Travelscore Magazine

20180317

St.Paddy Week at Raglan Road, Best Irish Pub in Orlando

This is St. Patrick Week and the "Raglan Road" Pub in Disney Springs, Orlando Florida, has set a huge event called "The Mighty Festival". As you know every two years we go back for St.Patrick Day to update our review & rating about this wonderful corner of Ireland in our city beautiful.

As usual the place it's really crowded and there are several good reasons for that: first of all it's the most authentic Irish Pub in town, there is always live music, the ambiance is really beautiful and last but not least the food is very good. This time I found this aspect very improved in quality and variety of the menu. There are some really pleasant new entries beside the traditional ones.
I have tried something different from the previous times and I wasn't disappointed at all.

I started with "An Irish Egg" which is basically a Guinness & onion sausage crusted egg, with pickled cabbage and saffron aioli. Very tasty and with a right texture

I continued with a dish called "Fancy a Fishcake" made with a creamy baked haddock, salmon & cod potato cake, with a soft poached egg & crispy pancetta with a lemon caper butter. This one and the next were my favs of the whole dinner.

"Smokie City" is something you should really try! It's a small amazing casserole of creamy baked haddock and Dubliner cheese dip with potatoes, tomatoes and a sliced toasted baguette. A true fish jewel!

You could dig in it all night, finding wonderful flavors and surprising ingredients, for smoked fish lovers and beyond.

A more classic choice was the "SSS Beefy": Super seared grilled beef medallions with a hint of horseradish cream, crispy onion strings, roasted tomato and mixed greens seasoned with apricot & bacon vinaigrette.

The difference this time was that I focused more on the appetizers in order to try more varieties of recipes without full me up quickly, because in an Irish place that's quite what is going to happen. The portions are always generous. Doing this way you also have the chance to taste a nice beer pairing with their samples tray.

Finally there was in me the temptation to try at least four of their very good desserts... but how could I make it? I had no more room at that point! Luckily they have a fantastic tray of little deliciousness that resumes all the cakes I would have ask for. This allowed me to have a complete idea.

What's in it? "Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding", like no other pudding you have tried. "Trifle Sinful" raspberry jam Swiss roll layers with mixed berries & custard, topped with fresh cream and almonds.

"Fluffy Lemon Clouds" an intense lemon curd tart topped with fluffy meringue... and this was my favorite. "Dunbrody Kiss", a great classic here at Raglan Road, it's made with chocolate, add more chocolate, then add some more. It's s also Chef Dundon's gift to America.

After six years of rating and reviews about this place our magazine reconfirm its 20/20 score but also add a +++ because this was the best time and edition so far.

The entertainment was equally great, though I had the chance to watch just one of the many music groups present along this special week. During my dinner on the stage were rocking the "Reel Republic", hailing from the south west corner of Ireland. Three seriously talented musicians, always pushing to make the next gig better then the last. An amazing violinist and guitar performance which delighted and warmed the entire public. I prefer to not comment further their show but I made and attached some short videos for you. Just a wonderful performance and excellent music. I conclude this highlight confirming once more that "Raglan Road" is the best Irish pub in Orlando.

Raglan Road Irish Pub

Disney Springs™ The Landing

1640 E Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista
Florida
32830
USA

Tel: (407) 938-0300
Email: hello@raglanroad.com

Article and pictures by Luca Centoni

20180226

Yuhi Fujinaga & Alex Munkhbilguun of Morimoto Asia Restaurant are best Chefs of the Year 2017

Yuhi Fujinaga (left), Luca Centoni (center), Alex Munkhbilguun (right)

Here we are at the start of 2018 Travelscore Magazine edition, and after nine years from the first publishing, for the first time we have two "ex aequo winners" for "best chef of the year 2017". We are talking about Executive Chef Yuhi Fujinaga and Executive Sushi Chef Alex Munkhbilguun, both in charge of the "Omakase" dinner at "Morimoto Asia" Restaurant of Orlando, Florida. Omakase means "I will leave it to you" (the chef personally selects any dishes he wants to serve). To be more precise in Japanese language this word means "entrust" or "protect". It is used mainly in Japanese restaurants, where customers might say "omakase onegaishimasu", which you could also translate as "Chef, I am in your hands". So we tested them in the best way possible because they had the choose to serve their creations in a total unpredictable way for us. Moreover it's a menu "Ichi-go ichi-e" (for one time only) so in another omakase experience you will never eat the same things again!

"Morimoto Asia" Restaurant is an elegant modern place, but in order to have the perfect omakase experience you have to sit in front of your "totally dedicated" chef at the sushi bar meanwhile he prepares your meal like a true artist. And they really are! Alex is a highly specialized executive sushi chef an so he is in charge of that part. The rice we have tried that night was the best ever tasted in our experiences worldwide. It literally melted in our mouth and unlike other cold sushi this was slightly warm too. Yuhi took care about all the other eight courses and did an amazing job. His multiple experiences with other famous chefs worldwide, including Alain Ducasse, and several geographic locations such as Spain and France, allowed him to create an unparalleled fusion of styles with a great creativity. Each of the dishes were special and the ingredients of the highest level possible for a city like Orlando. Indeed this restaurant is at the same level of others in famous towns like NYC, San Francisco or L.A. What surprised us more is that they are located in a Disney's area typically known for its average food. They wanted to challenge this fact with a revolutionary quality concept for a place like Disney Springs. After several selections made along 2017 we decided that these two chefs and this restaurant were entitled to earn our maximum score. Quality, creativity, presentation, ambiance and impeccable service determined our final verdict. The nine courses menu was so various and exciting that we got lots of pictures and short video introductions to let you understand how the omakase is managed in this place. Be prepared to invest $150 per person excluding taxes, beverages and tip, but we assure you that it worth every single dollar.

Amuse:

“Crudite Tree”, tomato shiso pesto, Radish Mentai mayo, Turnip nori dressing