After 2 long days at Disney World, we headed straight to Universal Studios without taking a day off. Trust me, it’s never a good idea to go to different theme parks in a row. Vacation is all about being happy and comfortable! Well… the only upside about it was that I got to have some extra calories to eat more food!
Hmmm anyways, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Universal Studios Orlando? I don’t know about you, but The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the only reason that we planned this stop since we’ve been to 2 Universal Studios already.
And of course if you are at Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, you have to try the trio’s favourite drink: Butter Beer!
*Found at every food services at both locations of the HP world
Don’t worry, Butter beer is 100% non-alcoholic , it’s actually just cream soda, but really good ones. We tried it in 3 different forms: The regular butter beer($3.99USD 4/5), the frozen butter beer ($4.99USD 5/5) and the butter bear Ice cream ($4.99USD 3/5), The regular butter beer is a bit cheaper than the other 2, but I strongly recommend the frozen butter beer.
For the drinks, The cream on top was amazing, the cream soda still had a beer flavour (some what like a light root beer blended with vanilla) , but it was sweet rather than bitter (Don’t think kids would like the real flavour of beer either haha), Overall My sister and I had around 5 cups during our two days there. We also purchased two souvenir cups, I think it was around $9 each, they are kind of expensive so I don't recommend getting one unless you really want to. You could get other soft drink refills for 99 cents if you have one though. Since my sister is a die heart Harry Potter fan, the cups are now cleaned and displayed on her shelves.
Oh... and I strongly don’t recommend the Butter Beer Ice cream because It tasted exactly like butterscotch. Not worth getting a cup of Ice cream for $5 where you could probably get for a $1 at any convenience stores.
For our second eats of day one......
Yes... I got a humongous turkey leg to share with my sister. (combo $11.99 with a small bag of chips).
I got mine at The Smoked Leg Truck, but you can also get them at Carmen's Veranda Cart or other food carts!
I actually saw people eating the legs at Disney World as well, but at that time I was thinking: "Omg you are going to get a heart attack from eating them" ... Ok.. thank god I didn't, but it was probably because we were exhausted and desperately needed more calories to recharge.
The leg definitely did not disappoint!! The whole thing was juicy and tender, the meat was perfectly smoked to the right texture, It was honestly one of the best decisions of my life and I don't regret a thing. (*Laughing face emoji*)
Churro ($3.99 4/5)
I got mine while waiting in line for the Minion Mayhem Ride, I believe the cart is usually at the spot! But churro and popcorn carts are everywhere!
This was actually my first time having churros. To be honest, I thought it tasted like a crispy Chinese doughnut sprinkled with sugar. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special.
---------------------------Island of Adventure Eats---------------------------
Who enjoyed their Hogwarts Express experience between the parks? It was almost exactly like the one in the movie, and YES! at King's Cross Station, you can actually travel through the walls to platform 9 3/4 ;D! (I'm not even a huge harry potter fan but the vibe got me excited ...)
Okay, back to the topic... We left the main park and are now at Hogsmeade! located on the Island of Adventure. But we only dined at The Circus McGurkus Cafe because Dr.Seuss is da bomb! :>
The food choices were very basic, but it has nice seatings and quick services so it can be a good choice.
3 Piece Fried Chicken Platter ($11.79USD 4.5/5) and
The Chicken Sandwich Platter ($9.99USD 3.5/5)
The Fried Chicken Platter includes a corn on the cob, a biscuit and a small bowl of mashed potato with gravy. The whole thing was a lot like a KFC combo, obviously not as good, but they were quite satisfying. Mashed potato was on point for a non restaurant meal, the corn could have been more buttery to enhance the flavours.
The same goes with the Chicken Sandwich Platter. Chicken was cooked like any fast food chain stores, except they don't actually put any sauce inside your sandwich so you have to add your own, it would have been great it they had more sauce options than just ketchup and mayo though.
Overall, large portions and above average fast food, a great place if you just want a simple meal during your breaks.
---------------------------City Walk Eats---------------------------
Damn! the food options at the Studios though! City Walk is a part of the parks, but a lot of people just come to party at night therefore you don't need to purchase a ticket to eat there. The area gets louder and louder at night, it was packed everywhere so we went to the 2 places that had the least amount of people and possibly the best food as well! (for quick services though, if you want a nicer dining experience after you leave the park, try Hard Rock Cafe or Bubba Gump Shrimp&Co, but I'm sure these places will be crowded as well.)
I like my froyo nice and simple. If i'm getting flavoured froyo (most of the time), I will make sure I have the least amount of toppings because they always overpower the real flavours of the yogurt and everything just gets super messy!
My favourite toppings are usually cereal, granola, white mochis, cheesequake bites, sometimes poppers and fruits. I really like Menchie's because they have some cool flavours that are really different from Pink berry and Qoola, for ex: blueberry tart, mudpie, Nutella & taro. There aren't a lot of stores located in Vancouver or at least from where I live so I hardly visit Menchie's. However, next year when I move to UBC, I will have access to Qoola and Menchie's on campus so I'm pretty pumped! (Freshman 15 alert! D:)
Oh, and one amazing thing about Menchie's! You get unlimited samples!... Yes, I'm that annoying person who likes to try all the flavours that interest me, and at Menchie's, you don't have to ask for samples! You can grab a cup and swirl without asking! Don't try a whole bunch of flavours and leave though.. I think that's why Pinkberry and Qoola (never tried yogen fruz ) don't put there sample cups out.
This time I got The Peanut Butter Smore's (5/5) and The Frozen Hot Chocolate (5/5). (The total was around $3.50USD, a lot cheaper than the ones in Canada) Both were strong in flavours, and paired up nicely with cheesequakes, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and mochi. The poppers were kind of random though, I just wanted to pop some poppers (sounds kind of wrong for some reason...), but they are definitely fun to eat with.
Lastly! We went to Bread Box! (oh my god, why don't we have this in Canada!!)
It was one of the healthier options amongst the other stores at City Walk. This place is more like a food counter service where you order at the front, and they will bring your food to your table. The restaurant was beautiful though, they had comfortable seating arrangements, and swing seats...(I would love to have those if I ever open a cafe) The place was clean, calm and refreshing. I had an amazing dining experience here.
We got 2 sandwiches (all served with fries) to share with 3 people, since the meal portions in America are always huge...
Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich ($8.99USD 5/5)
mozzarella, sun dried and oven roasted tomatoes, basil,
sun dried tomato pesto, on ciabatta bread
This sandwich tasted exactly like a mix of perfectly baked Tomato+Basil Flatbread and Pizza Margherita. (but in a sandwich form). The ingredients are simple, but they are the famous Italian combination with a touch of Balsamic Vinegar. A+++ (*thumbs up emoji*)
Smokey Brisket ($11.99USD 4.5/5)
hickory smoked, shaved thin, smoked gouda, caramelized onions,
horseradish cream, on multi-grain bread
hickory smoked, shaved thin, smoked gouda, caramelized onions,
horseradish cream, on multi-grain bread
This sandwich was delicious as well. The briskets were tender and flavourful, only a bit salty for my taste. Multi grain breads are healthy, and since the briskets were quite juicy, it balanced the dryness of the breads. Overall still an enjoyable dish with a generous amount of meat portions. Thank god I finally found a place that add dressings to their sandwiches!
Honestly there are SO many dining choices at the Universal Studios. I didn't really care about eating and the options since I was so focused on the playing part. Nonetheless I still found great places with yummy food! So go explore yourself and happy eating!
Great food with reasonable price!! Well, I must say these are best party places Miami which provides great services and amazing food at very affordable prices and also give drinks on very cheap prices. I just loved these places.
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