Singapore -- International Marketplace -- 2013 Food and Wine Festival
*This information on this booth was obtained by me on October 2, 2013 by visiting the booth first-hand. This is not "official" information from Disney. Please always check with the cast members at each booth to confirm ingredients and safety based on your specific dietary need. For additional booth information visit the 2013 Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free Offerings Page.
Menu from Singapore
Singapore is another one of those booths that I expected at least one of the dishes to be GF/DF. I did some investigation while at the Festival Center, looking at the cookbook, and it looked like the Mahi Mahi was definitely out. The "Singa" sauce contains soy sauce. Bummer! Of course, I asked upon arrival at the booth to see if either option would be safe.
Mahi Mahi Recipe from the Official Festival Cookbook
The cast member followed the same procedure as Brazil and radioed a chef. Just like in Brazil, she had it on speaker phone which was good because I could hear the responses. The chef said that the only the Lemongrass Chicken Curry was gluten free, and it happened to be dairy free as well. They use coconut milk in it, and you can really taste it too. So essentially one of the dishes at the booth was safe for GF & DF diners.
Lemongrass Chicken Curry with coconut and jasmine rice
This booth was a little busier than Brazil
Lemongrass Chicken Curry
I will say that I didn't love this dish. It was so-so for me. I found it to be a little too spicy for me (like really hot spicy. I needed water ASAP) It just didn't feel overly balanced for me. I liked the strong lemongrass and coconut flavor, and you could tell that they used real lemongrass. The chicken was also quite flavorful. My other big fault was that they didn't have spoons at this marketplace kiosk. This was very saucy, as you can tell and really needed the spoon!Overall, I wouldn't say it was a bad dish by any means, just maybe not my favorite curry I've ever had. It really didn't have a strong curry flavor at all (which I love), so to me it really wasn't super balanced. Still, to have a GF/DF option at this booth was nice. I just wish the Mahi Mahi was safe!Have you been to this booth yet? What did you think of the gluten free & dairy free options here?
Brazil -- International Marketplace -- 2013 Food and Wine Festival
*This information on this booth was obtained by me on October 2, 2013 by visiting the booth first-hand. This is not "official" information from Disney. Please always check with the cast members at each booth to confirm ingredients and safety based on your specific dietary need. For additional booth information visit the 2013 Food & Wine Festival Gluten Free Offerings Page.
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| Brazil booth menu |
Brazil is definitely one of those booths, that I knew the menu was likely to be gluten free and dairy free friendly given the previous years' offerings. This year, the menu consists of:
- Seared Scallop with Ragout of Tomatoes, Peppers, and Hearts of Palm
- Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado, and Cilantro
I had heard from my friend Alexis over at Gluten Free in Orlando that both dishes featured were gluten free. This, of course, made me excited and hopeful that they were both dairy free too. Or at least one of them was dairy free. It seemed highly likely that the pork belly was GF/DF.Upon my arrival at the booth, I asked the cast member at the register if she could give me some information about gluten free & dairy free offerings. She immediately said, "I know for sure that both dishes are gluten free. We are getting asked that a lot." Well, yeah, gluten free people like to eat at Food & Wine too! Plus, Disney hasn't released an official map like they did last year due to liability, so I imagine they are getting a lot of questions. I asked if she knew about the dairy, to which she replied, "No." But, she also used the phones they have on hand to radio a chef. When she did, she left it on speaker, so I could hear everything. She asked if either dish contained any kind of dairy and noted that it was a special dietary need not a preference. The chef on the other end stated that both were dairy free. Of course, I wish I had been able to see the ingredients first-hand, but I was pretty confident based on the menu that I found in the festival center for the shrimp, that we were a go.
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| Recipe from the official cookbook for the festival |
I decided to order just the pork belly this time (now I have an excuse to update this post and go back for the scallop). I adore pork belly, so I was hopeful this would be really good.
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| Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado, and Cilantro |
I will say taste wise, it wasn't bad. The pork belly wasn't as crispy as I would have liked it to be. The black beans were very mild and slightly bland. I liked the avocado and cilantro though. I'm not sure this would be a dish I'd get again and again, but it wasn't bad either. Honestly, I was just excited that a booth had two options that were gluten free & dairy free and didn't contain other options that would pose a big cross contamination risk. The great news about this booth is that the only two dishes they serve are safe for me to eat, so I really enjoyed that.I'm hoping to go back soon and try the scallop, as well.Have you been to this booth yet? What did you think of the gluten free & dairy free options here?