After attending the Michael McMillan (Opus 39 in St. Augustine, FL) Food and Wine Demonstration, I headed back into the stormy World Showcase to capture some tastes and photos of a few of the new items in this year’s festival.

Rio!
First stop was the Rio de Janiero booth, where I sampled the Grilled Pork Skewer with Farofa and grabbed a snapshot of the Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime and the Pave de Maracuja (Passion Fruit Mousse). I always feel sad that I can’t possibly try everything (the size of the stomach AND my wallet prevent it), so I’m usually begging the CMs at each booth to let me see and photograph the dishes. 😉 The folks at Rio were fantastic, and let me gaze to my heart’s content.

I did actually get to sample the pork skewer, and found it somewhat lacking. After trying the lamb in Melbourne and some of the other meat-based dishes around the festival (like the gumbo in New Orleans), this was pretty bland — even with the dusting of farofa.

Rio de Janiero Menu

Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime

Pave de Maracuja

Pork Skewer with Farofa

Pork Skewer inside

Bangkok
Next stop on the “new stuff we gotta see” tour was Bangkok, Thailand. Lots of folks have been wondering about the Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp, and the gang in Bangkok were kindly willing to put together a plate for me to photograph. I love Disney CMs.

Bangkok Booth

Selecting the Shrimp

Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp

What the heck is Urumqi?
There was lots of confusion on this, so I asked for the low-down. Chicken Urumqi is a spicy chicken dish (explained as “chicken with cumin and traditional northwestern chinese spices”) that’s traditionally served like a kabob (on a stick). At the festival, however, it’s served plated. The spice “hot sauce” is a red pepper base, according to the Shanghai booth CMs.

Miscellaneous Shots
Along the way, I also grabbed a snapshot of some of the Mouse Catch Booth cheese, and “the making of” some Cape Town Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Puree and Mango Barbecue Sauce (this is one I hope I have room in my stomach to try in the next couple of days!).

Mouse Catch cheese

Seared Beef Tenderloin with Pureed Sweet Potatoes and Mango Barbecue Sauce

More photos and information coming up soon! I’m here for another few days…

To see more info and photos from the Food and Wine Festival, visit our 2009 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival Index Page.