Asian American – SALLY♡THINGS

Drinking at DISNEY? YES, you heard that right. The happiest place on earth just got happier for the adults. Disney World already sells alcoholic beverages in all of their theme parks, but it’s nothing like Epcot. You’ll want to experience a drink and food tour around the countries at Epcot at least once! Honestly, I got a little drunk towards the end and have never, EVER eaten so much in one day. I went to Epcot thinking that we would have time for eating, drinking, rides, shopping and checking everything else out, but we ran out of time. The International Flower and Garden Festival was going on as well, so there were extra things to look at. We were there from 11 AM to 10 PM too. We’ll for sure be back another time to try more foods and drinks and actually ride the rides.

Now let’s go world traveler, to Epcot we go! ºoº

Lunch Reservation at Chef de France (France)

Cassolette D’escargots
Casserole of Burgundian escargots baked in parsley and garlic butter

I don’t even know how to describe the taste of this except for the word délicieux! It may not look very good in the photo, but you can trust me that it very much was. I could eat this appetizer all day. The mixture of flavor is perfect.
C’est vraiment très bon!

Boeuf Bourguignon Linguine
Braised beef in Cabernet, baby onions, carrots, pasta

Jarret De Porc Braise Au Miel
Braised Heritage pork shank, mashed potatoes. Scallions, tomatoes

In NO way did we regret eating here, but what we ordered for lunch was pretty heavy to start off a drink and food tour. Maybe next time we’ll start off a little lighter, but we just couldn’t resist. Both proteins were so tender and melted in your mouth. The sauces and flavors were out of this world. Chef de France knows what they are doing in the kitchen!

France

Beignet Caramélisé
Caramelized Beignet filled with Vanilla Cream and glazed with Caramel Fleur de Sel

Sparking Pear Cocktail
Sparkling Wine with Pear Flavor

Yup! We started our drinking and eating tour right after our big lunch. I was already so full, but there’s always room for dessert! Usually the cocktail is a Sparkling Raspberry, but they ran out already so pear it was. Then the Beignet Caramélisé was good, but nothing too special in my opinion though. It was like a crème brulée doughnut.

Morocco

Orange Blossom-Saffron Cake

Cider Flight:
Keel Farms Pear Honeysuckle Hard Cider (Plant City, FL)

Woodchuck Imperial Sippin’ Citrus Hard Cider (Middlebury, VT)

3 Daughters Brewing Pomegranate Hard Cider (St. Petersburg, FL)

I couldn’t find a description of the Orange Blossom – Saffron Cake online at all, so let me try to describe it in the best way that I can. The top orange layer is a cream almost like vanilla ice cream and it was covered with a orange chocolate like layer with orange powder. That tasted like an orangesicle, then the green layer was a pistachio flavored cake (with pistachios on the side) on top of a raspberry syrup. It was a perfect burst of flavor!

Japan

Cocktail Flight:
Winter Melon Cocktail

Tokyo Sunset
Coconut Rum, Peach Schnapps, Banana Liqueur, and Pineapple Juice

Violet Sake
Sake, purple pear, and lime juice

Again, I couldn’t find a description online about the Winter Melon Cocktail. It was very sweet and tasted just like those little winter melon candies that are in small balls, very nostalgic. The Tokyo Sunset and Violet Sake were also sweet drinks, but all three were very good The Violet Sake was actually my favorite drink out of all the drinks we had! It tasted like a grape jolly rancher, but lighter in flavor mixed with lemon. Third country and 7 different drinks later, I was still feeling sober. The food we ate was doing some work or maybe I have a high alcohol tolerance, but let’s say it was the food!

America

Spicy Chicken Gumbo
with Andouille Sausage and Long Grain & Wild Rice

Bayou Cocktail
Spiced Rum, Coconut Rum, Fruit Punch, and Orange Juice

The Spicy Chicken Gumbo was my most favorite food item that we tried all day (besides our lunch at Chef de France). Who knew it would be gumbo from America? The Bayou Cocktail was okay. I think it reminded me too much of a drink that we serve at the restaurant I work at, so it wasn’t anything new to me.

Italy

Arrabbiata
Pennette Pasta, Spicy Tomato Sauce, and Buttery Shrimp

I am a pasta lover! At this point I was so full of food, but I had to try a pasta at least. The picture does not do it justice, it really just looks like school food, but you’ll have to trust me that it wasn’t. The sauce had the perfect spicy kick for those who only want a mild spice. The sauce had a thick, rich consistency too!

Orangecello Cocktail
orangecello, orange juice, pineapple juice and strawberry puree

Peachy Dream Bellini
peach purée and Prosecco

I must have started to feel a little tipsy around here or was too excited to drink because this is the only photo that I have of our drinks from Italy. These two went down too easy! Out of the two the Orangecello Cocktail was the better one. I still loved the Peachy Dream Bellini though! This is when we were getting drinks back to back at a quicker speed.

Germany

Apfelschaumwein
Apple Sparkling Wine and Apple Liqueur with a Rosemary Garnish

I’m still trying to pronounce the name of this drink, so if anyone would like to teach us all feel free! This drink tasted like a light apple flavored hard cider, but with the perfect amount of sweetness. The rosemary garnish was super strong and we left it in the drink the whole time. That was our fault because it took over the taste towards the end of the glass.

China

Dragon Butterfly
Butterfly Pea Flower Gin, Vodka, Green Tea, Lemonade, Soda Water, Hibiscus and Dragon Fruit Syrups, with Blueberry Popping Boba

Did I use this as an excuse to put a picture of me in here? Yes, I definitely did. Plus the picture that I got of this drink is not that great. I was feeling the drinks for sure at this point and even more after this drink. This drink was very strong tasting. The popping boba at the bottom was our chaser with every sip. From here to the end, the Disney cast members were heavy handers!

Mexico

Tamale de Rajas
Poblano Peppers, Corn, and cheese in Masa topped with Poblano Cream Sauce, Crema Mexicana, Pickled Carrots and Onions with Chives

Lychee Margarita
Centinela Blanco Tequila, Lychee Liqueur, Citrus Juice, and Agave Nectar

As you can see from the picture, that I was drunk. I did not care for the photo HAHAH. That Dragon Butterfly drink from China really got me. THEN, our Lychee Margarita wasn’t any lighter. I swear it was pure tequila. I still was having a good time though! The tamale was good, but I feel like the cream sauce made kind of made it less authentic, it tasted more like mayo. My tastebuds could have been a little off at this time though. In the end, I would get it again.

Germany

Welsh Dragon
peach schnapps, melon liqueur, creme de menthe, orange juice, and pineapple juice

I can’t tell you why the last drink of the night has the best photo. I amaze myself and also confuse my own self A LOT. Anyways, the last drink we had! It was another sweet cocktail and my second favorite of the day. It was pretty close to being my first favorite. This drink wasn’t as strong as the last few and we had a little bit of down time before getting this drink. I was better after this.

BONUS: Disney Traders & Port of Entry

Soy-glazed Sticky Ribs
with Green Onions and Peanuts

Bonus foods! The down time we had between Mexico and United Kingdom, we got some more food and visited Canada (no purchases). So these foods aren’t in any of the countries, but in their own section. You can find these Soy-glazed Ribs by the Disney Traders. These are good, but I think they have great potential to be better. If they had a little more of the soy-glazed flavor, then it would have been perfect! The ribs were tender and fell of the bone otherwise.

Spicy Hotdog
with Pineapple Chutney and Plantain chips

You can find this Spicy Hotdog in Port of Entry. I was so full that I only took one bite of this, but that one bite was pretty good. It actually has a spicy kick to it. Yes, I know how basic it sounds, but plantain chips on a SPICY hotdog? An actual spicy hotdog? You can’t beat that. I’ll be coming back for it next time with an empty stomach. Maybe I’ll get two!

9 countries, 2 worlds, 14 different drinks, and 10 different foods all in one day. We even skipped getting drinks and/or food from two countries, Norway and Canada, to make sure we would make it through the whole park at least. We also skipped a whole bunch of other restaurants and food booths in every country and multiple items from the booths that we bought drinks and/or food from. There’s at least 4 different restaurants and booths to choose from in each country. To try everything at Epcot that we want, we’d probably have to spend at least three more full days at Epcot. There’s just tons of delicious sounding options there. I’m already drooling over the thought of trying more again. ♡

Until next time world traveler! ºoº

I came across this channel on Youtube called Jubilee and watched quite a few of their videos and it really got me thinking about my answers and opinions as well. There’s different episodes, but in each they bring in a group of people of the same or different race or people who believe in this or that and ask them questions. The group of people then stand on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree or sit down if they agree with said statement and just talk it out with one another. It’s such a nice safe space for these people to get their opinions or experiences out there about general topics or about those hard topics that most will stay quiet about. Maybe this will become a new blog series that I’ll continue to write about or not, but I just wanted to share where I am with this video called “Do All Asian Americans Think the Same?” | Spectrum (the video is at the bottom of the blog)

I think it’s great to watch videos like these especially with how society has been. A lot has happened within the last few decades, let alone the last 4 years. It’s time to start having these deeper conversations or just more conversations in general. I’m starting off with this video because I do identify with Asian American, I’m Vietnamese and American born. For me, it’s not like I have forgotten my cultural traditions or values, but I don’t really discuss them enough. So I’ll take some questions or statements from the video and discuss it. Just want to remind everyone that I am not the spokesperson for the whole community or race or the people that I hang out with! This is just me.

I have felt pressure to date within my own race.
Luckily, my parents have never put that idea onto me. They have mentioned it a couple of times, but they always made it known that it’s okay if I don’t. They don’t have a preference on another race either, so I was allowed to date whoever. Now when it comes to outside my family, like within the Vietnamese community here, I do feel the pressure. Weird right? Well I’ve gone to the Viet supermarkets, stores, hair salons, or nail salons and they’ll always ask me who I’m dating and what race they are, then make some comments like “oh, he’s not Vietnamese, why not? You need to find a Viet guy and keep the culture alive.” I disagree with that so much. I can still keep my culture alive still with whoever I’m with, it’s not passed down through blood, but through teachings.
Asian stereotypes are funny.
I think this is kind of a broad statement and you’ll see why, but my answer is yes and no. I have a lot to say about this. So asian stereotypes put on the asian group by non-asian are not funny at all. The typical asians are good at math, asians are bad drivers, asians have chinky eyes, asians eat dogs/cats etc. are just so outplayed, it’s not true for everyone. Stereotypes have a big influence in judging certain groups of people and most times they are negative. I think when I wasn’t up to par with some of those stereotypes, people I went to school with who were non-asians wouldn’t judge me differently, but they wouldn’t identify me as asian or downplay that I was asian. I heard a lot of “oh Sally, you’re not THAT asian” or “omg, you don’t like to watch anime or make boba? I’m more asian than you.” Which actually did hurt my feelings and made me feel a type of way, but I didn’t know how to correctly speak about it back in high school, so I would just agree with them. Now if it’s my asian friends and I talking about stereotypes within our different asian races, then they can be funny, but that’s because they aren’t so negative or downplaying their identities. Big emphasis on CAN BE FUNNY though.
I do want to point out that a lot of asian stereotypes are positive compared to other races and the stereotypes that are put on them.
Asian people have it easier than other minorities.
I would have to agree with that statement. I do think that asian people have it easier than other minorities even within the last few years and with covid happening. Yes, it’s very unfortunate and sad that covid has brought out more racism towards asians and it breaks my heart to see. Yes, we asians still have it harder than some minorities, but bigger picture we do have it easier. What asians are experiencing with covid, others have been experiencing for decades and on a more worst scale. Stereotypes on asians are also easier on asians, the “popular” stereotypes are majority positive. The reality of it is, asian minorities are more accepted in the United States with white people and I think it’s because of the history between the two and that asians have conformed with the American way. I don’t know how to really explain it, but I can see it or have experienced it personally. I do think Americans use Asians to their advantage sometimes to compare to other minorities or for other uses, when it’s good for them if that makes any sense.

Like I said earlier I do not represent a whole community or other people, but myself. I am up to having more in depth conversations and hearing other opinions, so feel free to comment or contact me. I want this to be a safe space of free discussion. I do not tolerate hate or racism though, so please don’t come around with that. Give me feedback on if I should do more post like this. Watch the video below and the others on their channel! Keep conversations going with the people around you.

SALLY ♡ T