One of the long-time global marketplaces of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival is China. It made its debut in 1996 and has been serving up dishes since. Here in our China review, we’ll cover some of the items served here, complete with pictures and our thoughts on the food. If you’re looking for comprehensive coverage of the festival then take a moment to read over our Ultimate Guide to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.
The China booth menu underwent a slight overhaul this year. Gone from last year are the Xi’an Pancake and Roasted Duck. They are replaced by Mala Chicken and Shrimp Bao Bun and the Wuxi Spareribs. You can see the complete menu for the China marketplace below. You’ll notice in our review, that we only covered a couple of dishes in China. Next year we’ll try to get them all.
The China booth is across from the pavilion in World Showcase, sitting right along the lagoon.
Mala Chicken and Shrimp Bao Bun – $6.75
The Mala Chicken and Shrimp Bao Bun at the China booth is definitely worth your consideration if you can forget the somewhat excessive price. The ratio of Bao Bun to chicken and shrimp wasn’t quite in line with what we were hoping. That said, the flavors here were delicious and Bao Bun was excellent. So soft and airy, I enjoyed it a lot. The bun was a great complement to the flavors of the chicken and shrimp.
Anna and Elsa both loved this dish too. Before you ask, no, it wasn’t just the Bao Bun. They devoured all of it. There wasn’t much, if any, spice to the meat, so it was perfect for them. While Disney doesn’t list this as kid approved, if your kids like Asian flavors, the Mala Chicken and Shrimp Bao Bun may be something to consider.
Back to the price really quick. When you consider the portion size, you’ll find that half of the food is the bun. Disney needs to get the portions right to justify the price. If you pass on this because of the value, we think you are justified in that point of view.
Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles – $6.75
Served with a heaping portion of noodles and a few lightly breaded shrimp, this dish was a hit with Anna and Elsa. I wasn’t a huge fan of it myself. The noodles were a bit rubbery but well-seasoned. I didn’t get much garlic flavor with this, which was a bit odd given the name of the dish. The shrimp were cooked well, and I did appreciate the fact that the breading one them was light. Unfortunately, the shrimp did not have a lot of flavor to them.
I’d probably pass on this item if I had to choose again, but Anna and Elsa would undoubtedly get it. Especially Elsa, who is still devouring anything shrimp related.
Based upon our experience and others that we’ve heard about, this dish is very inconsistent when it comes to shrimp portions. As you can see in the picture, we were served three pieces of shrimp on our plate. We’ve seen some people get two, and others get four. Given the price, I would be pretty upset if I got just two shrimp on my plate. Three would be the bare minimum needed to justify the price.
Wrapping Up
With that, we’ll wrap up our review of the China marketplace at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. It’s a booth with items worth checking out, but we wouldn’t beat a path here by any means. The dishes also appear to be very inconsistent.
If you’re looking for more of our 2019 Food & Wine Festival booth reviews, feel free to check out our review of Japan booth or the Spain booth.