REVIEW: Hawaii – 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Hawaii is back again for the 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival and all of your favorites are back too.  Last year’s mega-hit the Teriyaki-glazed SPAM Hash is back along with the Kalua Pork Slider and Passion Fruit Cheesecake.  

It’s gonna be awesome so let’s see if it’s as good as I remember for our Hawaii Review at the 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival…

Hawaii Marketplace:

Hawaii always gets a tons of action, not just because the food is incredible, but it’s literally the first Food and Wine marketplace you see when entering the cut-through to Future World near Wine and Dine Studio, Cheese Studio and that area of the festival from World Showcase.  I

t’s hard to miss with it’s straw roof and traditional Pacific architecture…

Hawaii Menu:

There aren’t really any changes from last year and all of the usual suspects are back again on the menu. The Kalua Pork Slider is always a favorite and a must-try, and my personal favorite the Teriyaki-glazed SPAM® Hash is back too.

For the last couple years Grilled Tuna Tataki has been on the menu and it’s back again, and so is the Passion Fruit Cheesecake which is one of the stronger desserts at Food and Wine!

The only real change is adding the AULANI Sunrise drink this year.  Other than that, the menu is the same.  Normally we’d complain about that, but since we like everything in Hawaii, it’s ok for us!

Food:

• Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet-and-Sour DOLE® Pineapple Chutney and spicy Mayonnaise (KA) ($5.25)
• Grilled Tuna Tataki with Seaweed Salad, Pickled Cucumbers and Wasabi Cream inspired by AULANI Disney Vacation Club® Villas, Ko Olina Hawai’i ($5.25)
• Teriyaki-glazed SPAM® Hash with Potatoes, Peppers, Onions and spicy Mayonnaise ($4.25)
• Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Toasted Macadamia Nuts (KA) (GF) (V) ($4.00)

Beverages:

• Maui Brewing Company Bikini Blonde Lager ($4.50)
• Florida Orange Groves Sparkling Pineapple Wine, St. Petersburg, FL ($10.00)
• AULANI Sunrise: Vodka, DOLE® Pineapple Juice, and Grenadine ($11.00)

Menu Review:

Kalua Pork Slider ($5.25):

The Kalua Pork Slider has to be one of the most popular menu items at Food and Wine every year.  We personally really like it.  The sweet and sour DOLE Pineapple chutney is incredible on top of the pork.  

I think it depends who is serving the sliders when you go because we’ve gotten them really full of pork sometimes, and almost empty others, so that’s going to make a big difference in whether or not you like it.  But when you get a good one and the chutney, mayo and pork are all working in unison, it’s a special thing!

Grilled Tuna Tataki ($5.25):

Tuna is one of our favorite fish, and the Grilled Tuna Tataki has always been one of the absolute best ones around Food and Wine every year.  It’s still excellent, great quality, very fresh, something you feel like you would find in a upscale restaurant.  

I’m not crazy about the Pickled Cucumbers and Wasabi Cream, but the Tuna is really really good.  Only problem is the small portion they give you, which has been reduced by 25% from a couple of years ago, with the price staying the same.

Just 3!  I applaud Disney for not increasing the price, but the quantity here is really small and I would gladly pay a few cents more for more tuna.

Teriyaki-glazed SPAM® Hash ($4.25):

The SPAM Hash was one of the absolute best things I ate at last year’s festival, and I was hoping to find the same thing this year.  Thank goodness nothing has changed here!  Yeah you need to get over the fact that it’s SPAM, but once you do, you’ll be introduced to a real flavor explosion in your mouth.  It’s really incredible!!  

It’s full of potatoes, SPAM, peppers, onions and a spicy mayo.  It’s a little salty from the teriyaki sauce for sure, but not too much that it overpowers the food. A also you get a really good size portion for only $4.25, which is one of the steals of the Festival.  

Get over your misconceptions about SPAM and treat yourself to this unforgettable dish!

Passion Fruit Cheesecake ($4.00):

Since we really loved our Maple Bourbon Cheesecake over at The Cheese Studio, we were really excited about the Passion Fruit Cheesecake here in Hawaii.  We weren’t disappointed at all!  Like its cousin, it’s super light a creamy, and melts in your mouth.  

The passion fruit flavor is really strong, giving it a fun a fruity flavor, and the macadamia nuts give it traditional Hawaiian character.  I love the little pool of passion fruit cream on top too!

Look at the way that cream oozes down…Mmmmmmm!

This is another winner and one of the better desserts around Food and Wine.

Maui Brewing Company Bikini Blonde Lager ($4.50):

The Bikini Blonde Lager has a thin white head and a dark yellow color.  It tastes a little malty, and you can taste just a hint of citrus zest on the first sip.  Very smooth and almost no bitterness which I love.  It also has a lot of carbonation which makes it quite refreshing.  Overall a pretty nice lager and worth trying.

Florida Orange Groves Sparkling Pineapple Wine ($10.00)

The pineapple wine is the exact same wine as always, but that’s why we keep coming back. You’d think it would be an overly sweet wine, but that’s not the case at all. It has a great flavor without too much sweetness, and is actually a bit dry.

Refreshing and one of our favorite sparkling wines.

AULANI Sunrise: Vodka, DOLE® Pineapple Juice, and Grenadine ($11.00)

Wow, we LOVED the AULANI Sunrise! First you have to give props for the awesome tiki glass they serve it in. Even though it’s $11.00, it’s one of the bigger cocktails around Food and Wine so we aren’t complaining.

There is a strong pineapple taste to it which is awesome. The alcohol level is right on, not too potent, nor too weak. And the grenadine flavor ties the whole drink together perfectly.

The AULANI Sunrise is a really strong contender for best drink at the festival, so I’m definitely recommending it to you to try!

Booth Summary and Grade:

Hawaii was excellent overall as usual.  The Kalua Pork Slider and SPAM Hash were insane, as was the Passion Fruit Cheesecake.  The AULANI Sunrise is also perhaps our favorite drink we tasted at Food and Wine, and they are all must-gets this year.  

I’d skip the Tuna, not because it isn’t good quality but the portion is just too small for the price.  Hawaii needs to be on everyone’s list of must-stop marketplaces this year, hands down!

If you have to get just one thing:

SPAM Hash

Hawaii Review

Overall

9/10

9/10

• Overall Grade - 9/10
  9/10

I want you to be able to have the best info on the Festival so you have a great time and don’t waste your time!  Take a look at all of my 2019 Epcot Food and Wine articles including:

• 2018 Epcot Food and Wine Info Guide
• Complete Index of the Food and Wine Menus
• 11 MUST-TRY NEW items at 2018 Food and Wine Festival
• Top 10 Overall Snacks at Food and Wine
• Top Food and Wine Booths

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about the Hawaii Review at the 2019 Epcot Food and Wine Festival…

• Which is your favorite item?
• Which do you still want to try?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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