04 April 2012

Enjoy our delicious combination

Food is not a cheap necessity these days, and that is especially true of the meal costs at Walt Disney World. Which means when I find a deal, I jump on it! Such is the case of China’s small drink kiosk, the Joy of Tea. You wouldn’t think that this would be the location to grab a quick, complete meal, more often you would consider it, like I did, as a pit stop for a refreshing beverage. As fate would have it, we would all be wrong.

Known as the Lucky Combo (and how!), the meal comes complete with one each of their snack options, an ice cream, and a can of soda. In the snack department, the three components included are a Chinese BBQ Pork Bun, a Curry Chicken Pocket, and a Pork and Vegetable Egg Roll. The ice cream gives you a choice of two options, either a cup of Strawberry-Red Bean or a cup of Caramel Ginger. As for the can of soda, Coca-Cola products are offered, including Coke, Diet Coke, Spirte, and Orange Fanta.

The first thing that caught my attention with the BBQ Pork Bun is the bun itself. It was a soft pillow of bread that was airy and chewy and wrapped up the diced pork filling nicely. As for the barbequed pork, it was saucy and tangy, leaning a bit to the sweet side which was a surprise, but balanced nicely with the salty flavors found in the other two items.

The Pork and Vegetable Egg Roll featured a shell that was the consistency of jerky (which I mean as the highest form of praise) with a hot filling of vegetable chunks and pieces of seasoned pork. Walt Disney World has learned how to do a lot of foods correctly over the past four decades, and egg rolls are at the top of that list. Are they a culinary sensation? No, but they do their best to be a memorable utilitarian street food.

Lastly, the Curry Chicken Pocket truly piqued my interest. The flaky crust has a great crunch to its outer layers and becomes increasingly soft as you move inward into the meat of the pocket. Oh, and the sesame seeds sprinkled along the top of the pastry add a simple flavor and texture to the dish. Inside, there are healthy hunks of chicken have been combined with a yellow curry and carries a wealth of different tastes.

For dessert I opted for a cup of the Strawberry-Red Bean Ice Cream. The pre-portioned cup of ice cream is an ample portion for a snack or finale to the meal. The strawberry component of the ice cream comes through in the puree that is used for the majority of the ice cream, but there are also pieces of strawberries to be found in the cup. The red bean doesn’t really add a distinct flavor to the strawberries, but it does give the concoction a creamier consistency than you would expect.

The Lucky Combo from the Joy of Tea could serve as a quick repast for two guests or a meal for one. I recommend hauling your stash away from the sun drenched promenade and into the garden area of the China pavilion. The Lucky Combo is one of the true values to be found in the dining arena of Walt Disney World and does so with unique items that are full of flavor.

4 comments:

Patti said...

Well, now I'm hungry! And I'm sitting here wondering if my ice cream would melt before I finished off those three appetizers. No, I wouldn't share!

Ryan P. Wilson said...

Patti - I'll tell you this, my photo of the ice cream was taken just before I dug into it, which was after I had already eaten the other items. There was a little bit melted at the edges, but most of it was still solid ice creamy goodness!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for another great affordable food option!! We love dim sum and this reminds me of Chinese dim sum. Who would've thought that this little kiosk had a yummy hidden treasure! Do you remember how much you paid for the lucky combo?

Ryan P. Wilson said...

Gabriella - It certainly had a dim sum feel to it. The combo was just under ten dollars before tax, so total cost for the snacks, ice cream, and soda was probably around 10.50.