REVIEW: Why We DON’T Recommend These 2 Tasty EPCOT Festival Eats

Disney4me · February 28, 2024

We’ve waited all year for the EPCOT’s 2024 Flower & Garden Festival for one reason, and one reason only…..

2024-wdw-epcot-flower-and-garden-festiva

2024 Lotus House Outdoor Kitchen

The Cheesy Crab Wontons at the Lotus House outdoor kitchen. Stop here at the China pavilion while enjoying the Festival’s famous Disney topiaries, garden displays, and entertainment. Join us as we review Lotus House to see if it lives up to its reputation as a deserving fan-favorite booth once again this year!

While we enjoyed the items at this booth, we were mildly disappointed in two of them (even though they were tasty). The Cheesy Crab Wontons here seemed to be lacking in the crab, which was a bit disappointing. We also noted that the Pan-friend Vegetable Dumplings were quite small for the price, which is $2.50 per dumpling (total of $5.50). But let’s dive into the menu and our full review!

Let’s go to the China Pavilion for the Lotus House booth!

Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer
House-made Cheesy Crab Wontons
Pan-fried Vegetable Dumplings
Mango Bubble Tea
Lucky Peach
Dragon Dynasty pic.twitter.com/nk55mVe5i8

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) February 28, 2024

Eats

We’ll start our “eats” portion with the returning Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer with creamy peanut sauce. This one has ALWAYS been a hit with us in the past.

Last year, it was super peanutty, and the sauce was a little bold and overpowering. However, the chicken was nice and tender, and the sesame seeds added a really good texture mix. We liked the freshness of the green onions, but that sauce is really bold and a little spicy so maybe avoid this if you aren’t particularly interested in those flavors. So what do we think about it this year?

Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer

Well, this year, we didn’t think it was overly spicy. It had a mild spice, but it was certainly bearable. The sauce was tasty! It was nice and creamy, and it wasn’t super peanut buttery so that was a plus. We don’t consider this a must-try option, but it was good and we know lots of people love it. You can grab this tasty dish for$6.75.

Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer

Next up, we ordered another returning item, the House-made Cheesy Crab Wontons for $8.25. This is another item we can always count on being delicious — it’s wontons with CHEESE.

Cheesy Crab Wontons

The cheesy in the name should clue you in on how we feel about it! Of course, we loved these! The creamy, cheesy, and crispiness of these wontons made them the best item we grabbed at this booth. They were delicious. We did wish there was a bit more crab meat in them, so we may not recommend grabbing them if you’re looking for more crab than cheese.

House-made Cheesy Crab Wontons

Finally, the Pan-fried Vegetable Dumplings are also returning from last year!

Pan-fried vegetable dumplings

You can get these for $5.50. Last year, we thought the portion size was a bit small, and we agree with that again this year. We also thought they had a great savory flavor. They were light and refreshing for a dumpling. However, at $2.25 per dumpling, we think it’s just a bit too pricey.

Pan-fried Vegetable Dumplings

And to go along with your dishes…

Drinks

In terms of drinks on this menu, we got the Mango Bubble Tea. This is a returning item, but we love a nice classic bubble tea — it’s especially refreshing when you’re running around EPCOT all day.

Last year we thought this was pretty good. It was super rich and creamy and the boba was chewy and unique. (They’re not the popping kind — they’re just thick, gummy, and chewy.) The boba doesn’t add a lot of flavor but gives an interesting texture.

Mango Bubble Tea

This year it was not a milk tea, so there wasn’t a creamy aspect to it. But we still really enjoyed it! It was light and refreshing. We found it to be very sweet, and the tapioca boba was a subtle touch without being overly chewy. You can grab this drink for $7.75.

The beverage train continues with a new drink! We’re sippin’ on the Dragon Dynasty, which, let’s face it, just sounds cool. This power-named cocktail is made with Baijiu spirit, light rum, dragon fruit syrup, piña colada mix, and soda water and is priced at $14.50.

Dragon Dynasty

The Dragon Dynasty let us down. It was good, but the other drinks overshadowed it and were more memorable. It has a sweet flavor and doesn’t take like alcohol, which might be good if you’re looking for an adult beverage but you don’t want the strong alcohol flavor. It’s a good drink, just nothing too special like the other options here.

Dragon Dynasty

And finally, our last item from this outdoor kitchen that has a permanent spot in our hearts — the Lucky Peach. Say it with us now, “Awwww….” Doesn’t it just sound precious? If cocktails had eyeballs, this one would have those big, puppy-dog, Anime eyes that make your soul weep. It is made with Peach whiskey, oolong tea, honey, lemon juice, and soda water and is priced at $14.25.

Lucky Peach

We surprisingly LOVED this drink. We didn’t think we would care for the whiskey in it, but we enjoyed every sip. It is super sweet and fruity. It didn’t have a strong whiskey flavor, so that helped us like it. It was a great drink!

Lucky Peach

Another returning beverage that you can get at this booth is the Tropical Moon for $14.00. This cocktail is made with Smirnoff Vodka, Triple Sec, passion fruit, soda water, and white boba pearls. We didn’t try this drink this year.

OVERALL

The Lotus House booth is good, but it’s not a stand-out, best-of-the-fest booth for us. You’ll likely enjoy your options, but we think there are better picks. You can see our full reviews of each booth at the link below to find out which we would recommend instead!

Click here to see FULL reviews of EVERY BOOTH at the 2024 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival!

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

And don’t forget to pick up our EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival e-book! See more details about the book below.

MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR FESTIVAL DAYS

DFB's Guide to the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival details everything you need to know to maximize your time, budget and stomach space! Know what's worth it and what to skip with our full-photo menus of each booth, complete with DFB's Best of the Fest.

It includes all the must-have information for navigating this one of the most BEAUTIFUL festivals at Disney World, including:

Booth & food photos, maps, and crawls with DFB's exclusive recommendations!
The COMPLETE schedule of events (so you don't have to go hunting for all the dates!)
All the details on special events, topiaries, festival exclusive merchandise, and more!