Happy #tastytuesday on a Saturday friends! Although I wrote this blog post this past Tuesday, I waited to post it until today to stand in solidarity with #blackouttuesday. If you don’t know what #blackouttuesday is or what it stands for, you can find more information about it here: https://nypost.com/2020/06/02/what-is-blackout-tuesday-everything-to-know-about-the-movement/.
A little over a week ago, Kyle and I decided to try out Morimoto Asia in Disney Springs, which was actually our first night out at a sit-down restaurant since the state of Florida started its phased reopening. Morimoto Asia is located in The Landing section of Disney Springs and is a restaurant owned by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, specializing in pan-Asian cuisine. Kyle and I are huge foodies and also huge fans of Morimoto, so we decided to check out the restaurant for dinner. If/when Walt Disney World brings back the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) options (currently they are not an option due to limited capacity in restaurants and social distancing requirements), lunch at Morimoto is 1 table service credit per person on the DDP, and dinner is 2 table service credits on the DDP.
Kyle and I made our reservation for 5:30pm through OpenTable.com (as Morimoto Asia is a third party restaurant, you can make reservations through OpenTable or the My Disney Experience app). Currently, I would recommend making a reservation if you are interested in visiting any of the Disney Springs sit-down dining locations as there was a wait time due to the spacing of tables and total restaurant capacity due to social distancing. We checked in at little bit before 5:30, still wearing our masks, and were escorted to the second floor and seated in our own room to separate our party from others.
The first picture above is what our room looked like, and the second picture above was our view to the downstairs section of the restaurant, which was absolutely gorgeous. This restaurant is generally stunning, but it was even more stunning to view the restaurant from our little room. Once we were seated, our hostess let us know that we could remove our masks while we were in our room. If we needed to get up to go to the bathroom or walk around the restaurant, the hostess politely asked us to wear our masks.
In order to decrease the amount of contact on the menus at the restaurant, Morimoto opted for a QR code on the table that we were easily able to scan into our phones and use to pull up the menu. One thing to note is that both Kyle and I had to pick up the QR code stand in order to scan the code, so if you are trying to avoid any extra contact, I would suggest not picking up the stand or sanitizing the stand/your hands after. Once we had looked at the menu, our waitress came in to take our order and let us know the specials. She wore her mask during every interaction with us and was very attentive, which I appreciated! As per usual, I let her know about my food allergies, which she communicated to the chef. Currently, I am only ordering dishes without dairy/eggs, as I am working with a nutritionist to figure out the severity of my gluten/wheat allergy.
Kyle and I chose to start our meal with one of the day’s specials: Hamachi (or Yellowtail) TarTar. The chef prepared the dish a little differently than we had seen before, with the hamachi standing vertically in the dish. The intention was to use the spoon to scoop the hamachi horizontally and then scoop each accompaniment on top. From right to left, our accompaniments included: Asian guacamole, nori paste, green onion, creme fresh, shallots, wasabi, and yuzu sauce. I avoided the creme fresh due to my dairy allergy, and my favorite accompaniments were the guac, green onion, shallots, and yuzu sauce. The berry on the plate is called a Myrica Rubra, which our waitress told us is a rare Asian berry that only produces fruit at certain times of year. Overall, this dish was divine. The fish was so fresh and light and the accompaniments were perfect. The berry kind of tasted like a combination of a plum and a raspberry and was also delicious. 9/10 for me!
For the main course, I decided to try the Orange Chicken. Compared to what I usually order, this dish is on the tame side, but I cannot tell you the last time I had orange chicken, as usually it contains at least 1 or multiple of my food allergies. This dish did not disappoint! The coating on the chicken was light and crunchy. The sauce tasted very strongly of fresh orange and lemon, so if you do not like citrus flavors, this dish may not be for you. I also really enjoyed the Chinese broccoli, which was cooked in oil and garlic and tasted even more delicious when dipped in the orange sauce. This dish was a 10/10 for me!
Despite the current dining restrictions, Kyle and I really enjoyed our experience at Morimoto Asia. The waitstaff was kind and attentive, the environment was upscale, but also chill, and the food was top-notch. Another thing I would note about this restaurant is that there was a smart casual dress code noted on our reservation, so just keep that information in mind if you choose to eat here. I think we will be going back to try lunch here very soon!!
Here’s to living our best and most delicious Disney lives! <3
~ Meagan
Meagan has been living with many food allergies and sensitivities since she was 19 years old. She is currently a Personal Vacation Advisor for Magical Vacation Planner, specializing in helping her guests book trips to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. Meagan enjoys researching fitness and nutrition and has taken a special interest in finding allergy friendly options at Walt Disney World.
Interested in having Meagan help you plan your next trip? Send her an email at m.slone@magicalvacationplanner.com or get a free quote at https://magicalvacationplanner.com/staff/meagan-slone/!
