The Lunar New Year Festival 2019 is in full swing at Disney California Adventure. The celebration runs from January 25 – February 17, 2019 in the Paradise Gardens area of Disney California Adventure. In addition to special merchandise, characters, and activities, there are some special food booths offering Asian-inspired cuisine. The Lucky 8 Lantern booth has two main dishes, including a vegetarian option, a green tea tart, and two drinks. The desserts and drinks seemed to steal the show at most of the booths and this was no different.

A+ on signage for this booth.

Full offerings from Lucky 8 Lantern.

Crispy Shrimp Fried Rice with Garlic, Bacon and Edamame – $8.00

This was nothing crispy here. Nor was it garlicky. It tasted like fish sauce with overcooked shrimp.

Sadly this was subpar at best as it has all the things I love on paper. The rice was okay. The edamame was mushy. The shrimp was rubbery. I was hoping at least the flavor would be okay, but it smelled and tasted like fish sauce.

The few bites on the side with just bacon were okay, but not worth $8 for maybe getting a few solid bits of bacon.

Skip this and get the tart here.

Stir-fried Vegetables and Pineapple with Soy Protein – $7.00

Vegetarians rejoice as there is something for you. This includes steamed rice and crunchy chow mein noodles along with the soy protein that I honestly would have thought was chicken if I hadn’t read the menu.

As much as I wanted to like this, it tasted like a bunch of “Asian” ingredients thrown together with a store-bought sauce dumped on top.

Also, why must everything have bell peppers? Easily picked off, but for $7, this should have been awesome. The sauce tasted store-bought and the rice was mediocre.

Surprisingly, this looked and tasted like chicken, but the strong sauce overpowered everything.

I also don’t like that they advertise pineapples on the menu when this is overrun with bell peppers. Again, go for the tart.

Mandarin Orange – Green Tea Tart – $5.50

This gets an A+. So much yes! It was cute. It was simple. It wasn’t a sugar bomb. And it is shaped like Mickey.

Aside from carefully placed fruit flecked with gold, this held together well.

There was no taste of green tea. The pastry was light and easily broken apart. The fruit was simple and delicious.

There was just enough cream on the inside to give a tiny hint of sweetness, but all the flavors melded well. Easily one of my favorite things I’ve had in any Disney park.

Do yourself a favor and give this a try. This is Asian-inspired dessert at its best.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee – $5.50

I’m a huge iced coffee fan. I only drink coffee cold. So I was optimistic on this. And it did not disappoint.

This arrives beautifully separated with a plastic top and large straw. Poke your straw through and stir.

You are left with a delicious cold brew. It is a bit on the sweet side, but I don’t really like sweet and this was great. Even non-coffee lovers should enjoy. This reminded me a bit of a mocha cold brew. Make sure to mix the syrup on the bottom well for an even flavor. This was great on an unusually hot January day in Anaheim. Skip Starbucks on the way in and go for this.

Lucky Buddha Beer – $9.50

This beer was fun and delicious. It was light and refreshing. Reminding us a bit of a smooth Heineken.

The price is a little steep for beer, but it was really good. And the adorable Buddha bottle it is poured out of makes it worth it.

The cast member said this is available at World Market, so you can continue to enjoy Lucky Buddha outside the parks.

Overall, a trip to the Lucky 8 Lantern booth is worthwhile for the drinks and green tea tart. Be sure to check back with us as we cover all the celebrations happening across Disneyland Resort.