Who’s ready for some amazing new eats, Disney fans? We are!
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and that means Disneyland Resort is celebrating with tons of new snacks and offerings. We headed over to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel to try a whole bunch of its new offerings, and we can confidently say you need to take a trip there as well!
We love the atmosphere of this restaurant and walked in VERY excited to try these new eats! Just note that you may have to wait a while to be seated — we joined the walk-up waitlist and waited about 45 minutes for a table.
We ordered all-new items on the menu and started by diving into the Spiced Dry-rub Chicken Wings for $24! These are Shichimi-spiced Dry-rub Chicken Wings served with Togarashi Aïoli. We LOVE the look of that generous helping of aïoli, so here’s to hoping it tastes as good as it looks.
These have a nice coat of the rub on them, are wonderfully crispy on the outside and super moist, and fall off the bone on the inside. While they’ve got a very slight hint of spice, we’d say they are very mild as far as most wings go.
And that sauce? Deliciously tangy; we loved it! If you’re looking for something familiar yet flavorful, we highly recommend grabbing these wings.
Then we took a bite of the Loco Moco Wagyu Cheeseburger which is Kālua-style pork, loco moco gravy, havarti cheese, sunny fried egg, pickled red onions, fresno chiles, and micro greens served with your choice of sweet potato fries or french fries. This dish is $26.
This burger is GIANT and absolutely incredible — the patty is super thick and juicy (and you can also substitute it for an Impossible patty!), and the toppings tasted nice and fresh. The pineapple was sweet and acidic and went with the perfectly-cooked bacon quite well.
We also loved the fries that came with it! They were sort of like steak fries but crispier on the outside. If you’re a burger fan, this should definitely be on your list!
We were really looking forward to trying the Kālua-style Pork Nacho Poutine, made with sweet potato fries, togarashi aïoli, cotija cheese, cheese sauce, pickled red onion, lime crema, and cilantro, and weren’t disappointed! These fries were $25 — so they’re certainly not cheap!
Despite that price tag, these blew us away. Seriously, this dish was SO good! There were generous portions of everything in this poutine — lots of tender pulled pork and plenty of toppings.
The cheese sauce is creamy, and the cilantro is light, so it’s not an overpowering flavor. While the dish looks like a mess, it all pairs perfectly, and we think it’s a fantastic choice for more adventurous eaters.
The Swaying Palms Salad with Teriyaki Chicken for $31 is made with your choice of grilled salmon or teriyaki chicken, spicy mizuna & mache greens, charred hearts of palm, cucumber, cashews, julienne peppers, carrots, snow peas, and puffed rice noodle served with sesame vinaigrette. We went with the chicken!
This may look like one of the least exciting things on the menu, but it was a sleeper hit for sure! There are so many hidden toppings hidden underneath the puffed rice noodles. All of the ingredients were super fresh and the sesame vinaigrette was light but flavorful.
We loved the variety of vegetables on this one, and the very generous amounts of chicken and crunchy giant cashews! If you’re looking for something a little lighter or want to get those greens in for the day, this is your go-to.
We also loved the Tempura-Battered Green Beans on the menu! These have changed a little bit and are now tempura style instead of regular fried. They are still totally amazing, just a little bit different in texture. We do think with tempura, you don’t get as even of a coating, but it’s not a deal breaker. Thankfully, the sauce hasn’t changed — it’s still tangy and delicious! This comes with a side of served with Togarashi Aïoli, too.
And for dessert, we had to grab the Pineapple Bundt Cake for $15! This was such a fun surprise — it’s VERY good and similar to the Dole Whip cakes you can have custom-made for events. It’s super moist with a creamy center, reminiscent of a Dole Whip mousse.
The whipped cream is like a cool whip — very light and airy. We also loved the little candied pineapple chunks that were sprinkled on the plate! Overall, this is 100% a winner and if you love pineapple, this is something you can’t miss!
Be sure to head over to Trader Sam’s ASAP to give these a try! We’re always here to bring you the latest Disneyland news, so stay tuned to AllEars!
Check out all the new snacks in for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month here!
Which of these are you most excited to try? Tell us in the comments!