Sunday Brunch
by Reuben Gutierrez
21 April 2013
Last week, we journeyed to
Adventureland for an immersive experience at the
tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean as
portrayed by the tiki gods and birds at Walt
Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and the Tiki Juice
Bar. Guests to Disneyland can extend their
island escape outside the park, at the
Disneyland Hotel. In the depths of the center
courtyard of the Disneyland Hotel, adventurers
will find a thatched roof building with rafters
extending far out from the main building,
creating an enveloping cavern of a roof. The
humble tropical structure appears to be made of
natural materials amid a dense thicket of lush
palm trees, punctuated with tall fiery torches.
This is Tangaroa Terrace, the tiki themed
counter service restaurant for the hotel resort,
located conveniently by the pool. After last
week's exciting visit to the Enchanted Tiki
Room, it is quite appropriate that we find
ourselves in a new restaurant named after one of
the Tiki gods, the great Tangaroa.
In recent years,
the courtyard of the Disneyland Hotel contained
a very elaborate and imaginative Never Land
themed pool area with such dining venues as
Hook's Pointe, Croc's Bites and Bits, the Wine
Cellar, and the Lost Bar. In conjunction with
the resort wide makeover, the Never Land
eateries were transformed into the Polynesian
house that is the Tangaroa Terrace. Heavily
inspired by the once popular Tahitian Terrace
restaurant (as discussed in my
Bengal Barbecue review) and the general
atmosphere of Adventureland, the new restaurant
not only is Polynesian in d'cor, but also
features a matching Polynesian menu.
The adjacent hotel room tower is fittingly the
Adventure Tower
Inside the tiki hut
During my latest adventure to
Disneyland, one morning my companions and I made
a brief stop to the Terrace and found a variety
of tropical inspired baked goods. We took a
moment to sample such exotic treats as the
Pineapple Macadamia Nut Muffin and the Pineapple
Lilikoi Pie.
The muffin was as expected;
fluffy, sweet, and delightfully pineapple in
both the muffin batter and with bits of
pineapple chunks intersperse throughout. The
flavors were typical tropical ingredients and
while nothing new and exciting, still delicious
and desired. Any other flavor muffin with this
one in absence would surely be out of place.
On the other hand, the Pineapple
Lilikoi pie was something exotic and unfamiliar.
Lilikoi, of course being the unfamiliar part,
made it sound like there were flowers in this
pie, but actually, the beautiful Hawaiian word
is what they call passion fruit. I like to think
of passion fruit as an intensely tropical
flavor, and as I ponder other descriptions, I
can think of no other words. Pineapple, though a
bit sour with its acidity is overall more sweet
than anything, so paired with the strong passion
fruit, the Pineapple Lilikoi Pie is a burst of
sunshine and tropical fruit contained in a
small, coconut streusel topped pie. I think my
favorite part about this pie is the blending of
cuisines and flavors. Pie is such an American
and European baked good, it is exciting to see
it made with such exotic ingredients.
Tangaroa Terrace offers a lot
more than tropical desserts, though our limited
time did not afford us the chance to sample the
other exciting entrees on the menu. Hopefully
future adventures will include a more extensive
feast at the Terrace, but for now I can
certainly say the little slice of Adventureland
is a welcome new addition to the resort. As a
frequent guest to Walt Disney World, myself and
other friends have found the restaurant to be
highly reminiscent of
Captain Cook's at the Polynesian Resort,
which in turn was also inspired by the Tahitian
Terrace restaurant and Polynesian craze of the
60s and 70s. With the excitement of a new
experience in the exotic locale and
immersiveness of the area, I enjoyed the fact
that the new adventure still managed to also
feel a little like home.