A hypnotizing display

I’m not sure I have the words for how great this single dish is from the Polynesian’s Kona Cafe. The Asian Noodle Bowl is a steaming bowl of broth, noodles, and other tasty bits. Here’s how the menu describes it:

Spiced Beef Broth with Strip Steak, Asian Vegetables and Rice Noodles

That is perhaps the most undeserving and underwhelming explanation of a meal anywhere in Walt Disney World. Chopped greens, peppers, onions, mushrooms and other shredded vegetables fill the spaces between the rice noodles and strips of beef. The rice noodles are thin and chewy, with a bit of crunch from the noodles that haven’t absorbed the broth. The strip steam is thinly sliced, tender, and very juicy. All of these elements are listed in the menu, but they don’t do the bowl justice, and the additions that aren’t listed are what truly make the course.

The spiced broth is solid on its own, a bit of spice and salt, along with the flavors from the meat and vegetables in the rest of the dish. However, the Asian Noodle Bowl is accompanied by a small cup and a won ton soup spoon. The cup contains a puree of peppers meant to turn up the heat on the concoction. The lovely server presented the meal with the warning that the pepper mixture would really make my taste buds feel the burn, so I should slowly add in how much I needed to reach my desired heat level. As I like all things spicy, I ended up using the entire paste and enjoyed every bit of the sweat that broke across my forehead. Also, the sour twinge provided by the lime wedges were great at cutting the brininess of the broth and bringing out the fresh flavors of the vegetables and pepper sauce.

I guess I did have a few more words about the Asian Noodle Bowl than I thought, but if you only take away one word for this dish, let it be ‘delicious.’