tax (£7.67), but you do get a good sized portion. So, if you like risotto, then you'll enjoy this dish! You can find the wild mushroom risotto at Gourmet Landscapes in Canada.
Just a warning if you have issues with food textures (such as hyper-touch), the outside of the truffle shavings have a coffee ground texture which you might not enjoy. The good side is, they can be easily removed. But if you have hypo-touch, you might enjoy the different textures in this dish!
Chorizo and Potato Empanada
This Chorizo and Potato Empanada ($6.75/£5.31*) not only looked delicious but tasted great too! The fried empanada had a nice crispy golden outside (as anything fried should!) with a delicious mild meaty filling. To me it had a similar texture to mince meat. So, if your fine with mince meat texture, you'll enjoy this! As I was eating this, I could taste chilli's, but they were very mild and felt more like they were there as added flavour than as a spicy kick.
You can find the chorizo and potato empanada at Vibrante & Vivido: Encanto Cocina (in between the France and Morocco pavilion).
Huarache de Champiñones
This new to 2023 dish, Huarache de Champiñones ($7.50/£5.90*), was a delightful dish... perfect for the hotter days!
The corn masa huarache made a perfect base, delicious and sturdy meaning you didn't need to use the plastic knife and fork (however we would recommend grabbing a napkin!). The toppings of guajillo chile, oyster mushrooms pinto beans, nopales, queso fresco complimented each other perfectly creating a lovey flavourful dish (with the chillis there used more as a flavour rather than adding a spicy kick). And the garnishing of pea tendrils provided a refreshful sweet taste!
The Huarache de Champiñones used to be found at El Artista Hambriento in the Mexico pavilion. But as far as I can see this isn't on the menu for The Festival of the Arts 2024 unfortunately :( but keep your eye open in case it shows up!
Char Siu Pork Bun
Another of my absolute favourite dishes from The Arts of the Festival 2023 foods was the Char Siu Pork Bun ($8.50/£6.68*). This delish dish has the softest bun (which I have raved about time and time again to my family) with a nice pork filling and a good amount of a salty & sweet sauce (if anyone knows what the sauce is let me know below!).
I would highly recommend this dish if you are trying out small bites across the world! The Char Siu Pork Bun can be found at The Painted Panda in the China pavilion.
Moroccan Bread with an Assortment of Dips
By far the best value for money and great taste was the Stone-baked Moroccan Bread with an assortment of dips including Hummus, Chermoula (a zingy lemon, coriander, parsley and spices dip) and Zhoug (a coriander, garlic, chilli pepper, and spices dip) . All for only $5.00 (£3.93*).
I loved all of the different dips available and it was a nice range of zingy, creamy, and a mild spice.... Hitting all the taste buds. So if you fancy enjoying a few different flavours in one go, deffo get this dish! You can find the Moroccan Bread with an assortment of dips dish at the Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina in the Morocco pavilion.
If you enjoy this dish, I would highly recommend going to Sanaa in Animal Kingdom Villas and ordering the Indian-style bread service. It comes with 5 different naan breads and an assortment of dips!
And that's it for my savoury recommendations from Epcot's Festival of the Arts 2023! Now I'm all excited for Epcot's Festival of the Arts 2024... I hope you are too especially with a few new items on the menu... im looking at you Grilled Marinated Skirt Steak with caramelized onions and mushrooms, blue cheese fondue, and arugula on a grilled French roll! Got me drooling already.
*these are the prices from 2023, so may be different at the 2024 festival of the arts event
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