We’re back at another year of EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts, and we couldn’t be more excited!

We’re trying all the food, checking out all the activities, and watching all the entertainment to give you the latest news and reviews from this year’s event. First up are the eats, so we’re stopping by EPCOT’s China Pavilion to try out the food studio!

The Painted Panda is the food studio in EPCOT’s China Pavilion, and we’re especially pumped to review this one. Several of the menu items from last year’s festival made it on our “best of the fest” list, so we’re hoping that the booth can continue to match its gold standard.

Without further ado, let’s dive right into the good stuff! This year, the food items on the menu are completely different than those from last year. While we miss last year’s selection, we’re definitely curious about these new choices.

Time to find out if the new options stack up to the old ones!

Food

The first new item on the menu this time is the Old Shanghai Shi Zi Tou. It’s made with Pork and Water Chestnut Meatballs served with Taro Root and will cost you $8.50.

This was a very nice portion! Several festival dishes are small because they are designed to allow you to eat around the booths, but this was a pretty big amount of food.

The soy sauce with this added some sweetness to this which really enhanced the strong flavors in the meatball.

Old Shanghai Shi Zi Tou from The Painted Panda! 🇨🇳 It’s a little windy today! #artfulepcot pic.twitter.com/QyrcnO63m8

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 8, 2021

 

 

The other food option here is the Sichuan Red Hot Mala Shrimp, made with and cost at $10.50. The texture of the shrimp was perfect, and this had a really nice kick to it! Although not listed on the menu, this dish (that looks like a literal shrimp cocktail) includes noodles and a Sriracha peanut mayo sauce. 

This was a super savory dish, and the flavors popped! We really loved this one, and it’s just a bonus that the skewered shrimp make a heart-like shape!

This dish wasn’t overly spicy, but the spice did add to other flavors involved.

Sichuan Red Hot Mala Shrimp from The Painted Panda! 🇨🇳 #artfulepcot pic.twitter.com/t8l8SGt2FC

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 8, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

We were impressed by the new eats this year, and although we miss the incredible dishes from last year, these are stellar replacements.

Drinks

All the drinks at The Painted Panda are the same as last year, so your choices are: “Panda” Bubble Tea, Jasmine Draft Beer, Fortune Cookie (ByeJoe Spirit, Amaretto, and Piña Colada Mix), Kung Fu Punch (Vodka and Triple Sec), and the Sea Butterfly (Butterfly Pea Flower infused Cocktail with Lychee Syrup, Vodka, Light Rum, and Magic Boba Pearls).

We decided to try the Sea Butterfly again this year, and it looks STUNNING. This was exactly the same as last year, and it is still impressive!

It’s the Sea Butterfly from The Painted Panda 🇨🇳 Gorgeous! #artfulepcot pic.twitter.com/OuImbhxEZ0

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) January 8, 2021

 

 

 

 

The flavors are very light and refreshing, and if you like florals, this highlights that. The boba in our drink didn’t burst, but was more like gelatin, but this is a super fun and gorgeous drink.

Overall

That’s all we have for The Painted Panda! The offerings at this booth are simply incredible and we would totally visit again. This booth is a bit more expensive than other booths, but the food and drink we tried were great!

We’re making our way around the festival today, so stay tuned to DFB for the latest reviews from the 2021 EPCOT Festival of the Arts!

Check Out the Booth Reviews for This Year’s Festival!

Would you eat at this booth? Let us know in the comments!