When at Universal Epic Universe, why not dine with dragons? The new park has two full-service restaurants located in its central area, called Celestial Park, The Atlantic and The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant. We chose to eat at The Blue Dragon on our last park day, and it was my birthday dinner!
The Vibe
Just like the park, the restaurant comes alive at night. To enter, you pass through the coiled body of a blue dragon with eyes blazing, ready to attack. You then walk into a traditionally designed Asian building. Once inside, the colorful, bright signs above make you feel like you are walking into a downtown market instead of a restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is beautifully themed with red wood, hanging lanterns, and tree statues. Two fierce dragons meet head-to-head on the back wall, their blue bodies symmetrically stretching across and lighting up the sides of the room.
The Selections
If you like Pan-Asian cuisine, then you will find the menu as impressive as the building you are dining in. There are small plates, dim sum, noodles and rice, big plates, and sweets options to choose between. Three of us ordered noodles and rice entrees, and one of us ordered a big plates entree.
My youngest son chose the Tonkotsu Ramen, which contains ramen noodles, rich pork broth, chashu pork, tare egg, shiitake mushrooms, and togarashi oil. It was beautifully presented, and he enjoyed his choice even though he said he would order my dish next time.
I had the Peanut Shrimp Noodles, which consists of crispy shrimp, pan-fried noodles, shiitake mushrooms, gai lan, Thai peanut sauce, and toasted coconut. I love mushrooms, peanut sauce, and coconut, so the dish seemed like an obvious choice for me, and it was delicious!
My husband had the Dragon Fried Rice. This entrée takes the classic fried rice dish to a new level! It has wok fried rice, lump crab, shrimp, sausage, egg, and snow peas. We all enjoyed sampling it. The sausage was surprisingly good.
My oldest son was the only one of us who ordered a big plate. He chose the Beef and Broccoli, containing stir-fried kalbi beef, caulilini, gai lan, broccolini, and white rice. He let me try the steak, and it was very tender and flavorful. I would like to order this dish on my next visit!
Other entrée options include Crispy Orange Chicken, Chicken Khao Soi, and Beef Xi’an Noodles. There is a good mix of popular and classic Asian dishes with more inventive choices.
The Beverages
We also tried some of the non-alcoholic beverages. One reason I chose this restaurant for my birthday meal is because I love hot tea. The Blue Dragon has a wonderful hot tea selection. You can order pots of The Dragon’s Stardust Custom Blend, Orchid Oolong, Plum Oolong, Jasmine Reserve, Egyptian Chamomile, Tali’s Masala Chai, Earl Grey Crème, and French Lemon Ginger. I had the Plum Oolong, and it was a delectable blend of organic schizandra berries and sweet amber oolong leaves with rosehips and hibiscus.
My boys each had one of the mocktails. One had the Golden Dragon, and the other had the Thai Boba. The Golden Dragon contains lime juice, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, turmeric syrup, jalapeño essence, and ground ginger. My oldest son found it to be a different and tasty juice blend. The Thai Boba contains Hokkaido milk tea powder, vanilla almond milk, black sugar syrup, coffee boba, and Dalgona coffee foam. My youngest son really enjoyed this coffee mocktail. Of course, there are lots of creative cocktails to try as well.
The Service
The wait staff were friendly and efficient. They do have a service policy where they serve your dishes as soon as they are prepared and ready. This ensures that everyone receives a hot, fresh dish, but it also means that not everyone receives their meal at the same time. I had to wait the longest, but I didn’t mind. Even though our dishes were served one at a time, they were in quick succession, and we still enjoyed our meal together.
Overall, I would recommend The Blue Dragan Pan-Asian Restaurant at Epic Universe if you like the cuisine. The park is open late, and a full day on your feet makes a sit-down meal much appreciated. While the restaurant is prettier on the outside at night, the inside maintains the same lighting throughout the day. The prices are high, but not any higher than any other full-service restaurants at Universal Orlando. So, why not dine with the dragons!
Laci Post is a travel agent for Dreams Unlimited Travel and would be happy to help you with your next Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, or Celebrity adventure.
