FULL REVIEW: The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant in Epic Universe

It’s a beautiful day in Epic Universe, and we’ve worked up quite an appetite — let’s go eat!

Here at AllEars, we’re learning all the ins and outs of Epic Universe restaurants — including where you should definitely eat, and where you should skip. We recently stopped by The Blue Dragon at Celestial Park  and are bringing you our FULL review!

Background

The Blue Dragon is a Pan-Asian Restaurant in Universal Epic Universe. You’re greeted by a bustling courtyard with soft, pretty lanterns. The food is described as authentic Pan-Asian cuisine, and there’s an adjoining spot to grab a drink at The Tiger Bar.

Here’s what you need to know about dining at this restaurant.

Atmosphere

The mood lighting is on point at this restaurant!

But, despite the dark atmosphere, be sure to keep your eyes open as you dine. The signage around the restaurant contains some fun easter eggs of Celestial Park!

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

First up, we grabbed the Double Fried “Korean” Wings for $16. This is described as Korean “style” gochujang flavored ultra-crunchy wings.

We’re spoiling the rest of the review for you, but out of all of the starters and entrees, these were probably our favorite. They were amazing. The wings were double-fried, so they’re perfectly crispy and crunchy. You bite into them and immediately hear and feel that crunch, which makes for a fun dining experience. They’re coated with a gochujang sauce, which is very prevalent.

The wings had tons of breading, and the meat tasted fresh. Additionally, our wings had sort of a sweet and spicy thing going on, but it wasn’t the kind of spice that brings the heat – just the flavor. 

Next, we went for the Pork Soup Dumplings with seasoned ground pork and dragon sauce for $16.

These dumplings are very sticky on the outside. They’re a little hard to cut! The outside has that tacky, sticky texture, while the pork filling is tender. Each bite had a little bit of chew to it. As the name implies, you get that warm soup with your bite, and the pork itself was fairly salty and fairly rich.

Honestly, though, we found these to be just fine, mostly average soup dumplings like you might get at your local Asian restaurant. 

We were intrigued by the $18 Snowflake Potstickers, with lacy crust pork potstickers and dragon sauce.

Here’s a dish that was presented quite nicely – we were immediately impressed! Now, here’s what’s interesting. The batter used for these potstickers was pan-fried, creating a nice, crispy texture. But that batter is NOT what the potstickers themselves were made of – it was instead more of a coating.

The meat itself was tender and juicy, but overall just okay. We felt like these were pretty standard and typical in terms of flavor. The chili oil sauce SERIOUSLY helped elevate this dish, though. 

Looking for a noodle dish? We went with the Tonkotsu Ramen, made with ramen noodles, rich pork broth, chashu pork, tare egg, shiitake mushrooms, and togarashi oil. This dish is $29.

We are big fans of ramen dishes. We really like ramen. We were excited about this ramen dish on the menu, and as it was delivered, we had high hopes. The ramen had all the good stuff that you want in ramen: perfectly runny boiled eggs, bok choy, pork belly…it looked really beautiful. However, upon tasting it, it was a bit underwhelming, like it was missing a little something. The broth is light, like it needed a jolt of richness. In terms of presentation and texture, they nailed it. But, sadly, we felt like it was lackluster in taste. 

Then it was time for the Crispy Orange Chicken, made with crispy chicken, blood orange sweet & sour sauce, snow peas, and white rice for $28.

The orange chicken is very crispy, and it’s got a kind of tangy orange flavor, with a little bit of zest on the outside. We really enjoyed the texture here, but the chicken itself is missing a strong, definable flavor. We got so much of the flavor from the sauce on the outside that the chicken itself felt like it needed something.

Perhaps the chicken could benefit from a brine, or maybe it just needs to be prepped before it is fried. We found it to taste like orange chicken without the chicken inside. The snap peas on the side were basic, fresh, and had a little snap to them. The white rice is pretty simple, too – it’s just steamed white rice. That said, it pairs well with the orange chicken, but this is probably not an entree that we would necessarily recommend to people. If you’re an orange chicken enthusiast, we’ll put it this way: Panda Express Orange Chicken may beat this dish in flavor, but The Blue Dragon beats the Panda Express version in texture. 

Time for dessert! We went with the Banana Napoleon, made with miso butterscotch bananas, 5-spice wontons, and vanilla ice cream. You can get this one for $12.

Now THIS is where it’s AT, people. This was easily the best thing at the table. The texture is crispy from the cracker layer, with a little bit of sugar crusted throughout the dessert.  The cream is so thick and just the right amount of sweetness, and the banana pairs well with the other flavors. The vanilla ice cream is (here comes that word again) a little basic – a little frosty in texture, too. If you are a fan of banana pudding…GET THIS. Is it worth booking a reservation just for dessert? Probably not. But this was a really, really lovely dessert. 

To drink, we picked up the Chengdu Dream for $18. It consists of Ming River Sichuan Baiju, DeKuyper blue curaçao, BG Reynolds falernum, pineapple juice, white grapefruit juice, a golden sugar rim with pineapple fronds, and an edible orchid.

We were prepared for this drink to pack a punch. Instead, though, this was quite mellow and refreshing. The fruity juice flavor was prominent, but there was none of the tanginess you might expect from a citrusy fruit. There’s no strong alcohol taste, which we appreciated, and, again, the presentation was so adorable. This was a fun drink – we enjoyed it! 

Up next is the Golden Dragon Mocktail for $11. This one is made with cream of coconut, lime juice, turmeric syrup, pineapple juice, jalapeño essence, and ground ginger.

We’ve tried a lot of mocktails over the years. This one was different; it just might be one of the most interesting mocktails we’ve ever had. We found the drink to be a bit bizarre…to the point where we couldn’t decide if we liked it or not. The drink starts out with a really strong citrusy flavor from those fruit juices, and then on the back end, it really wallops you with a hit of ginger and spice in the back of your throat.

Think of it like this: you take a sip and it’s refreshing and fruity, like a fun little tropical vacation, and then it’s like being punched in the throat. From the jalapeno to the ginger, this was just so strange, but also interesting. Ultimately, if you are interested in trying unique beverages, this might be for you. 

Magic or Tragic?

This Epic Universe restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re craving Pan-Asian dishes in the heart of Epic Universe — the restaurant here is pretty centrally located within the park, making it a good spot to try if you’re trying to strategically navigate as much of the park as possible in one day
• You LOVE potstickers, ramen, and Korean wings — the menu is filled with  classic options, and if you’re a big fan of sticky wings, we quite enjoyed that dish

You should skip this Epic Universe spot if…

• You’re craving bold, rich flavors — as we said, a lot of the dishes here fell flat in terms of flavor
• You’re dining on a budget — while the food here isn’t crazy expensive, it’s a lot more expensive than your local Panda Express, and the quality might not live up to the pricetag

We want to hear YOUR thoughts! Leave a review right here on AllEars for the restaurants you’ve been to so you can help out fellow Disney lovers planning their next trip!

Overall, almost all the dishes we tried just didn’t have the flavor that we wanted them to – we wanted more salt, more savoriness. Each dish felt like there was a missing puzzle piece. The “Korean” Wings were a winner with that double crunch and super breaded wing. Everything else was just fine, but felt a little dull. That said, our dessert was another shining star – we thought the Banana Napoleon was excellent. We probably wouldn’t go back here again, at least for now. The restaurant is brand new, so there’s plenty of time for the team to work out any early kinks. That said, there are other restaurants in Epic Universe we would visit over this one. 

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Epic Universe and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Universal news and more!

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Are you planning to eat at this Epic Universe restaurant? Tell us in the comments.

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