Epcot Flower & Garden - Morocco & 'Merica

In England of the Epcot's World Showcase.

Tucked in the back of the English courtyard is Pooh's house.  Hence a Huffalump in the garden.

But should you want some tea, there is an English Tea Garden, where they planted the tea that goes with the offerings. 

At the Oasis Sweet & Sips, I got a Frozen Mint Tea

Part slushy, part tea, and with mint flavor. It  was humid and hot, so you know that hit the spot.  They also have a boozy version of the drink.  Of course, they have sangria, daiquiri of the boozy kind, and smoothie and fruit slushy for the non-alcoholic kind.  

After all the walking and the heat, even with breeze, this hits the spot. 

Just want to show you all Pooh and Tigger too!

Of course, there's Piglet (Pooh's trusted side-kick) and Rabbit!

Then I walked over to the Magnolia Terrace in 'Merica for some gumbo.

First off, yes, I do know I can have better non-faux gumbo seeing I'm next door to Louisiana.  At the same time, curiosity kill the cat here. 

This booth is sponsored by Uncle Ben, so it has to be rice dish of some kind.  Second, they are featuring creole because of the Tiana ride, so they had Po Boys, Bread Pudding, Gulf Oyster and Gumbo.  

Ok, friends.  I did not travel over to Epcot just to have Gulf Oysters, I can have that in my own back yard.  Gumbo, however, there is technique to it.  The roux is not easy to do well, so curiosity won on this one. 

The dish is actually not too spicy but definitely has a kick to it.  It has chicken chunks and andouille sausage.  Not the best gumbo I've ever had, but if it's in front of me, I won't snub it.  

And speaking of Tiara, here's her topiary. 

Epcot's Flower and Garden

goes thru Jun 1st

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-international-flower-and-garden-festival/

 

Epcot Flower & Garden - France & Mexico

My favorite country in Epcot is France,

Let's see what we can sample.

Of course, when in France, you must try their Duck Confit.  It came with mushroom and rosemary sauce.  Sitting on top of a polenta cake. 

The cake is pretty good with the texture. I like mixing the sauce with the polenta cake. 

Hooray for Beast & Belle - so pretty!

This is Caribbean fare -  Chocolate Coconut flan Bizoccho.  

Chocolate cake at the bottom.  Coconut custard, and passion fruit caramel and chocolate on top.  The entire dish is vegetarian.  The caramel definitely has strong flavor but that help off set the coconut custard because you can't even taste the coconut part.  The flavor is definitely stronger than a regular custard. 

Beautiful giant butterfly and by the angle, you can pretend that the butterfly is landing on flowers (background).

Epcot

Flower & Garden Festival 

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/flower-garden-outdoor-kitchens/
 

Epcot Flower and Garden - Pineapple Promenade & Canada

Came to Epcot and it's Flower & Garden Festival.

That means lots of creative topiaries and tons of food kiosks!  We have Cars.

First up! Pineapple Promenade.

This is a Frozen Violet Lemonade.  So it is slurpy style, but super delicious.  It has the lemony flavor but lavender kinda of coloring.  But the lemonade is not zesty or zingy, and it's little sweet.

Kermie & Piggy in style.

Went to Canada and sampled some beef tenderloin tips.

It has a bed of whipped potato, garden vegetable (particularly carrots), and mushroom bordelaise sauce on top.  Flavor is full, and of course it's a sampler size, so it's not good enough for a full meal. 

I'm not a fan of Lotso in the movies, but I'm down with the topiary.

Epcot 

Flower and Garden Festival

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-international-flower-and-garden-festival/

 

Chicken Guy

For a quick dinner, we hopped over to Disney Springs.

Since we didn't know what time we'd arrive, we didn't have a reservation for a sit down restaurant. So junk food it is!  

Ended up at The Chicken Guy by Guy Fieri.  The chicken is pretty good, and the Mac and cheese is also good quality for a quick fast food joint.  But you can't tell from this angle, but those chicken tenders are huge.  I saved the leftover and grabbed a small side salad to make a meal the next day.

I did do the Buttermilk sauce and the Special sauce, just for taste, and they are tasty!  But again, tons of food there.  

Chicken Guy

in Disney Springs

1506 E. Buena Vista Dr

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

https://chickenguy.com/locations/disney-springs/

 

Killen's BBQ at Hobby Airport

Ever since Hobby Aiport opened up the vendors to non-Pappas restaurants, there's alot of selections to choose from for food.

Such as Killen's BBQ. 

Place is not big, it's a grab-n-go style.  But the food is still good. 

Got a Pulled Pork Baked potato.  As you can imagine, having your luggage, your carryon, and your lunch it's hard to balance it all.  But we make do.  The meat is done well as their normal Killen's standard.  The BBQ sauce came in small containers, if you know what's good for you, ask for 2 of those. 

The potato is huge, with the fixin's it's a full meal.  They also have sandwiches, and mornings they have breakfast tacos.  The line is always busy here, so plan accordingly. 

Killen's BBQ

inside Hobby Airport

Near gate 40

 

Marigold Club

So grateful to get to come here and brunch with friends.

This is my first time at the Marigold club, and the parking situation can be challenging.  The valet works for not only them, also the other restaurants on the block.  So you may end up sitting for a bit.  Hopefully, street parking opens up as you drive up.

Fancy menus and table settings.

Got a zero proof Pimm's Cup - it's actually pretty good.  Refreshing, not sweet at all.

Started with the Caesar Salad, it has parmesan and sourdough croutons. 

Mussels in white sauce, very delicate balance and done well. 

Caviar & Potato Soldiers, which is really hash brown topped with creme fraiche and caviar.  It's a one-bite ordeal.

From the Boulangerie - we got the Profiteroles - which is sweet.  It's supposed to have bergamot flavor, but I couldn't taste it.  I did taste the vanilla. 

For entree, I got the French Style Omelette - it's nice and smooth on the outside.  The inside has cheese, nice and creamy.  It can be rich, so best share this with a friend.  Also came with a side of salad.  The vinaigrette had some lemon zesty something, which was a bit tart for my taste. 

For dessert, we orderd the Julia Child's Chocolate Mousse, everyone at the table lauded over this one.  It has a lattice cookie on top (very pretty pattern).  You break that, and dig into the mousse, just to find chopped hazelnut and praline on top of chocolate mousse and creme anglaise.  Everyone at the table loved this dish.  Definitely worth getting it again. 

Had to show how pretty the dining room is.  Even the wallpaper told a story.

The bathroom is just as fancy.

Details in the wallpaper is very unique.

A place like this is great for fancy date or girls dinner out.  The place is very Gram-able.  Our situation was weird, the day happened that they have a baby shower and a Sweet 16 happening, and we were sat in the back bar room.  That's not a problem, but the service was delayed quite a bit to where we were wondering if they forgotten our food.  For a busy day like that, I would've hoped and expected that they staff the kitchen appropriately.  It's not uncommon for restaurants to host large events and keep up with the normal dining, at the same time, time management on their side should've been allocated appropriately.  

If you are interested in trying for yourself.  Be sure to make a reservation, and feel free to call ahead and see if the volume of the day of dining is hectic or normal traffic.   I do see that they offer Afternoon Tea, that reso is done on OpenTable separate from the restaurant itself.  You can access via their website.  It's $75 pp.

Marigold Club

2531 Kuester St

Houston, TX 

832-781-1901

https://themarigoldclub.com/

 

Hypsi

Here's another, I tried it so you don't have to...

Inside Hotel Daphne, is this cute little place called Hypsi.

Decor is hip, coloring is bright.  Got seatings both inside and out, which is great for weather like this week.

Ordered a N/Americano - no, not the coffee.  But a mocktail with orange bitter,  non-alcoholic vermouth and soda.  It's actually pretty good. 

For entree, I got the Frittata with a side of fries.  As pretty as the Frittata came out, it was tasteless.  I was begging for salt after a bit.  It's kinda sad for a $18 dish,  I can barely taste the pancetta in there, yes on the greens and some of the cheese, but no pancetta. 

Fries was good though. 

For dessert, we ordered a Tres Leche Tiramisu to split.  It was pretty tasty but that is after having waited over 15 minutes for it. 

Here's the hotel's lobby, very welcoming and pretty.

So here's my gist on this place.  It's aesthetically pleasing.  It looks upscale enough to where you want to brunch in.  That said, the staff are not experienced enough.  When I sat down there were 2 other tables occupied, I have sat down maybe 5-7 mins before someone decided to provide water.  You have various staff, and water should be the first when you sit down.  

When we decided to get the tiramisu, if you've tried to make it, or understand what it is, it's not something they make to order.  They have to have prepared it in advance and put it in the fridge before serving.  We sat for good 15 minutes and asked the server before our dish arrived.  Which said to me that they have forgotten.  Coupled with the food was tasteless, I don't need to come back.  The only saving grace is that it gave me more time to catch up with my friend. 

If you want to come see it for yourself, no need to make a reso for brunch, not sure about dinner.  There is a valet service offered.  Here's another weird part, we asked our server to validate us, she said, they do it out front.  We thought meaning at the host stand.  When we arrived at the host stand, they said it's validated out at the lobby check-in desk.  So we saunter over.  But then the staff at the check-in desk said the valet driver will take care of it.  That seems like no one knows what's going on.  Which adds more to the negative side of this experience.

Hypsi

inside Hotel Daphne

347 W. 20th St

Houston, Tx 77008

346-613-1265

https://www.hypsirestaurant.com/