Lunch at Tokyo Dining, Japan Pavilion, Epcot

This dining experience was an impromptu lunch at Tokyo Dining on August 22, 2014

There were some items that were new to us and with encouragement from Garin (the manager) and our server (Minori)- we decided to have the calamari. You know by now that we love calamari and mourn the loss of it from Raglan Road Pub’s menu, right?

I made a note that we were seated at a four-top at the windows in Tokyo Dining (would be an excellent viewing spot for Illuminations)… It was a four-top big enough for four diners and their food and drinks! OMG! A bit surprising at restaurants at Walt Disney World.

Calamari at Tokyo Dining

Spicy Tempura Calamari with spicy miso sauce $9.95

We received all rings and caps (no tentacles… too bad, they’re our favorite). The tempura batter looked spicy-ish. The calamari themselves were a bit too chewy (overcooked). The sauce was slightly spicy with a bit of pickle taste and a bit of sweetness. Nick thought they should have been served warmer – I agreed. While we still prefer the calamari at Spice Road Table, this dish was a good value for Walt Disney World … or anywhere actually.

the breading was a bit thick and oily

the portion was clearly enough to share, in fact, for the two of us it would suffice as a half of lunch (shared)

Next up…  Sashimi Sampler (we’ve talked about this in detail before)

7 pieces of fish… the hibachi (yellow tail) came from our server’s hometown (our server was Minori and she was excellent!). The fish wasn’t sliced too thin.

presentation was lovely, but we thought that the portion was a bit small even for WDW (taking price into account)

yellowtail – nick: decent flavor and texture, better than most other white fish & nora: nicely meaty with good flavor

very pale tuna – this was okay, not bad, but only okay

salmon – nick didn’t like the texture, not buttery enough and nora thought it wasn’t bad but not outstanding

nice sized pieces of salmon

Tempura Panko Oysters

Garin suggested we try these when he stopped by our table. The breading on these was more of a coarse panko than a fine panko that is usually seen. These oysters come from Japan and they are huge. They’re served with Asian Remoulade (the Japanese are crazy about mayonnaise).

Direct Quote from Nick “damn good fried oysters” – we both preferred a little dab of wasabi and soy with these over the remoulade… These really rock!

the new fried oysters…

our only complaint, the sauce was very much mayo, we would have liked something a little more complex and interesting or simply no sauce at all

these were huge, nicely breaded, not greasy, very tasty

p.s. Kirin Ichiban goes great with fried foods! Make sure you get one if you order the calamari or the oysters!