Review: Should You Wait in a LONG Line for the China Booth at EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival?

The 2021 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival is officially underway and we have been checking out ALL of the things that this festival has to offer!

2021 China Booth

We’ve been taking you with us as we check out all the food booths, have some fun with the Remy scavenger hunt, and check out some of the festival’s merchandise. But now it’s time to hit up a returning booth — China!

Menu

Here’s a look at the menu for the China booth.

2021 China Menu

There are some returning items, a new snack to grab, and several drinks available.

The China booth can sometimes have a very LONG line. Should you hop in line to get any of these treats?

China line

Let’s dive into the items you could get here (and our thoughts on all of them) to find out!

Eats

First, we’ll take a look at the Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings with House-made Sweet and Spicy Sauce. We saw Chicken Dumplings served at last year’s Food & Wine Festival (and other festivals in the past), but they were previously described as chicken dumplings served with Chinese slaw.

This year, the China booth is serving up Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings with House-made Sweet and Spicy Sauce.These look pretty similar to the ones we saw last year, except they seem to have some different toppings and are not served with the Chinese slaw. We grabbed the dumplings to give them a try!

Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings with House-made Sweet and Spicy Sauce

These dumplings are so good! The sauce they’re served with hits you with some sweetness at first, and then you feel a bit of that spiciness.

These are also cooked perfectly. They’re wonderfully crispy on the outside, but still very soft and juicy in the center. If you’re a fan of dumplings and are craving one at the Food & Wine Festival, you can grab these for $5.

A Look at Our Spread from China!

Next, we’ve got the brand NEW ZiRan Beef Bao Bun, which features Grilled Beef with Cumin.

ZiRan Beef Bao Bun

This dish wasn’t overly special, but was still very tasty. Unfortunately, we didn’t taste much of the cumin in this dish. Again, it was still really good, but if it had a stronger cumin flavor, it probably would have gone higher up on our list in terms of tasty festival treats. You can get this bao bun for $7.25.

ZiRan Beef Bao Bun

Finally, we have the Crispy-fried Pepper Shrimp with Spicy Sichuan Noodles. This is similar to, but slightly different than, the shrimp dish we saw served at this booth at the 2019 Food & Wine Festival. Back in 2019, the dish was described as Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles, and it actually made our list of the items you must get from each booth.

This year, the item is slightly different as it is served with Spicy Sichuan Noodles, and it appears the shrimp may have a different coating.

Crispy-fried Pepper Shrimp with Spicy Sichuan Noodles

The noodles in this updated version of the dish are good, and had a nice little hint of spice. But, we felt like they could use more flavor.

The texture of the shrimp themselves, however, was not that good — they were quite rubbery and tough. That was a pretty big letdown for us considering the previous version of this dish was something we had really enjoyed.

Crispy-fried Pepper Shrimp with Spicy Sichuan Noodles

The shrimp and noodles are priced at $7.50.

Drinks

Next, we’ll move onto the drinks. There are a few drinks available here. First, there’s the Mango Bubble Milk Tea with Aassam Black Tea, Whole Milk, and Mango Syrup. This is something we’ve seen served at this booth in the past. You can get this for $7.25.

Mango Bubble Tea with Assam Black Tea and Milk

There’s also the ByeJoe Punch. Again, this is a returning item. This drink is made with Chinese Bai Jiu Spirit, Lychee Syrup, Soda Water, and Pina Colada Mix. You can grab it for $11.75.

BaiJoe Punch with Chinese Bai Jui Spirit, Lychee, Coconut and Pineapple Juice

There’s also a Jasmine Draft Beer available for $5 for 6 oz pour, or $8.50 for 12 oz. If you’re looking for a lighter beer, this could be a good choice. It’s mild, not too hoppy, and has a tiny hint of floral notes.

Jasmine Draft Beer

Next, there’s the Dragonfly. This drink is made with Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, Absolut Vodka, Orange Juice, and Mango Syrup. We actually had this drink back at the 2020 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays at the Shanghai Booth.

Dragonfly

This drink is refreshing and the combination of flavors is nice, but it is pretty strong and you can taste more of the alcohol in this drink when compared to the Kung Fu Master (which we’ll discuss in a second), so that’s just something to keep in mind. When we had this drink at the Festival of the Holidays is was VERY strong. If you like to taste the alcohol in your drink, then this might be the better choice for you. You can grab this drink for $13.95.

Finally, we have the Kung Fu Master, which is made with Absolut Vodka, Triple Sec, Mango Syrup, and Orange Juice. And yes, it looks pretty much IDENTICAL to the Dragonfly and to be honest the drinks taste pretty similar too!

Kung Fu Master

It’s going by an updated name (Kung Fu Master), but essentially this is the same as the Kung Fu Punch that has been served at the China booth during Food & Wine Festivals in the past.

Again, the drink tasted fairly similar to the Dragonfly. It was refreshing and easy to drink, but didn’t have as strong of an alcohol flavor when compared to the Dragonfly. So, if you’re looking for a less boozy flavor this might be a good choice. You can get this drink for $13.50.

Overall

Overall, the dumplings were very tasty, the bao bun was good but would have been excellent with more cumin, and the noodles were tasty but the shrimp didn’t have a good texture. The drinks we had were nice and refreshing and there are quite a few to choose from.

If you want to try any of these items, you can grab them right now at the China booth at the Food & Wine Festival! Be sure to check back with us for more updates, reviews, and news from the Festival.

Click here to see all of our reviews for the 2021 Food & Wine Festival!

Ready to Plan for Your 2021 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Trip?

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Your purchase includes several bonus items as well — including a full daily schedule of events at the Festival and a printable World Showcase Booth Menu Checklist to carry with you as you Eat around the World!

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