REVIEW and PHOTOS! The Painted Panda at Epcot's Festival of the Arts at Disney World!

Greetings from the Epcot International Festival of the Arts! We’re eating our way around the park to bring you ALL THE FOOD at this year’s fest!

Festival of the Arts Sign

We’ve worked our way ’round the World (Showcase) tasting all the Food Studios have to offer! From France to Italy, to Japan, we’ve loved it all, and now we’re seeing what China has to offer over at The Painted Panda!

The Painted Panda is located in the China Pavilion in World Showcase. This spot rarely disappoints! This year brought all-new food options and a new drink as well!

2020 The Painted Panda Food Studio Menu

Food

First up at The Painted Panda is the Spicy Beef Shumai for $10.50. WOW. Seriously, this was so SO good. These perfectly moist little pillows of meat and carb heaven actually pack a fair bit of heat! These little steamed beef dumplings paired perfectly with the crunchy fresh pickles they’re served on. We could not get enough of this.

Spicy Beef Shumai

Next up, we took a bite out of the Char Siu Pork Bun for $7.50. We LOVE a good steam bun, and this did not disappoint. The pork was perfectly roasted, coated in a mix of salty and sweet sauce. The bun had just the right amount of stickiness and wasn’t at all stale or dry. It comes loaded with thin edible flowers which, while pretty to look at, didn’t bring much to the table and kept blowing away in the wind! This is a really fantastic small bite.

Char Siu Pork Bun

Drinks

One drink we were VERY curious to try at this year’s festival was the Sea Butterfly for $12.50. Butterfly Pea Flower’s magical color-changing powers are SO cool and any time we can sip something in an otherworldly hue, we’ll be the first to scope it out! It is GORGEOUS! Lychee lovers, listen up! This is the drink for you, as that flavor dominates the drink due to the lychee syrup it’s made with. It is made with Vodka and Light Rum and has, of course, boba pearls!

Sea Butterfly

Next up we tried the non-alcoholic “Panda” Bubble Tea for $7.25. This is classic milk tea with black and white boba pearls (the chewy kind, not the popping kind!). If you love boba tea (we do!) you’ll love this. It’s creamy, not too sweet, and the pearls are fun to chew on with each sip.

“Panda” Milk Bubble Tea

The Jasmine Draft Beer for $5.00 was a very approachable beer. It’s mild and not too hoppy with the tiniest hint of floral notes to it.

Jasmine Draft Beer

China often serves up fun and fruity mixed drinks and The Fortune Cookie for $11.00 is no exception. Made with a mix of ByeJoe Spirit, Amaretto, coconut, and pineapple, this is very sweet and creamy and is reminiscent of a piña colada.

Fortune Cookie

Last but not least, this drink seems to have become a staple at many Epcot festivals now! The Kung Fu Punch for $10.50 is back at the Festival of the Arts this year! It’s listed as being made with just Vodka and Triple Sec, but in the past, it’s been made with Mango Syrup and Orange Juice as well. This is sweet and strong, and always enjoyable to sip on.

Kung Fu Punch

Another MEGA cool option at this booth is the chance to purchase handmade sugar art here! Sugar artists will create practically any animal you can think of by freehand drizzling molten sugar right in front of you! It’s presented to you on a stick so you can carry around your creation for all to see (if you don’t eat it first!). Animals cost $15 and a dragon will run you $22!

Wenbo Zhang artistry on display

Read up on all of the menus and food photos from the Festival of the Arts here!

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