Happiest Place on Earth...Day 1

Went on a family vacation with the in-laws this past weekend to the happiest place on Earth- Disney World. Wait, how does Disneyland compare to World? Are they considered equals?  Shouldn't it then be called One of the Two Happiest Places on Earth? Either way they make you pay a good amount of money to dine there. That being said I had high expectations on the food I would be ingesting.

First stop on the food express was at the Disney's Polynesian Village Resort: Kona Cafe. As you can guess from the location the food selection was Polynesian/Asian inspired. Fairly certain this was my mother-in-law's selection which I would think based on proximity.

For an appetizer decided I wanted to try the grilled beef satay. This seems like it was waiting a while as it was pretty cold when I got it. Still it was pretty tasty. The biggest fan of it was my niece Georgia who I would say is a fairly picky eater. So at least someone really liked it. I think if it was served hot it would at the best be okay.

Grilled Beef Satay

I opted to go Hawaiian and chose Loco-Moco which is a staple of Hawaiian cuisine per my knowledge as well as their description: Traditional Hawaiian Brunch staple which features a tower of Rice, a grilled Hamburger Patty, House-made Chorizo Gravy, Two Eggs-Any Style, and topped with a Tomato Salsa

Hawaiian Staple: Yes.
Tower of Rice: Nope.
Everything Else: Yes  

Loco-Moco

I will say that there seemed to be some sort of hold up with the service. When I got my food it was luke warm at best. Considering I eat a lot of my leftover food at that temperature, I wasn't terribly bothered by it. I do think it would have helped it out immensely to have been hot though. I legit saw another table get what I thought was the Loco-Moco and thought "Man I'm not going to be able to eat all that. When I got my plate as you see above- I apparently got an appetizer portion. LOL. Overall I would say it was good minus the temperature.

Karen ended up getting Pan Fried Chicken with coconut and mango sauces. She really enjoyed her food. It was actually warm and tasted great. I know my father-in-law (who ordered the same item) was surprised that the pasta salad was served cold. I might have uttered it's not Italian. Still he really liked it as well. Definitely put it on a "if I ever go there again I'd ordered it" list.

Pan Fried Chicken with side of sticky rice and pasta salad

Lily opted to go with shrimp skewers. Much like her old man, she actually likes seafood and since we were out and about it was not a problem ordering with Karen around. I believe it was pretty good as she put it away with no problem. I know the fruit was good as Georgia was big into sharing that as well.

Shrimp Skewer and side of fruit

I'd say it was an okay start with a 3 out of 4 rating for our family at least. Don't think my sister-in-law and husband were a fans of what they ordered. They were on the other side of the table so wasn't able to get pics or inquire as to what was had.

Dinner was also chosen by my mother-in-law as we hit up Epcot for the day and she made reservations at La Hacienda de San Angel. I for one can't turn down Mexican food so I had no objections to the food selection. The actual food and prices is a different story. 

Started off with an appetizer of Pork Empanadas: Corn dough empanadas stuffed with pork and black beans topped with mole sauce

Pork Empanadas

This was actually pretty and tasty. I don't think I've ever seen a fancy looking empanada in my life until that moment but I suppose for $11.25 it should have been. Really did enjoy it- as did Karen and Lily who shared with me. Put it on the "if I ever go there again I'd ordered it" list for sure. So it was a good start to the meal.

My dinner selection was not so fortunate. I ended up picking Pollo Pastor: Achiote marinated half chicken served w/ roasted vegetables, beans, and pineapple relish.

Pollo Pastor

It looked beautiful on the plate. Taste wise though it was like getting a dressed up version of rotisserie chicken from Walmart. There was no flavor outside of the skin. Not really much of a pineapple relish. I think I was mostly disappointed as it needed more to help its blandness. Still 1 out of 2 isn't a good track record for the meal. I almost didn't bother taking the leftovers back but $25.50 said "your dumb ass better take this with you."

Karen once again had a good selection- she was 2 for 2 on the day with her meals. She got the Carnitas Yucatecas: Pork confit (carnitas Yucatan style) with pico de gallo, cabbage, citrus juice and avocado salsa

Carnitas Yucatecas

Of course she wasn't a fan of the pico de gallo, pork rinds, or cabbage. Still I think that was the star of the dinner. The carnitas and avocado salsa were excellent as she shared them with me. I will say their tortillas- where were hand made there were pretty good too.  This was a definite must have if you my some chance ended up eating at this joint. Be warned though, its pricey as all hell. I didn't take a picture of Lily's food as it was just chicken tenders but all together my bill was around $90 (with tip). Definitely don't seem myself ever going there again by choice. 

Day 1 at Disney food wise for me was pretty sub par. I think Kona Cafe suffered from bad service as oppose to the food itself. Definitely would give it another shot maybe at an off time where it was not as packed/busy. La Hacienda was just overpriced "fancy" food that I can't see myself going back to again- outside of someone wanting to there and offering to pay for me. 

#FoodSnob,

Reef