Saturday, August 1, 2020

Morimoto Asia - Disney Springs

During our trip to Disney World in July, we had dinner at Morimoto Asia, a table service restaurant in Disney Springs.


We have dined at Morimoto Asia many times since it opened in The Landing area of Disney Springs in 2015. Like the restaurants in the Italy Pavilion at Epcot, and The Edison, Maria & Enzo's and Enzo's Hideaway at Disney Springs, Morimoto Asia is run by the Patina Group, which does a great job accommodating its gluten free customers.


Because they are not Disney-owned and operated, Morimoto Asia does not have an allergy-friendly menu, but dishes with an asterisk on the menu are naturally gluten free, or can be modified to be gluten free.

On the dinner menu, dishes that can be made gluten free include edamame, wok sauteed Chinese vegetables, Morimoto Gomoku fried rice, and Morimoto Buri-Bop.




If I ate sushi, I would have had plenty of options to chose from on the Sushi Menu.


For a starter, my family and I shared an order of the Morimoto Gomuku fried rice with chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegetables. I had the duck left off, and the house sambal sauce served on the side. We all loved the fried rice with a side of the apricot sweet chili sauce we requested. I like spicy food, but the sambal sauce was too spicy for me.


Our server talked me into trying the the Morimoto Buri-Bop, a dish chef Morimoto won Iron Chef with. Morimoto Buri-Bop is a Korean style yellowtail rice bowl, served in a hot clay pot, finished with egg yolk. I was a little worried about the fish, because I am not a huge fan of tuna, but when our server mentioned that the Buri-Bop is a little bit sweet and a little bit spicy, I had to try it, because I love sweet and spicy Asian food.


My parents both ordered the Buri-Bop too, and loved it. We each had our own server prepare it table-side for us, searing the fish on the hot clay pot, and mixing the raw egg in with the rice. I seared my yellowtail on both sides, because I do not like raw fish. I was told to let my rice cook for a bit in the hot pot, so it would get crispy.


I would not say that I loved this dish, but I really liked it, and I am glad I tried it. I think if it had been served with a different kind of fish, I would have enjoyed it more. Not pictured is the sauce served on the side, which added a little sweetness to this dish. I preferred the fried rice, but would order both dishes again on future visits.


Dessert options at Morimoto Asia were limited to vanilla and chocolate gelato, due to the pandemic, so we walked down to Amorette's Patisserie. I did not plan on having dessert with my family, but after talking to a chef, I felt safe ordering her favorite dessert, the Amorette's Rose, which features a chocolate biscuit with dark chocolate mousse, and raspberry sauce, which is in the center of the dessert. My daughters and I ordered the same dessert, and loved it. In some ways, it reminded me of the African triple chocolate mousse at Sanaa, which also features a gluten free chocolate biscuit on the bottom. The Amorette's Rose was one of the best desserts I had at Disney World during our trip in July.


Overall, we enjoyed our dining experience at Morimoto Asia. The restaurant is beautiful, the service was great, the food was delicious, and we were happy with the social distancing of tables. I was also happy that we saved 20% with our Tables in Wonderland card. If you are going to dine at Disney Springs, I suggest visiting during the work week, when it is not as crowded. We also found crowd levels much lower in the early evening around 5:00, when we like to dine.

You can read more about Morimoto Asia, make advance dining reservations, and view their menu and hours on Disney's website. You can also make reservations through OpenTable, like we did, and view Morimoto's menu, with gluten free options noted, on the Patina Group's website.

What are your favorite gluten free options at Morimoto Asia?



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