Three...Two...One...Walt Disney World Cravings Countdown!

Wow! That weekend flew by in a flash. In less than 12 hours, I will be on my way to Florida!

As you may or may not recall, I don't often post to my blog on weekends, so as a result, today you get three days of the Walt Disney World Cravings Countdown for the price of one!

On my last trip, in October 2010, we tried La Hacienda de San Angel for the first time. I was hesitant as I had always heard mediocre reviews of San Angel Inn and I knew this restaurant was operated by the same company. Well, we were very pleasantly surprised, La Hacienda turned out to be one of our favorite meals of the trip. The stand out item was....

Day 3 - Tacos de Camarones (Fried shrimp, chipotle-lime aioli, cabbage, lime and salsa verde, all served over flour tortillas) from La Hacienda de San Angel at the Mexican Pavilion, Epcot

First, I love the presentation! The dish is colourful and bright and simply looks delicious. The plate consists of 4 tacos, each filled with two or three tender fried shrimp, and topped with crunchy slivers of red cabbage. The whole plate is the drizzled in chipotle-lime aioli and salsa verde. My favorite topping however, were the spiced limes! The blend of acid, and the smokey spice blend really heightened the entire dish.

I can't wait to have these again!

Jiko is one of my favorite Disney restaurants. I love everything about it - the atmosphere and the exotic flavours paired with familiar ingredients keep me coming back time and again.

Something I have often noted about Disney's Signature Restaurants is that their appetizer/first course items are far more adventurous and interesting than the entrees. So when my server recommended the following item I was happy to try something new...

Day 2 - Crispy Beef "Bobotie" Rolls with Cucumber Raita, Green Mango Atjar, and Honey-roasted Groundnuts from Jiko - The Cooking Place at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
These are an african take on springrolls, crispy rolls filled with a spicy beef mixture and paired with cooling raita, sweet mango atjar and crunchy groundnuts. These are difficult to describe but I'll sum them up with WOW. They are absolutely not to be missed.

Last in my Walt Disney World Cravings Countdown, but certainly not least, brings us to my favorite Walt Disney World restaurant - Les Chefs de France.

My parents and I have easily dined here over 100 times. We end up at Les Chefs de France at least 2 or 3 times per trip. This is for many reasons, the foremost being that we have soft spots for French food and for Paris. Considering this is the closest that we can get to Paris in North America, we make sure to take advantage of it!

While I love many items on the menu, the one that I simply cannot live without is the...

Day 1 - Profiteroles au Chocolat - Puff choux with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce from Les Chefs de France at the French Pavilion, Epcot

I'm sure you are thinking "Um...Cream Puffs? So what?"

You don't know what you are missing. These are choux puffs, crusty on the outside, airy and custard-like in the inside. They are filled with vanilla bean ice cream and topped with a sinfully rich chocolate sauce. The combination of crunchy, chewy, cold, warm and chocolatey is out of this world.

I highly recommend them. I know I will have them at least once in the next 9 days.

So that, my friends, is the end of the Walt Disney World Cravings Countdown. Tomorrow the main feature will begin!

Coming Attractions: Cracker Barrel (I know...not "Disney" but totally worth mentioning) and Kona Island Sushi.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the upcoming reviews!