Menu Monday: Ranking Every Meal and Snack I Ate At Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea

Some say math is the universal language; I completely disagree with this. The one true thing that all of mankind can understand is food. On my recent trip to Tokyo, I found that the people of Japan love food as much as I do, and this is especially true at Tokyo Disneyland and its neighboring park, Tokyo DisneySea. I am especially fond of Disney food and spend quite a bit of time tweeting and blogging about it, so naturally food was a big part of my Tokyo Disney Resort vacation. Now, for purpose of record, I rank every meal and snack I ate at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.

 #1: Eukiwa Buns from Seaside Snacks (Tokyo DisneySea)

The Eukiwa Bun ranks first on the list thanks to the one two punch of a great taste and fantastic packaging. The roll itself is a gyoza bun filled with delicious juicy shrimp. The bun is shaped like a inner tube, which ties in perfectly to the packaging. It makes it look like Donald is inside the inner tube. How great is that?! This item is very popular, and it usually has a long line of people waiting to enjoy it.

#2: Shrimp Curry from Casbah Food Court (Tokyo DisneySea)

Who knew that theme park curry could be this good? The curry was flavorful and delicious, plus had a little kick to it. It was also filled with plenty of nice thick shrimp. Casbah Food Court has outdoor seating and is located in the Arabian Coast section of the park, so while we ate we enjoyed a great atmosphere and background music. Overall this is an excellent and affordable quick service dining option.

#3: Seafood Stew Breadcone from The Gazebo (Tokyo Disneyland)

Getting quick service seafood in the American parks is extremely hit or miss, so I was worried at first. This was one of the first items I ate after arriving at Tokyo Disneyland, and it proved to me that I shouldn’t be afraid of theme park seafood in Tokyo Disney Resort. The stew had a thick rich and creamy base with shrimp and scallops. Very good, but due to its size it’s definitely more of a snack than a full meal.

#4: Chandu Tail from Sultan’s Oasis (Tokyo DisneySea)

Like its brother Eukiwa Bun, the Chandu Tail is a gyoza bun filled with something. But the something this time is creamy chicken. The bonus to the Chandu Tail is that you are eating a part of the star of one of the greatest modern Disney dark rides, Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage. I personally liked the Eukiwa Bun more than the Chandu Tail, but either one of these items is a must-try. While you’re there, try the D’s Delight Frozen Dessert Drink.

#5: Pumpkin Custard Cone from The Gazebo (Tokyo Disneyland)

I’m a huge fan of pumpkin flavored food (and by the number of pumpkin items I saw at TDR, so is Tokyo), so when I saw this I bought it without question. The cone part is chewy and a bit sweet, and it’s topped with a creampuff, marshmallow, and a chunk of dried pumpkin. The real star of the show is the pumpkin custard that fills the bottom part of the cone. Overall, a great dessert.

#6: Catch of the Day at Magellan’s (Tokyo DisneySea)

I could write a whole post on how good Magellan’s is; it’s easily one of the most beautiful Disney restaurants on the planet. The Imagineers were on the top of their game with this one. Luckily the food matches the fantastic surroundings. The quality of the food was extremely high, including the salmon in the picture above.

We dined near a giant globe in the center of the main room. One of the best parts of Magellan’s was the excellent staff. They frequently came by our table to refill our water glasses and offer us some tasty bread rolls. Magellan’s was the most expensive meal on our trip, but my party agreed that it was worth it thanks to the atmosphere and food quality.

#7: Seafood Pizza from Ristorante di Canaletto (Tokyo DisneySea)

First off, yes, I am aware of how absurd it is that I ate pizza while I was in Japan. But keep in mind this is a Disney blog and I am a Disney blogger. Second, this pizza was crazy good. So far food items featuring seafood have been well represented on this list, and that’s not only because I love seafood but also because seafood in Japan is very high quality. The Seafood Pizza featured a good amount of fresh scallops, shrimp, olives and mussels. The pizza at Ristorante di Canaletto is freshly made inside an oven that is viewable within the restaurant. The better seating option is in the outdoor covered balcony which features views of the beautiful canals of Mediterranean Harbor.

#8: Seafood Pizza from Captain Hook’s Galley (Tokyo Disneyland)

Yes, this seafood pizza is different from the pizza ranked at #7. Captain’s Hook’s Galley is a quick service restaurant located in Fantasyland. This pizza is good, but it’s also $7 for a small single slice of pizza. Besides that it makes a great snack.

#9: The food at Sherwood Garden Buffet (Tokyo Disneyland Hotel)

My group did a couple of buffets while we were at Tokyo Disney Resort, mostly because they’re a good value, but also because the quality of food was high.  The buffet costs about $32 per a person, which may seem like a lot, but you need to remember that food at Tokyo Disney Resort can be around $7 to $15 for quick service entrees, and the portions are usually small. I found myself doing more snacking because of this, and that caused me to spend more on food than I would in the stateside parks. Anyway, the stand out item at Sherwood Garden was the scallops (seen at the top right of the picture), which were huge and delicious. This buffet also gets high marks for its large selection of yummy desserts.

#10: The food at Sailing Day Buffet (Tokyo DisneySea)

Sailing Day Buffet is a good buffet featuring Japanese items like curry and gyoza buns, as well as American items like prime rib. The food is good quality and, like Sherwood Garden, gets bonus points for having a good selection of desserts. Including unlimited pumpkin custard!

#11: Berry Milk Tea from Cape Cod Confections (Tokyo DisneySea)

Milk tea is plentiful where I live in Los Angeles, so I wasn’t expecting much from this drink. But, wow, was I surprised! The tea was so rich and flavorful, and as an added bonus there was a helping of sweet berries at the bottom of the cup. This is the perfect drink for a hot day. Also, it’s Duffy approved.

#12: Seafood Snack from Breezeway Bites (Tokyo DisneySea)

I know, yet another seafood item. The Snack Box has some curly fries, a couple of chips that taste like Doritos, and two pieces of fried fish. It doesn’t look like much, but the fish is flaky and tasty. Its small size and low price made this the perfect snack. It pairs well with the milk tea mentioned above.

#13: Donald Duck Butt Dessert and Frontier Punch at Diamond Horseshoe: Mickey & Co. dinner show (Tokyo Disneyland)

Diamond Horseshoe at Tokyo Disneyland is home to a surprisingly good dinner show (which I will write more about in the future). The main entree is nothing special, but dinner does include two standout items, the adorable Donald Duck butt dessert and the super sweet Frontier Punch. No one in my party could determine what the exact ingredients of the punch were, but we definitely tasted some sort of melon. As for the Duck butts, a portion of frosting sits on top of some light and fluffy cake. Donald’s feet are made of sugar cookies. For the record, here is the main entree:

 

 

#14: Little Green Men Mochi Ice Cream from Pan Galactic Pizza Port (Tokyo Disneyland)

Little Green Men Mochi ice cream is one of those items that receives a lot of hype on the internet; they were very good but don’t quite live up to the hype. This is mostly due to the fact that they are pretty much just ice cream. I would still call this item a must buy only because they make a great photo opp.

#15: The various flavored popcorns of Tokyo Disney Resort (Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea)

Popcorn is extremely popular at Tokyo Disney Resort. We regularly saw queues of people buying popcorn that were over 30 minutes in length. This is another food item that was extremely hyped by people on the Internet, and I have to admit I was very excited to try as many flavors as possible. Unfortunately, most of the flavors were not anything to write home about. But there were some standout flavors that I enjoyed very much, specifically Honey (in Tokyo Disneyland) and Milk Tea (in Tokyo DisneySea). I guess I was expecting the popcorn to taste intensely of the advertised flavors, but most only had a hint of flavor. My wife enjoyed the Black Pepper and Curry popcorn flavors.

#16: Pumpkin Churro from Open Sesame (Tokyo DisneySea)

No complaints here: this was a tasty and perfectly capable churro. Imagine a churro of the same size and taste as the ones available in the American parks, but with a hint of pumpkin flavoring.

#17: Omelet Grandma Sara’s Kitchen (Tokyo Disneyland)

Grandma Sara’s was one of the most richly detailed Disney restaurants I’ve ever been in. Imagine eating inside Splash Mountain (which is located next to), and you’ll have an idea what it’s like. The food is also good but gets negative points for very small portions. Also, its idea of an omelet is scrambled eggs laid over a pile of rice. Overall Grandma Sara’s Kitchen is a great quick service dining option.

#18: Heart-Shaped Meat Patty with Tomato Brown Sauce from Queen of Hearts Royal Banquet Hall (Tokyo Disneyland)

This is another item that makes for a better photo opp rather than a good meal. The little pile of potatoes and the sauce were good, but the meat patty reminded me of microwave dinners my grandma would give me as a kid. This gets extra points only because I’m a big Alice in Wonderland fan and Queen of Hearts Royal Banquet Hall has a lot of details from the movie.

#19: Black Gyoza Dog at Refreshment Station (Tokyo DisneySea)

 

The black Gyoza Dog isn’t something that was hyped on the internet, but it is a hugely popular food item at DisneySea. I’ve read that occasionally the queue for the Refreshment Station can reach over 30 minutes long, and the Gyoza Dog is the only item they sell! The inside of the Gyoza Dog (which is white when it’s not the Halloween season) is filled with shredded pork. I wasn’t a fan and found it to be a bit bland.

#20: Berry Dessert Drink from Captain Hook’s Galley (Tokyo Disneyland)

This was the worst of all the flavored drinks I had at Tokyo Disney Resort. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it wasn’t unique enough to surpass the other drinks. The drink tasted mostly of Sprite, with a hint of melon, and included jelly balls at the bottom.

#21: Breakfast items at Mamma Biscotti’s Bakery (Tokyo DisneySea)

Like the two rolls ranked at number 22, these two items are also perfectly competent at filling your belly. They also get points for being relatively cheap compared to other food in the parks. But again, overall they are pretty uninteresting.

#22: Halloween Rolls from a gift shop in Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
These two rolls were purchased by me when I needed breakfast on the last day on the trip. I debated even including them on this list, but in the end I wanted it to be comprehensive. Anyway, the rolls were good and they did the job of filling my stomach until it was lunch time. They don’t rank higher because overall they didn’t blow me away, and I ate much more interesting things in the previous days.

#23 and #24: Black Hot Dog and Pork-Rice Roll from Liberty Landing Diner (Tokyo DisneySea)

The black hot dog gained a lot of attention on the Internet for some reason. That alone caused me to add it to my list of food items to try. Unfortunately it ended up being a standard hot dog that happened to be black. Nothing really special about it. As for the Pork-Rice Roll, it’s exactly how it sounds. A log of rice that has been rolled in bacon. Personally, I am not a fan of bacon, so I did not enjoy this. But, my wife and traveling companions (who are bacon fans) also did not enjoy the roll, so it wasn’t just me.  Overall, these two items were forgettable.

#25: Pumpkin Cream Doughnut from an ODV cart in the hub (Tokyo Disneyland)

Bringing up the rear of the list is an item that looked much better than it tastes. Like I said before, I love pumpkin, so to have this not be good was a big disappointment. The “cream” in the title gave me the expectation that it would be filled with a lot of it, but after the first few bites I didn’t get any. Eventually I did get to the cream, but I had to eat through some dry doughnut to get to it.

That’s it for my list. I have no idea how I managed to eat over 25 snacks and meals in four days. Anyway, what I’m really interested in is reading what you all think. If you’ve been to Tokyo Disney before, what are your opinions about the food? Are there any standout items that I missed and need to try next time? If you’ve never been to Tokyo Disney Resort before, would you try any of these items? Let me knows in the comments below.