I’ve been eagerly anticipating the opening of The Tropical Hideaway, which is sandwiched between The Tiki Room and The Jungle Cruise in Disneyland.
They offer three types of Bao (steamed bun with filling): Lime Chicken, Spiced Vegetable, and Bulgogi Beef. Since I’m not a beef eater I opted for the Lime Chicken and Spiced Vegetable.The $5.99 Lime Chicken Bao is filled with chicken, large chunks of potato, onion, and butternut squash. Although I couldn’t taste the lime, the spices were really yummy. Everyone in my group loved it.
The $5.99 Spiced Vegetable Bao is filled with garbanzo beans, peas, red peppers, and what I think is barley. Unlike the other members of my group, I preferred this bao over the Lime Chicken. I felt like the ingredients were spread evenly so each bite was uniform. I liked it so much, I went back the next day to get one for breakfast.
You may be surprised to hear that the real Bao star was the $0.59 Spicy Dipping Sauce (which comes free with three bao or can be purchased separately) It was tangy and there was a delay before the heat kicked in. We literally scraped the sides of the container to get every last drop.
The $6.49 Chilled Ramen Shaker is a cold noodle salad that comes with springy ramen, thin threads of zucchini, carrots, cabbage, and green onion. An asian vinaigrette dressing and spiced cashews each come on the side so you can shake everything together when you’re ready to eat. To me the dressing tasted like soy sauce, ginger, and horseradish and it completely overpowered the other flavors. The cashews were sweet and spicy but soft rather than crunchy. In the future, I plan to hack this menu item by swapping the dressing for a $.59 side of spicy dipping sauce. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Last but not least, my group shared the impressive $7.99 Loaded Whip, which is swirled orange and pineapple dole whip topped with a ton of tropical goodness: bits of mango, mandarin orange, pineapple, coconut flakes, candied hibiscus, and five chocolate pocky sticks. (We requested raspberry/pineapple rather than orange/pineapple.) Whoever came up with this is a genius. It’s a tasty as it is beautiful. It’s not too sweet and it’s large enough to share. I plan to order this again, but will give the orange/pineapple a try next time.
One of the things I love about The Tropical Hideaway is that it reminds me of street food- things you can eat while walking or standing in line. But be warned, if you walk through the park with a Loaded Whip you will be stopped multiple times by people asking what it is and where they can get one!
Heather is a long time EarzUp! listener turned Food Correspondent. As a notoriously picky eater, Heather is highly qualified to talk about foods she eats. She tries to get the best possible value out of her time at Disneyland by avoiding lines, forgoing sleep, staying positive, and looking for Disney Magic. You might find Heather DisneyBounding at the parks with her two grown children and her husband, Mr. Smee.