Disneyland Hotel: Tangaroa Terrace [2]

When Disney first announced their 24 hour celebration of the beginning of summer, I knew I had to go. Not only were both parks open for 24 hours, but it was also a costumed event. If you haven't noticed from my previous posts, I like costumes: designing them, making them, wearing them- I am all in.

That weekend was also the weekend of a very big anime convention in Northern California, so instead of driving down, Brittany and I flew. This also meant I had the perfect Marvel costume to wear that I had been working on the past month.

We landed and dropped our luggage off at the hotel around lunchtime, so we headed over to Downtown Disney to shop and get some food.

After getting distracted at Build-a-Bear Workshop- I got Thor'bear' Odinson and Brittany almost got a Cap'bear' America, but ultimately decided not to- we ended up at the Disneyland Hotel and at the Tangaroa Terrace. Last time I ate here, the only things I could eat were the sides: sweet potato fries and green papaya salad. Well, the Tangaroa Terrace has made many changes since then.

Before when you walked in, you ordered on the touch screens that greet you as you walk in, then you paid at the cashier to your left. It sounds hi-tech, but it really wasn't. It was about the equivalent of self check-outs. This time, though, we were greeted by a cast member, standing in front of the machines, who directed us immediately to the cashier where we both ordered and paid.

The best change they made was to the menu. No longer just burgers with pineapple and sad sides, they changed everything around. More fish options, a few burgers, the sides were completely different, and more gluten free options.

I happily ordered the shrimp tacos. I love tacos and shrimp and these met my expectations and more. Placed inside a uni-tasker taco holder, were three tacos. Each had two layers of warm, white corn tortillas filled with shreaded cabbage, perfectly seasoned, pan-seared shrimp, a lime aioli, and garnished with a cilantro leaf. It also comes with a side of jicama, red and yellow bell pepper, and celery cole slaw in a sweet lime dressing. And some lime wedges for your squeezing and flavouring pleasure.

Words cannot describe how ecstatic I was when these arrived and I had that first bite. I've had many fish and shrimp tacos in my time and I've never had some like this. Everything was perfectly balanced between the spice and salt from the shrimp, and the creaminess of the aioli, cut with the splash of lime, and evened with the tortilla and crunch of cabbage. Even the simple cole slaw was perfect with crunch and not overdressed, with a great balance of sweet and sour.

I loved this dish so much, the next week, I re-made it at home, down to the aioli. It wasn't the same, but it quenched my cravings for these shrimp tacos for the time being.

I don't know why they made changes to The Tangaroa Terrace all of a sudden, but I am forever thankful that they did.

-Charlotte