Food & Wine Festival 2010: Round One

I have been drooling in anticipation of this since, well, the last one ended. I have had a list of menu options on my hands for weeks now. You would think that I would have had an exact plan of attack when I arrived at Epcot on Saturday. You would be wrong, though, because any plan I had was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices once I added in the sights & smells before me.

The tour begins in...

CHILE
Shrimp Ceviche. Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc.

I am usually on the fence about shrimp. I don't dislike it but it's not generally my seafood of choice either. This looked *so* good, though, that I had to try it. It did not disappoint! It had some kick to it but not too much, and it didn't hurt that there were only a few shrimps in the cup, mostly the tomato & onion mixture. I have no clue what the crunchy things were on top but they made a really pleasant contrast to the softness of the rest of the dish. The wine was ok. I thought it was kind of bland but compared to all the flavors in the ceviche, perhaps it was just overpowered?

After some deliberation (and a quick "this or that?" consult), I departed Chile for...

SOUTH KOREA
Barbecue Short Rib with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi. Bhoae Bokbunjajoo.

My taste buds pretty much exploded in South Korea. The tangy barbecue sauce. The kick of the kimchi. The fruity black raspberry rice wine. My taste buds did a little dance. And then, the rice wine kicked in & I walked around grinning like the village idiot. The absolute only "complaint" I had was that I was not smart enough to grab more than one napkin. The ribs require at least three.

After the rice wine happiness, it was time to find some place that could do a little "soaking up" of the alcohol. So after another text consult, I made my trek from South Korea to...

PUERTO RICO
Medianoche Sandwich.

This was very tasty & quite a good chunk of sandwich (as compared to the typical portion size). It kind of reminded me of a pressed Cuban sandwich, only the bread wasn't toasted & the sandwich wasn't pressed.

With a little more food in my stomach, I determined that it was time for something sweet.

DESSERTS & CHAMPAGNE
Pear Streusel Pudding Cake.

This was lighter than I thought it would be, judging by the way it looked. Sweet but not too sweet. It was tasty, but didn't quite top me off the way a dessert should, in my book. I could have popped the whole thing into my mouth in one bite (I didn't) & barely known I had eaten something. It almost could have passed for a bite of coffee cake for a mid-morning snack!

So I ventured off in search of chocolate in...

IRELAND
Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey's Irish Cream Ganache.

Now *this* was a dessert. It was no bigger than a mini muffin but it was warm & rich & gooey. Heavy for such a little bite of a fellow! I scooped off little bits of cake, careful to get some of the warm chocolate "lava" & the ganache in each spoonful. You just can't go wrong with chocolate to end a meal.

I'm already counting down to Saturday again, for my next globe-hopping trip of yumminess. I'm going to try to have a plan in place for Round Two but...