Welcome to a food studio review for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, taking place in the park all week long from January 12th to February 19th, 2018. This review will cover “The Painted Panda” Food Studio.
The Painted Panda
Food:
- Coconut Panda Rice Cake
- Crispy Fried Shrimp in a Wonton Chip Lotus Flower
- Crystal Mooncake with Fruit Filling, garnished with Toasted Coconut
Beverages:
- Scarlet Blossom.: A cooler of Mango Wine, Strawberry Syrup and Ginger Ale
- Fortune Cookie: ByeJoe Red, Amaretto, Coconut and Pineapple
- Strawberry Bubble Tea (non-alcoholic)
Coconut Panda Rice Cake $5.00
A cute, simple, yet delicious dish. There’s a Cast Member pressing the rice and assembling the panda at the kiosk when you order the item. While it’s a very simple dish, the rice is sweet with a subtle coconut flavor. This would look great on your Instagram, it’s a really adorable dish.
Crispy Fried Shrimp in a Wonton Chip Lotus Flower $8.50
Two shrimp join a really large crispy wonton with a generous helping of a sweet chili sauce. We enjoyed the shrimp mixed with the sauce, and the large wonton chip helped soak up what sauce remained. Standard dish, skippable, especially at the price tag.
Crystal Mooncake with Fruit Filling, garnished with Toasted Coconut $9.75
As a large group, we were torn about this item. It’s unique, sure, but something is really just different about the overall consistency and taste. We would recommend this if the price tag was $5 lower, but at the current price there’s no way we can recommend or even encourage the adventurous eater. Honestly stay away.
Scarlet Blossom: A cooler of Mango Wine, Strawberry Syrup and Ginger Ale $9.50
Very refreshing, and blended perfectly together. A great drink, especially for the alcohol content and the size of the beverage. Recommended.
Fortune Cookie: ByeJoe Red, Amaretto, Coconut and Pineapple $10.50
The fortune cookie comes in a wrapper on the side, we removed it for a nice picture. What comes off as a Chinese version of Horchata, the taste can’t be mistaken. It’s a bit spicy because of the ByeJoe Red, but everything blends and pairs perfectly together. Another recommended drink. (Hint: put the fortune cookie, sans paper, in the drink and let it soak for a really nice treat)
Strawberry Bubble Tea (non-alcoholic) $6.95
A rather large portion for the price, a very refreshing and straightforward drink. It comes with tapioca boba, which do *not* pop as we found out, so that was a nice surprise. Get yourself one, we got two.