Orlando Theme Park Eats Ft. Magic Kingdom

Jens is coming home! I'm currently at the Miami airport waiting for my flight and I hope everyone had an amazing spring break! or good days at work! This year, I was off to Florida for some sunshine and happiness. Although I had been eating endless junk food during my days at the theme parks, I still found delicious eats that I would like to share with y'all!

and another tip! Please don't ever try to go to 1 theme park a day for 4 consecutive days. Take a day off in between! It was honestly the most tiring thing ever, and I thought school was stressful enough....

With weathers up to 30 to 34 degrees in Orlando, it could be tough to find directions from rides to shows to rides, so why not stop for some Ice cream?! 

Plaza Ice cream Parlor is located on Main Street (Very close to the Walt Disney Statue/Castle), and is hosted by Edy's. I absolutely love its interior designs, pastel blue and pink walls make this little place very dreamy and "princessy".  

The lineups vary from time to time, but it gives you time to read the menu. They serve huge sundaes, Mickey Mouse cones/sandwiches and simple scoops. I got the double scoop (Cookies N Cream & Butter Pecan) Ice cream cone ($4.49USD 4.5/5). 

Tasted good like most Ice Cream shops in Vancouver, creamy consistency and flavours were on point. (Not overly sweet or bland) The scoops are huge, and is definitely worth it for a price of $4.50 for 2 scoops!! If you are staying in one of the Disney World Resort, you will be given a magic band so it was extremely easy to pay for everything within the Disney World theme parks and hotels. 

Now on to our late dinner! We only had time for some quick food before the fireworks! But don't worry, if you want to be nicely seated in a restaurant within the park, there are plenty! Even a buffet with the Disney characters, but the lineups were insane.

With no other choices since our feet were hurting so much, we lined up for the nearest fast food corner, called Casey's Corner. (It was extremely busy as well). We struggled to find a seat, but after around 20 minutes of waiting, we finally got a table outside.

My dad, sister and I all got the BBQ Slaw Dog ($9.99 5/5) (Fries or Apples slices included). It is basically a hot dog topped with pulled pork, cole slaw and barbecue sauce.  The sausage and the bun were as ordinary as they could get. But the toppings were creative and mind blowing. Coleslaw was crispy and creamy, pulled pork was not over cooked, and the portion was huge. If you are a messy eater like me, get a spoon and eat some of the toppings first, then finish the rest with the hot dog. Not the healthiest option you can get, but after more than 12 hours of walking, I think I had the spare calories for a meal like this! 

Milk and Sugar Cafe

Found this little place near Joyce-Collingwood that serves all day breakfast, thick toasts, waffles, ice cream and a huge selection of bubble teas for CHEAP!  They even have $2 special bubble teas every week! And of course, Milk and Sugar is always packed with long lineups, so expect a (usually long) wait. If you want to quickly grab some bubble tea to go, try some where else!

I was first attracted by their waffles with fruits and Ice cream. ($4.00 + $0.50 for a scoop of ice cream 4.5/5) The portion is unbelievable with only $4.50! Waffles are handmade, served with fruits, condensed milk, classic maple syrup and a huge scoop of Ice cream of your choice.  Waffles were thick and chewy, the pieces were actually quite large due to their thickness, I couldn't finish it by myself, and I eat ALOT.  Waffles pair up well with almost any sweet or savoury ingredients, so as long as the waffles are on point, the whole thing would be mouth watering!

I then bumped in to my best friend again! (#meanttobe), we chatted for a while and decided to get a bubble tea to share. We got the Small Blueberry Cheesecake with pearls. ($4.00+$0.50 4.5/5) They use real ice cream to blend the drink, so it's basically a milk shake but with pearls! (double win!) Probably one of the best pure bubble tea I have ever had, I was going to order the $2 special but I didn't like the flavours this week (Mango Green Tea Vanilla?!...)


Overall Experience:

A renovation would be nice, this cafe is not like your typical western/hipster cafe, but more like a Chinese bubble tea joint. The seats are tightly arranged thus it's not super comfortable. But the value of their food beats every flaws. I highly recommend this place, and personally I would come back for their thick toasts and other ice cream bubble teas. Got my eye on sesame and Strawberry Cheesecake flavours already!

49th Parallel & Lucky's Donut (Kitsliano Store)

Living in North Burnaby/Burquitlam, it's extremely hard to find a nice cafe where you can sit and chat with your friends, or to study in a nice environment. Ahhh.. Ironically, I'm a cafe and coffee shop lover who loves to discover new cafes, and relax while I sip on my coffee. Sometimes, Starbucks is just not enough!

49th happened on a Wednesday after a whole day of tests. My friend and I decided to travel all the way to West Van to explore this magical place with not only good coffee, but creative donuts. (I repeat! DONUTS! Yes, It's donut not doughnut, I'm still Canadian..)
What a lovely place!! I absolutely adore it's interiors, very refreshing and stress relieving (you would understand if you've been to this location), especially with the mint/light green coloured wall, garden plants and marble tables. Love at first sight!

Coincidentally, Hot Chocolate Festival was on! (In fact, it's still going until Feb.14th). According to other foodies, Lumberjack was a cool flavour to try out, while its other featured hot chocolate: Nanaimo Bar, was too sweet. So naturally, I ordered the Lumberjack Hot Chocolate ($6.00 3.5/5) served with maple marshmallows and a chocolate covered wafer log. I also ordered a Coffee Cruller ($3.00 4.5/5) to go with my Hot Chocolate.

The Lumberjack was spicier than I expected. I thought it'd be cool to try a spicy dark hot chocolate, but I'm not used to the weird sensation, the spice was too strong for me, however, I was still able to finish it. The wafer log was really good, but the marshmallows tasted artificial. I think I would enjoy the Nanaimo Bar more since I am a sugarholic. 

The coffee cruller saved this whole trip! The texture was nice, slightly chewy, slightly fluffy. The flavour was on point as well. The only reason why i deducted 0.5 points was because of the oil, It'd be perfect if the donut had less oil. 

Overall Experience:

I have had 49th parallel coffee at Prado Cafe before, so I know the quality of their coffee is no doubt amazing. But this hot chocolate was disappointing, I'd like to revisit and try the Nanaimo Bar if I have time. Nonetheless, A wonderful place to talk and do work, It's officially on the top of my favourite cafes in Vancouver. Many returns in the future! And make sure you ALWAYS get a donut! 

Midam Cafe&Bistro

By being a Burquitlamer, I've heard about Midam Cafe many many times, but I never found the time and opportunity to go even though I pass by K town/North Road almost everyday. Today after lunch, my mom randomly wanted to visit since her friends were talking about it as well.

What a hidden gem. It is located between Hannam Korean Market and Bikram Yoga (First Floor), You would probably never find this place by its awkward location and dark exteriors. But yet It's still well known in the community so you think it must be phenomenal! ...But is it really?

The cafe has a basketball theme from all the mini models of bball players, It gives off a young vibe, but I spotted 3 floor seatings that are very traditional and cultural. I liked the clash of time periods, and I would love to sit in one of the floor seatings next time! (However, It'd be cute if the theme of this cafe is more girly, but I guess they already have enough customers to renovate the interiors.)

I knew that their shaved ice is super popular, with no doubt, I ordered the Green Tea Shaved Iced ($10.99 3.5/5). I expected the bowl to be twice the size, but when the server came with a medium-small bowl, I wasn't pleased... (They all looked huge on Instagram D: ).
Oh well, Let's see how it tastes then? The red bean paste and the green tea ice cream combined perfectly, but I noticed that their green tea mochi/rice cakes were too salty. Midam actually specializes in rice cakes, but I really didn't like how they were salty, I needed my sugar fix not a sodium rise! The bowl lacked ingredients, over 2/3 of the bowl were just plain shaved ice. :/
Overall I was pretty disappointed, I've had way better shaved ice at Dae-Ji. They have bigger sizes with more ingredients for only $9.99. (and Dae-Ji is just located on the second floor of the same court!)

My sister ordered the Chocolate Fondue ($8.99 4/5) with fruits and rice cakes. I didn't taste any of her food due to her illness, but according to her, It was good. She said she would rate it 4/5. It is a great plate to order for kids, but also very easy to make at home.

Meanwhile, My mom didn't listen to my advice and insisted to order the Red Bean Fondue. ($6.99 2/5).  It looked sketchy on the menu. The Red Bean Fondue was sweet yet the rice cakes were really salty. This isn't salted caramel so personally I think the flavours of sweet red bean and salty sticky rice cakes definitely didn't go well together. We strongly disliked it, and their rice cakes. (But our opinions might differ! If you are curious, give it a try, It isn't very expensive.)

Due to the dissatisfaction of the desserts, my mom wanted to order another dish. We decided to get the spicy chicken with cheese. ($17 3.5/5) (Didn't I just say I want a sugar fix? ... and yeah I know it was very awkward to order a main dish after desserts.. Don't Judge! haha)
I eat spicy, but I know Koreans are crazy about their spices, thus I specified that I wanted the sauce to be MILDY spicy. Okay... either the server forgot or they just eat super spicy... The dish was actually very good but we couldn't bear the extreme spiciness, so we had to bring it home and think about another way to enjoy it!

Overall Experience:

Man, It sounded like a terrible experience with such high hopes in the beginning. Nonetheless, I will revisit at least 2 more times to see if it's worth it or not. I haven't tried its parfaits, waffles as well as beverages, maybe their other shaved ice if I'm in the mood.
The service was not bad, this place is generally for young crowds and couples. However I went in the afternoon, so it was pretty much empty and very quiet. Next time, I will deliberately go at night, some time after dinner,  and maybe I will enjoy my food more with a better vibe.

Jens Macaron Tips

The absolute maximum for this polynomial function is... oh wait..I'm writing a food blog right now..

  Happy Thrusday! aiya, school just started, I haven't visited any restaurants this week due to the busy schedule and my mini diet plan (yeee, gotta look good for my Artona this weekend) So... I pulled out this macaron tips section from my previous blog post, and made it to a separate article. Well, It's easier to view now, and I will update this post whenever I get macarons from other places!
  Everyone has different tastebuds, especially for macarons since they can be very different, I simply like the traditional texture of a crispy macaron that breaks easily, with fillings not overly sweet, and as natural as possible. Take my tips under consideration! but if you're ever in any of these stores, get a single macaron and rate it yourself!

Jens Macaron tips: 

Cafe Joie $1.75 4/5

- If you like big macarons for a cheaper price, Cafe Joie has them for only $1.75 and they are huge, the downside of their macarons is they are hollow, authentic macarons are not suppose to be like that. They still taste delicious though.

Fave Flavours : Earl Grey, Coffee, Black Sesame

Soirette $2 4.5/5

- Soirette has by far one of the best macarons I've had, they are regular size, $2/each. IMO Soirette > Thierry/Faubourg's  (sorry, lost the pictures, will update when I revisit!)

Fave Flavours: Seasonal ones, Mocha, Lavender, Salted Caramel

L'Opera $2 5/5

- L'Opera Patisserie has the best macarons in my opinion, they are $2/each, smaller than regular ones but they are perfect.

Fave Flavours: Every single one!

Sugar Craft 5/5 

- Sugar.Craft, I won 2 boxes of macarons from an young catering owner named Rhythm Tang. Her macarons are so on point, They are just as good as the ones from Soirette and L'Opera.

Fave Flavours: Candy cane, Salted Caramel, Maple walnut, Lavender

Thierry $2.25 2/5

- Thierry macarons are the most expensive ones I had ($2.25-$2.50), they taste nothing special, and all had a soggy texture, I like macarons that are crispy and chewy (shell breaking moment), so Thierry macarons are a no no for me.

Faubourg $2 2/5

- Faubourg, two words: EXTREMELY SWEET, maybe i'll give its macarons another try, since I haven't had them for a year, but i sure left the store with a negative impression.

Thomas Haas $1.80 4/5

Thomas Haas actually has macarons for only $1.80 so I was quite surprised. Their macarons are on the sweet side, but are much better than macarons from Faubourg and Thierry. 

Fave Flavours: Earl grey, Passion Fruit, Mango

Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates&Patisserie (Kitsilano Store)

I've had Thomas Haas chocolates many times before but I have never been to any of their stores. Yesterday after lunch, my family and some of our family friends wanted to continue chatting at a nearby cafe and we all had our eyes on Thomas Haas. Damn, Friday Afternoon on a weekday, the cafe is still packed and more and more people kept coming in during our time there. We waited around 10 to 15 minutes before we had a table. The line up was pretty long, I ordered a Manjari Chocolate Cake, 5 macarons (mango strawberry earl grey lemon and passionfruit). 2 classic hot chocolates and a matcha latte. It took them 10 minutes to prepare my order.

The classic hot chocolate ($4.70 4.5/5) and the Manjari chocolate cake ($5.90 4/5) were no doubt, amazing since they do make one of the best chocolates in Vancouver. The Hot chocolates (I'd say they were about 50-60% dark eventhough we ordered regular) were rich and smooth, If you like sweet ones, simply add a pack of sugar.

The chocolate cake reached its full potentials, It was again, dark, rich and layered perfectly with chocolate mousse, soft sponge cakes and rum creme brûlé, you can feel the chunky bites and soft rum flavours melt in your mouth. The Manjari chocolate is smooth and creamy. It was expensive for a tiny slice of cake but I enjoyed it.

Matcha Latte $3.80 (3.5/5) 

Being a CRAZY matcha lover, (by crazy i mean beyond obsessed), I couldn't stop myself from ordering a matcha latte, the latte art was quite nice, but one sip and i was disappointed, the drink was bland and I could barely taste the matcha. I think it's a personal thing, since I love matcha so much, It is almost impossible to find any matcha drinks or desserts that fit my strong taste..I even have to add tablespoons of matcha powder to my matcha ice cream. So if you are an intense matcha lover like I am, take my advice and bring a pack of matcha powder if you wanna order any matcha lattes at a cafe, but if you're just a regular lover, ignore me hahaha. 

Lastly, MACARONS! $1.80/each 4/5 

Who doesn't like a colourful macaron for dessert? This little elegant, "high class" pastry is one of my favourites. It took me around 12 tries to make a successful batch of macarons, thus $2 for one is totally reasonable since they are so hard to make. Thomas Haas actually has macarons for only $1.80 so I was quite surprised. Their macarons are on the sweet side, but it's still SO much better than macarons from faubourg's (too sweet) and Thierry (too flat,expensive,sweet,not crispy enough). 

Jens Macaron Tips

Overall Experience:

Loved it! I would definitely revisit when I'm in the area, It's a nice little place to chat for you and your friends but it's never a good place to hangout in a huge group since it's always super busy. 

Random Things:

 -You can order any of their cakes full size for birthdays and parties. 

-They have spicy hot chocolates (Aztec) and Dark Hot chocolate. 

-I've heard good comments about their Almond Croissants (my mom had it and she loved it) and Champagne Truffle Chocolate Cake so I would for sure order these 2 when I revisit.