SeaWorld Orlando
Saturday Stroll-Around Day Three
March 29th, 2017
| by Mealtrip
There are just so many flavors to experience at the SevenSeas Food Festival at SeaWorld that we decided to take another walk around the Marketplace loop and try some new dishes. While it is true that some of the marketplace kiosk are open daily (for Spring Break) from March 17th, 2017 until April 16th, 2017… ALL of the booths are only open on Saturdays (until May 13th, 2017). 
On Saturdays only... there are Artisan booths set up to stroll through. I know they are Artisan booths... because it says so on top of the booth. In big letters.
There is a smaller stage that features (presumably) local performers throughout the day. This stage is used on Saturdays only.
There's no doubt that the Food & Brew Sampling Lanyard is the way to go here, for just $40 you'll get a lanyard which entitles you to 10 samples at any of the marketplace kiosks, regardless of the posted price of the sample. That makes everything you see below just $4.00 per item! If you do decided to pay for each item individually, the average price is around $5.16.
The Caribbean Market sign.
My first stop on day three was at the Caribbean Market to check out the Cinnamon Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Sweet Plantain Mash and a Red Wine Reduction
This is the Cinnamon Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Sweet Plantain Mash and Red Wine Reduction from the Caribbean Market kiosk.
The flavors were all there, but if you are unfamiliar with Pork Belly, there is a little pillow fat in the product… that's the way it's supposed to be. Some people like that, some don't.
The Sweet Plantain Mash was a sweet surprise. It looks a lot like it might be sweet potatoes... but nope... it's a plantain mash.
I still think the Shrimp Cake with Jicama Slaw and Key Lime Mustard is the best item at this kiosk.
I still think the best food item at the Caribbean Market is the Shrimp Cake with Jicama Slaw & Key Lime Mustard.
I tried it earlier in the festival and it may well end up being one of my top five "must try" items at the SevenSeas Food Festival.
Next, on to the Brazilian Market kiosk.
I'm sure the most popular item at the Brazilian Market is the Grilled Churrasco Skirt Steak, but there's another great little item here that not too many guests try.
The Brazilian Churrasco Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri & Garbanzo Frito is a very popular item at the Brazilian Market Booth.
The "served cold" Salpicao Brazilian Chicken Salad is a very hearty, sweet and savory "prepared" salad… and not the "leafy" salad that you might think it is.
It may not look like much on the plate but the Salpicao Brazilian Chicken Salad (with Chicken, Ham, Raisins, Carrots, Apples and Olives) is a very dense sweet and savory mix. Traditionally, it's topped with Shoestring Potatoes as well.
Traditionally it's served with little shoestring potatoes, so we're not sure what happened here. The extra "crunch" would have made this a perfect Salpicao Chicken Salad.
The Polynesian Market sign.
The Polynesian Island kiosk is located across from the Gulf Coast Market kiosk… and both are notable for being under an even larger hanger-like structure. If it's raining… I wouldn't mind getting caught in here for a half hour. You certainly wouldn't go hungry. The Polynesian kiosk has items that you usually associate with Hawaiian cuisine (i.e. savory with a sweet fruit note). The Loco Moco seems to be a very popular item at the kiosk, and while I'm not a fan of the grilled Spam movement, I was game.
The Loco Moco is the closest thing to a "breakfast" item that you will find at the market kiosks.
This dish really wins in the "breakfast" category. The Loco Moco featured scrambled eggs, white rice, a pineapple chunk, grilled spam with brown gravy and Japanese Seaweed Salad for color (I love Japanese Seaweed Salad). There's a lot of stuff on that plate and it all goes together very well. I'm still not a huge fan of Spam though.
The Loco Moco features Grilled Spam, White Rice, Scrambled Egg and Brown Gravy and has small amount of Japanese Seaweed Salad for color.
Directly across from the Polynesian kiosk is the Gulf Coast kiosk where I picked up the Cheese Grits & Shrimp Casserole. Now this one is supposed to be served in a clear plastic martini glass. It was not. They ran out. It was instead served in a black styrofoam dish.
The Cheese Grits & Shrimp Casserole is said to feature Southern Creamy Cheese Grits with a Blackened Shrimp. This one is available at the Gulf Coast Market.
I don't know if it was my disappointment in the plating, or just the lack of… well… volume here. This is one of those dishes that should have been amazing, and it just fell a bit short. The grits were not cheesy enough to have "cheese" in the description, and when they say "shrimp"… they mean "one shrimp".
The Cheese Grits and Shrimp Casserole is normally served in a plastic Martini glass... unless they run out. Then it's served in a small black dish.
It was a decent sized shrimp and for $4 (with the sampling lanyard), I guess that's okay… but for the "street price" of $5.75 (and without the showy glass), it didn't really do anything for me.
The Asian Market sign is one of the larger signs. The whole building is a pre-existing structure though, and not a just a small booth.
After a rather disappointing Peking Duck Lo Mein item from the Asian Market on a previous visit, I went back to give the Toffee Banana a try. While the battered Banana topped with Sesame Seeds was good… I wasn't crazy about the somewhat lackluster glaze (which I'm guessing is what made the whole thing "Toffee"-like). The Vanilla Ice Cream was a nice cool side note to the warm battered banana. I think with a little more tweaking, this could be a great item. It's just not there yet.
The Asian Market's Toffee Banana features a Skewered Crunchy Battered Banana, Sesame Seed Candy Glaze and Vanilla Ice Cream.
I'll end my day three walk about on a high note though… thanks to the Korean Market kiosk. The Bingsu Salted Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Caramel Popcorn is one of those simple "don't miss" items from the festival.
Yes please. The Bingsu Salted Vanilla Ice Cream Topped with Caramel Popcorn is fun street food taken to the next level.
It's a great, slightly messy street food item that packs warm caramel popcorn around a salted scoop of vanilla ice cream… with a little bit of extra caramel sauce for good measure. Simple, fun, delicious. You must get one of these! It's served in a plastic martini glass, it's a bit of a spectacle, but it's oh so good!
It's a little messy to eat and you'll have to be careful (if you're using a spoon) not to spill any over the sides... but it's worth the trouble! Yummy!!!
Even though I have sampled an item now and again that I'm not over the top in love with, I still feel like just trying the item is a win… mostly because it's not breaking the bank. Those Sampling Lanyards that are available really are a great deal, and allow you to take a chance on something that you maybe wouldn't try otherwise. That is the main point of a food festival after all, and when you start adding in all of the beer, cocktails, and a couple of wine selections here and there… it's great fun knowing that you can get a $40 10-sample lanyard that will enhance your whole day at SeaWorld Orlando's SevenSeas Food Festival, without constantly having to think about the cost.
