Hello, hello! I had the most wonderful opportunity to visit California and spend a delightful 5 days at Disneyland Resort and California Adventure. It was my first time ever to visit the sacred grounds that Walt himself walked on and you can bet that I was the most excited person ever. Of course, the thing that I was most excited about was the food. Therefore today I am going to share the top 10 foods that I absolutely loved!

#10 Mickey Mouse Premium Ice Cream Bar

It was a very hot day when my friend convinced me that I needed to try my very first Mickey Mouse ice cream and I was worried that it would instantly melt into a puddle, but I was very pleased and surprised to find that it was rock solid! Of course it softened up pretty quickly, but I didn’t turn into a drippy sticky mess. I would say that this was a basic ice cream bar, nothing crazy to make it stand out, but ice cream is perfect just the way it is so I’m not complaining! These can be found at ice cream wagons throughout the parks.

#9 Cinnamon Churro

We have churros at Tokyo Disney Resort, but nothing as good as the ones at Disneyland/California Adventure. In Tokyo we have different flavored churros, but I’ve always been a fan of the basic cinnamon sugar nd the churro that I bought at a wagon in Bug’s Land did not let me down at all! I was told that they are freshly fried and sugarcoated in the wagon and I’m sure that’s what makes them so delicious! You can find these all over both parks.

#8 Mint Julep

This was a drink that I wasn’t too sure about heading into my trip to California. My friend had told me how good they were, but I was worried it was going to be overly sweet and not refreshing at all. I was totally wrong though and this delicious beverage quickly became a favorite. It was a good balance of sweet, mint, and lime.  I was really excited to find out that you could get endless refills at Cafe Orleans and our waiter even prepared a to-go cup for us! You can also find non-refill mint juleps at the…wait for it….Mint Julep Bar! These are non-alcoholic by the way.

#7 Mickey Mouse Shaped Beignets

Ever since I watched The Princess and the Frog I’d been curious about beignets, especially after seeing the way Tiana coated them with a cloud of powdered sugar. The beignets at Disneyland were exactly the same! They came in a paper bag filled with powdered sugar. This was my favorite sweet treat throughout the whole trip. I could eat these day and night for days on end. I wouldn’t suggest wearing dark clothes when you eat these beauties. I say this from first hand experience. We got these at the Mint Julep Bar, but I believe they can also be ordered at Cafe Orleans.

#6 Mushroom something something

I have no clue what the official name is and I really don’t know what all was in this dish. I just know it was super delicious and the portion could have been ten times larger. This was a scrumptious dish that I got to eat when a very dear friend graciously invited me to join her at Club33. That experience alone made my trip so special! This was the only dish that made my top 10 list, but I was delighted to find that everything was delicious, especially the monkey bread!

#5 Pomme Frites 

I feel like a lot of the foods on this list are coming from New Orleans Square. Maybe because I spent a lot of time there riding Haunted Mansion Holiday. These french fries with a really fancy name that I probably am pronouncing wrong were so good! I love skinny fries and the crispier the better. These are fries tossed with Parmesan cheese, garlic, and parsley and served with a Cajun spice remoulade. I’m not quite sure what a remoulade is, but I thought it was a bit similar to thousand island dressing. Cafe Orleans is home to the famous Monte Cristo as well.

#4 Vietnamese Twice-cooked Beef Taco

These beautiful tacos very much lived up to their looks and tasted equally, if not more, delicious! They would be higher up on my list if they were a bit easier to eat and if I had remembered to ask for them without cilantro. The pineapple salsa on top was one of the best things I’ve eaten and it went so well with the spicy beef. I had these beauties at the 1901 lounge, but was told that they can also be ordered at Carthay Circle Restaurant.

#3 Mac and Cheese Bread Cone

This was something that I had on my “To Eat” list from the start just because I love mac and cheese a lot and also because I’m not a fan of the cone bread here at Tokyo Disney so I wanted to see how they compare. I am happy to report that I was not disappointed in the least! The highlight of this snack was that the bacon bits were not just on top, they were mixed into the mac and cheese throughout the whole cone! The mac and cheese was creamy and delicious. I didn’t finish the cone because I found it to be a bit on the dry side, but if I had been hungrier I’m sure I would have scarfed it down as well. The Cozy Cone Motel is really nice because along with the delicious cones you can also get sweet treats such as churro bites and soft serve!

#2 Fried Pickles

This appetizer changed my life forever. Again, this was something I was unsure about when my friend told me that it needed to go on the “To Eat” list, but I’m very glad that she convinced me to try it because from now on when I visit Disneyland I am going to be going to Carnation Cafe to eat these and next time I will not be sharing! In general I’m a fan of crispy fried foods and I also love pickles so now that I think of it there was no real reason for my insecurities over this dish. It was a perfect harmony of crispiness and pickleness! (Yes, pickleness is now a word.)

#1 Lobster Nachos

If you’ve ever been in Japan for a long amount of time you will know that it’s really hard to find Mexican food, which is really sad because I love it so much. You should have seen how excited I was when they opened a Taco Bell in Shibuya. Anyway, I was so excited to go to the Cove Bar at California Adventure and try their famous lobster nachos. We went on the last night of our trip and I must say that it was the perfect ending to a perfect week. There was a long line of guests waiting to get a seat and I think we ended up waiting a good 45+ minutes, but it was worth it. Usually I’m not a fan of seafood, but the lobster wasn’t overpowering at all and all of the toppings blended wonderfully. Just a warning though, the jalapenos were very spicy!

As you can see, I’m more of a savory food person than a sweet food person, but everything on this list is something I would definitely eat again. I don’t know when I’ll get to go back to California, but I’ve already started my next “To Eat” list! If you’ve ever been to Disneyland Resort or California Adventure let me know what your favorite food was! There are so many more things that I want to try and can’t wait to go again.