Thailand Review & Menu: 2019 Epcot Food & Wine Festival

Thailand is our next booth as we continue around World Showcase during the 2019 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World. In this Global Marketplace review, we’ll look at the menu prices, share food photos, and offer thoughts on what is worth your money or Disney Dining Plan credits, and what isn’t.

This is one of the newer booths to join the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival lineup, and is now returning for its third year in 2019. Per DisneyWorld.com’s Thailand Global Marketplace description, “exotic specialties from Southeast Asia await as the Land of Smiles serves up a flavorful foodie phenom.” The rest might be a bit awkward, but that’s an A+ alliteration.

Thailand is one of the first Global Marketplaces you’ll encounter when entering World Showcase and heading towards the Mexico pavilion. As with other booths, its architecture is eye-catching, and that alone might draw you in as you’re walking through the area…

Here’s the menu for the Thailand Global Marketplace:

• Marinated Chicken with Peanut Sauce and Stir-fried Vegetables (KA)
• Shrimp and Cold Noodle Salad
• Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef with Steamed Rice

Now our photos and reviews of each item from the Thailand Global Marketplace at the 2019 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival…

Marinated Chicken with Peanut Sauce and Stir-fried Vegetables ($5) – Reviewing this dish is a “pick your battles” type of scenario. On the one hand, I could complain that the peanut sauce was overly oily, salty, and just a bit much in general.

On the other hand, the chicken was dry and overcooked. Said peanut sauce did an admirable job of concealing the flaws of the meat, and ultimately saved the dish. For $5, the portion size is more than fair, and leaves us on the fence in terms of a recommendation if you’re paying out of pocket. If you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, there are better uses of a snack credit.

Shrimp and Cold Noodle Salad ($5.25) – A good exemplar of the time-honored Epcot Food & Wine Festival edict, “leave the shrimp, take the salmon and scallops.”

The rubbery shrimp aren’t the only problem here, as the cold noodles also weren’t particularly fresh or refreshing, and had an almost chalky texture to them. All in all, not a dish we’d recommend to anyone.

Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef with Steamed Rice ($5.50) – This dish is more or less as advertised, which is to say (somewhat) spicy curried beef mixed with cauliflower on a bed of rice.

I’ve only ever had this dish during the middle of hot days in August, which is probably not the ideal scenario for a fair review. I’m already mildly annoyed by default and taking a bit of hot, spicy cauliflower just pushes me further over the edge. As such, I’m not going to offer a review one way or the other on this. It’s something I’ve always thought I should revisit in November, but I’ve never been impressed enough to add this to my list of things to reorder. Your mileage may vary.

In terms of alcoholic drinks, here’s what’s served at the Thailand Global Marketplace:

• Singha Lager
• Maison Willm Réserve Gewürztraminer, Alsace

Overall, the Thailand booth is among my lower-ranking booths at the 2019 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, and has been for each of the last few years. Sarah tried it with me for the first time this year, and upon walking up, I described it as “Disney’s take on generic mall food court Asian cuisine.” She felt that was a bit harsh, and perhaps she’s right. I’ve just yet to be blown away by anything at the Thailand Global Marketplace, but perhaps you’ll have better luck.

Check out our Epcot Food & Wine Festival Booth Menus post if you want to see and read more about every menu this year. You’ll also want to read our full Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival Guide before you go to get an idea of what to do, strategy for the festival (yes, you will need a strategy), and much more!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of the Thailand Global Marketplace? Have you tried any of the food items at this booth? Do you think my assessment is too harsh? Any thoughts on these items? Portion-size or quality-wise, did you have better or worse luck than us with what you ordered? Questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!