Crystal Lotus    晶荷軒  

Disneyland is a dream world for all kids and adults. Even when it comes to food, Disney still does a spectacular job too.Crystal lotus is a Chinese Restaurant located in Disney which serves dim sum shaped in popular Disney characters. However the popular dim sum do not offer daily, so it is better if you book them in advance.

Three Eyes Alien - Vegetable Pork Bun $78/3 (6/10)
The Three Eyes Alien did look very much like the one in the cartoon, it was such a pity that I had to bite half of his head off. The bun was pretty soft and moist. The filling was nice too, but the portion seemed not enough.Chicken Little - Lotus Bun $68/2 (2/10)
The Chicken Little Bun was the cuttiest among the four but sadly tasted the worst too. There were only a few lotus in the bun, it's mostly bread. The bread texture was quite bad too, very rubbery and dry.Duffy - Mashed Red Bean Bun $60/2 (3/10)
This looked nothing like Duffy, I think Minnie would be furious seeing this pirated duffy lol. The mashed red bean wasn't smooth enough and was rather sweet. The bread was on the hard side as well. The taste was just as disappointing as its look.Piglet - Barbecue Pork Bun $78/3 (8/10)
I can not link pig to any Disney's character in mind, so the closest assumption I could make is Piglet. The pig bun actually looked very cute and i think putting barbecue pork in it was quite a smart choice. The bun was soft and moist, and the barbecue pork bites were at situable fatness. The piggy bun tasted the best out of the four creative dim sum.Mickey Pancake $58/4 (10/10)
The pancake was well fried to give a crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. It was very savoury and surprisingly scrumptious! I kind of lost expectation after trying those cute buns.Osmanthus Honey Fillet of Eels with Crispy bread (桂花燒鱔脆金磚) $128 (9/10)
We chose the dish because of its beautiful Chinese name, that's one thing about Chinese that I love alot. The eel fillet was tender and nicely grilled to give a char taste. It was very sweet with a strong osmanthus taste. The crispy bread at the bottom was said to be taken with the eel fillet, even it could not bring down the sweetness of the fillet, it enhanced the texture's overall complexity. The bread was only slightly crispy but more on the chewy side, like gelatinous chewy. We generally liked it a lot.The Swan Taro $48/4 (6/10)
We ordered this as we thought the appearance would be special and it was! The body was deep fried to give a crispy and fluffy breading. However there wasn't much taro paste in the dim sum, so it could only delivery a mild taste overall. Shrimp Dumplings with Bamboo Shoots $58/4 (7/10)
The shrimp dumpling had a thin wrapping and tasted very fresh with the bamboo shoots! It was nice but not really special.Pan-fried Minced Pork Bun (10/10)
The pan-fried minced pork bun was the best dish for the afternoon. It was extremely hot when delivered and had a strong sesame aroma. The filling was filled with LOADS of broth which was crazily hot but extremely delicious! You have to taste it to know how great it is!Seafood Ricecake $98 (9/10)
The Seafood Stir-fry Ricecake was a very flavourable dish. There were plenty of scallop, shrimp and calamary in it. I particularly love the bean sprouts which absorbed the essence of the seasoning. The Ricecake itself tasted smooth and savoury too!Double boiled Whole Chinese Pear Topped with Aged Mandatin Peel $48 (6/10)
The plating was once again very pretty, I liked how they de-seeded the pear for us. The broth had a strong aged mandarin peel taste which I liked but it was too sweet even without adding any additional honey into it. The pear was boiled til very soft and tasted light and great on the palate.TO CONCLUDE...

I found the cute dim sum aren't that tasty at all, but the other normal dishes were scrumptious! If you are coming here for the first time or if you are bringing some kids with you, I would highly recommend you to get those cute dim sum, as it will sure bring lots of happiness on the table. If you are coming for a casual dinning, skip the cute dim sum and straight to their delicious dishes! Crystal Lotus is definitely worth trying!

DISHES RECOMMENDED:
- Barbecue Pork Bun
- Mickey Pancake
- Osmanthus Honey Fillet of Eels with Crispy bread
- Pan-fried Minced Pork Bun
- Double boiled Whole Chinese Pear Topped with Aged Mandatin Peel

After reading KC's review on this place, I cannot help myself but to accept my friend's invitation immediately for a meal in the magical kingdom. It was indeed an effort to travel all the way from Central to the this magic kingdom on a week night, but my anticipation for the food overcame my physical fatigue. The restaurant is located in the Disney Hotel and lotus is its main theme. Several huge lotus shaped chandlers are hanging from the ceiling, all table wares are customized made with its logo and the one thing that really impressed me is the transparent logo on the back of the chair. A very nice touch indeed!

Apparently many of the special items are off the menu and required advance booking. Thanks to my friend, she booked most of those in advance. Unfortunately at the same, it lacks proper English translation for those special dishes, I will have to try my best in doing so. (for those items on the menu, you will find that some have a unique touch of Disney flavor in their English names.)

(1) "Goldie in Lotus Pond" 如魚得水
Just the presentation itself impressed me very much. The two Goldie are fish dumplings. Not only were the two dumplings edible, almost all items on the lotus pond were edible as well. Yes, that includes the green and pink flowers. In terms of taste, I honestly think it was just fair because the skin was very thick likely due to the decoration requirements. But hey, I was too focused on the presentation of it and did not really want to eat it. Well done on the artistic / craftsmanship perspective indeed!

(2) Green Bean Clear Noodle with Lobster and Gold Foil 金箔龍蝦粉皮
Another delicate dish with great presentation. The sauce was spicy but light enough to allow the freshness taste of the lobster to remain. The chilled clear noodle together with shredded cucumbers provided a very refreshing sensation to your taste bud. However, I expected more lobster meat on each severing. Anyhow, a very good dish.

(3) Tasmanian Crab and Pumpkin stuffed in Whole Crab Shell 南瓜焗釀蟹蓋焗釀蟹蓋
So good! I rarely start my paragraph with such excited tone but I cannot control myself this time. It was very well done indeed. The minced crab meat together with diced pumpkin bits complemented each other very well. Not only was the presentation great, it tasted very good! The golden crab shape plate (likely custom made) is another very nice touch to the whole presentation.

(4) Steamed Crab Claw in Rice Wine and Stead Egg White Custard
I forgot the name of this dish but it was served together with the crab shell. Instead of the shell, it was the crab claws / clamps. The rice wine flavor was rich and matched very well with the crab meat. O yes, there was plenty of meat as well, plenty indeed! However, the egg white was a bit of a disappointment because it was not as silky smooth as expected. Overall, a two thumbs up dish.

(5) Double-Boiled Canopy and Chicken Soup in Little Coconut 椰皇元貝燉雞
Great presentation once again but the one thing impressed me the most was the little surprise inside the soup. Yes! As you slowly drink your soup, you will find something hiding inside, it is Mickey!! It is a very smart idea. The actually soup was very good as well. Rich in chicken flavors and really gave me a comforting feeling. This soup brought a little smile to my face.

(6) Abalone with fried Rice蠔皇鮑魚炒飯
The abalone was just average but the fried rice was two thumbs up. The cause was thick but very rich in abalone flavor which was a good match with the fried rice as well. If I go next time, I will just order the fried rice by itself.

(7) Crispy Pork Fillets, Chinese Pear, and Osmathus Honey Sauce
Similar to sweet and sour pork but instead of pineapple, it uses Chinese pear instead. It was alright, the pork fillets were crispy enough but the mixture of Osmathus honey sauce was a bit unusual because it was rather light and did not match the meat that well in my opinion.

(8) Sliced Beef Fillets and Young Vegetables in Spicy Sichuan Broth 水煮牛肉
A very spicy but very tasty dish. I am not a spicy person in general but somehow I kept on returning to getting the beef every now and then together with the soup as well. A very addictive dish indeed especially if you are into spicy stuff! Also, very good quality beef, very tender, natural tenderness I may add and not as a result of excessive use of baking soda (based on my picky taste bud.)

(9) Crispy Toffee Duck Breast with Garlic Soy dip
Good stuff again. Heavy on the smoky flavor and tender duck meat. It was good enough on its own without the sauce. Although there were visible layer of fat in between the skin and the meat, you have to eat all of it because the texture would be different otherwise.

(10) Minced Squab and Bamboo Shoots served in fresh Lettuce Cup 生菜片香炒鵪鶉
Very good dish. There seemed to be more meat than lettuce cups so I basically shoved ALOT into my lettuce cup to ensure no meat was going to waste. (I think they can make the lettuce cup bigger!?) The ingredients were diced up pretty fine and the addition of the sunflower seeds provided an extra crispy texture to the meat mixtures. I think there was no need for the extra seafood sauce because it was rich and favorable enough without it. Two thumbs up!

(11) Double-Boiled Whole Chinese Pear topped with Aged Mandarin Peel 陳皮雪梨
A perfect dessert to end this magical meal. When served, the Chinese Pear was still sitting in the sweet warm soup which was rather sweet. The pear itself was very sweet as well but because it was served warm, it was very comforting and satisfying as well. The slightly salty Aged Mandarin Peel was a surprisingly good combination to go with the pear because of the contrasting taste. What impressed me was how the pear was prepared; the inside of the pear was actually hallow without the core and you cannot see until you flip over the pear. A very subtle touch (but I guess it is necessary to take it out because it might add a sour taste to the sweet soup if prepared together.) The dish came with extra honey on the side but I dare not to add more because it would give me a sugar overdose again.

KC's review led me to this magical meal and I wonder when I can experience another magical meal like this one. I certainly hope it is in the very near future. Thank you KC!

Likes:

* Goldie in Lotus Pond - Excellent presentation
* Double-Boiled Canopy and Chicken Soup in Little Coconut 椰皇元貝燉雞 - great soup with great surprises in side!
* Double Boiled Whole Chinese Pear topped with Aged Mandarin Peel 陳皮雪梨 - a perfect dessert to complete the magical meal.
* Great Services

Dislikes:

* Abalone with fried Rice蠔皇鮑魚炒飯 - disappointing abalone, great fried rice
* Crispy Pork Fillets, Chinese Pear, and Osmathus Honey Sauce - relatively weak sauce

Original Blog: http://jason-bonvivant.blogspot.com/2009/08/crystal-lotus-disney.html

Hi! Wong here! Went to Crstal Lotus last week during my stay at HK disneyland hotel. Setting was great! Beautiful decorations. No need to wait for table!Great service, the waiters were nice and friendly too! We ordered alot because we were sooo hungry, and guess what? FOOD IN 7 MINUTES! A WoW! Not only was the food delicious, but it also had a nice setting ( see below) Next time you stay at the HK disneyland Hotel, dine at Crystal Lotus! I recomend it to all of you!