When it comes to food, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is doing something RIGHT.

Pandora in Disney’s Animal Kingdom

According to many Disney World visitors, Animal Kingdom is considered to be one of THEEEE parks to visit if you’re hoping to grub. Today, we’re headed to Pandora — World of Avatar to none other than Satu’li Canteen to grab a bite to eat. Here, visitors can find some fan-favorite dishes, like Cheeseburger Pods and even noodle and rice bowls. The word on the street is that there’s a NEW bowl at Satu’li, and y’all already know we’re itching to try it. Come along with us!

The Smoked Chimichurri-Braised Beef Bowl is available at Satu’li Canteen for $14.49. This dish features Smoked Chimichurri-braised Beef topped with Crunchy Vegetable Slaw and Boba Balls served with your choice of base and sauce. You’ve always been able to get beef as a meat option here, but the way it’s cooked and served has changed!

The Chimchurri-Braised Beef is replacing the Grilled Beef

Before, the only beef option was the Slow-Roasted Sliced Grilled Beef marinated with garlic, herbs, red pepper spice, and red wine vinegar — and it didn’t come with any other sauce on it. Now, each dish comes with the same Chimichurri sauce while you have the option to add another sauce on the side (which you could also ask for in the past). We really liked the beef before! It was cooked on the rare side, which made it super tender and flavorful. We can’t wait to see how the updated beef compares!

Grilled Beef that was served before

As far as the updated beef bowl goes, we decided to go with a noodle base and we even got some green onion vinaigrette on the side to see how the taste of the vinaigrette compares to the Chimichurri sauce on the beef. The meal looks delicious, but will it taste just as good? Let’s find out!

Looks delicious!

Our first impression was all about the BEEF. It had a smoked flavor that reminded us of a cross between jerky and brisket. The herbs from the chimichurri definitely brightened up the flavor a bit — but it wasn’t really all that flavorful on its own. Some parts were tender and some parts were dry — so we were slightly disappointed that it was inconsistent in that way. We already miss the old beef, which was tender and juicy throughout.

Smoked Chimichurri-Braised Beef

As for the noodles? They were AMAZING. They had a great sesame and soy flavor — very similar to lo mien. The slaw was slightly sweet and added a nice crunch — we LOVED the texture of everything combined. Plus, the boba added some extra flavor and texture as well — they had a fruity, vinegary flavor. The boba might not be for everyone, but this reporter LOVED it.

Give us all the noodles, please!

On the side, we ordered the Charred Green Onion Vinaigrette. It had a pretty bold vinegary and herby flavor that was super bright and tangy. We’d heard from a few Satu’li visitors that the Chimichurri sauce on the beef tasted similar to this vinaigrette, but we didn’t get that impression. The meat and Chimichurri just tasted super smoky while the vinaigrette was bright and herby. If you prefer a brighter taste rather than the smoky taste, definitely grab some sauce on the side, because the two flavors aren’t at all comparable in our opinion.

Charred Green Onion Vinaigrette

So, while the meat itself wasn’t bursting with flavor like we’d hoped, this was overall a very enjoyable meal. If you love noodles and meats like jerky or brisket, definitely give this one a try. If you’re not a big meat person or don’t like Asian-inspired cuisine, skip this one. It could also be good to keep in mind that if you’re not a fan of the bright and vinegary flavors, you can request for the boba to be left off!

What do you think? Would you try this meal from Satu’li Canteen? We’ll continue to keep you updated with any and all Disney news and updates, food reviews included. Follow along so that you never miss out and never go hungry. 😋

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Would you try this bowl? Let us know in the comments!