I only spent one proper day at Disneyland, but I made the most of it! Today we’re reviewing my lunch in Disney’s California Adventure’s San Fransokyo Square. Read all the entries in this trip report here. Onward!
You think I just had a one-day Disneyland ride plan? Think again! I also scoped out all the menus and planned my lunch in advance. Thus when hungered reared its ugly head in the early afternoon, I was ready. I marched on over to Lucky Fortune Cookery in San Fransokyo Square.
HEY, WHAT’S LUCKY FORTUNE COOKERY?
The Port of San Fransokyo in Disney’s California Adventure is essentially a beautifully Imagineered food court. While there are a handful of shops, the restaurants and drink stands dominate. The area is themed to Big Hero Six, with the dominant feature being a recreation of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge. I also met Hiro here, although Baymax was not out with him.
San Fransokyo is brimming with meal options. Amongst the offerings are the Aunt Cass Cafe, where the bread bowls live; Cocina Cucamonga, which is Mexican-inspired; a Ghirardelli for ice cream and chocolate; stands for beer, margaritas, and coffee; and of course, the Japanese-themed Lucky Fortune Cookery.
Lucky Fortune’s menu items include ramen, udon noodles, karaage-style fried chicken, and similarly safe options. Just because it’s safe, however, doesn’t mean it’s no good – at least by theme park standards. I’ve read rave reviews of the ramen and fried chicken especially. Check out the official menu here.
The restaurant itself has some light decoration that references the food – you know, dragons and paper lanterns and such. But you don’t eat inside. All seating is shared among the various food stands, and during the lunch rush it can be tough to snag a table, especially if you’re gunning for one with some shade.
WHAT DID YOU ORDER?
Okay, yes, I am sometimes a boring Disney diner. I often go for smaller, lighter, less flashy dishes. Wanting to sneak in some vitamins and protein as I tackled a VERY long day, I elected to order a kid’s meal of teriyaki chicken with rice and vegetables.
This was okay. The chicken was well cooked, but a couple of the bites were a teensy bit, I don’t know, weird. You know how sometimes the texture of a bit of chicken is off? Like that. Mind you, most of it was good, but I got the occasional wonky bit.
The rice and vegetables were unremarkable, but neither was there anything wrong with them. The teriyaki sauce tasted like standard from a bottle, which was fine for its purposes. I do like that kids’ meals include a beverage in the price, although you don’t get a side with this particular menu item as you sometimes do with other kid selections.
As a functional, light meal, the kid’s chicken teriyaki worked great. On the other hand, you could go the rest of your life never tasting it and miss nothing.
I HEAR SAN FRANSOKYO HAS A BAYMAX MACARON
You hear right, and YEAH I ordered it! I’m not necessarily one to purchase a food exclusively for the ‘gram, but in addition to being adorable the Baymax macaron also sounded tasty. Per the menu, the cookie is a macaron filled with “chocolate hazelnut spread” (they mean Nutella) and buttercream.
Okay, the Baymax macaron might be the best Disney dessert I’ve had in recent memory. It may be important to understand, however, that I LOVE frosting. Proper cake frosting; none of that whipped nonsense. Is the vanilla buttercream in the Baymax macaron aggressively sweet? Yes, it is! It is also beautifully thick while at the same time soft and yielding. Love.
The buttercream is piped around the edge with the Nutella in the middle in a sort of “surprise center” situation. It’s not just Nutella, either – they also added some chopped hazelnuts to the mix. Classy.
The macarons that sandwich all this goodness are themselves unremarkable, but well baked. They shatter accommodatingly with each bite, yet manage to stick to the filling enough to keep the whole thing from disintegrating into so much shrapnel. Ten outta ten; would order again. Even if they got rid of the Baymax face! (They won’t – that’s the moneymaker.)
I got my Baymax macaron at Lucky Fortune Cookery as well, but you may be able to pick it up other places. Oh, and the online menu suggests there are sometimes seasonal versions with alternate fillings, so keep an eye out for that.
HOW ABOUT A DRINK?
Later on in my day I swung back through San Fransokyo for an adult beverage I could sip as I wandered on through Pixar Pier. (Thats’s the life!) I still had a lot of Disneylanding ahead of me, so I wanted something light and not too strong.
I initially noted with dismay that the beer I had my eye on at the Cerveceria beer stand was no longer available. Luckily (rimshot!) I discovered old friend Lucky Fortune Cookery had picked it up instead. Behold, the Brewery X Green Tea Lager!
This was perfectly acceptable for my purposes. The low (4.2%) ABV leant itself well to my intentions to sip ‘n stroll. It was also surprisingly light for a lager. I just wish the green tea element had been more forward, as that’s what most excited me about the pour. Don’t get me wrong, the green tea element was there, but as more of a whisper than the roar I would’ve liked.
SHOULD YOU EAT IN SAN FRANSOKYO?
If you’re in the market for some quick service, San Fransokyo Square is a solid choice. You’ll be inundated with options, and if you and other members of your party can’t agree, no problem – split off to your preferred choices and meet back at a table in the middle.
To me, Lucky Fortune Cookery had the most appeal, and I would particularly encourage you to try it if you’re after that Baymax macaron. But I don’t think there are any wrong choices here. I hope I can go back and try them all!
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
That Baymax macaron looks and sounds great! Also, I like how a meet and greet with Hiro without Baymax basically just looks like hanging out with a guy in a hoodie 😅
lol, hence the short line 😆