There’s one lone dragon making a huge roar at Universal Orlando Resort’s new theme park Epic Universe, the first American theme park to open in 24 years on May 22. While there’s an entire world dedicated to the mythical creature at How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, across the in Celestial Park section is a mega-sized statue of another dragon, greeting visitors into the pan-Asian restaurant The Blue Dragon.
“We definitely wanted to pay respect to the cultures,” Robert Martinez, Jr., Universal Orlando Resort’s director of culinary and executive chef told Travel + Leisure about the full-service restaurant located near the park’s Universal Helio Grand Hotel, A Loews Hotel. “We didn’t want to recreate our own twist, but have pan-Asian influence, touching on different areas of Asia.”
To do so, the menu includes chicken khao soi and peanut shrimp noodles inspired by Thailand, tonkotsu ramen by Japan, double fried chicken wings by Korea. There are even more nuanced Chinese dishes, like dan dan noodles and wonton in chili oil highlighting southwestern flavors of Sichuan, beef noodles from the western province of Xi’an, and dim sum from the Guangdong region. Also on tap are snowflake potstickers, fused together with a lace crust just like I’d seen in Taiwan.
Adding even more inclusion, the traditional mapu tofu recipe with pork was instead switched out for tofu to provide a vegan option, the chef explained.
“What’s great about Universal and our culinary team is that we’re so diverse,” he said, noting that many of the team’s chefs are of Asian heritage. “A lot of us working out the recipes was asking them, ‘Does this bring you home? Is this how your mother or grandmother would make it?'”
To double down on the authenticity, the food was tested in team member dining locations with an even broader audience. “More team members that are more diverse and absolutely have their own twist and would say, “You know, and my family does it this way,” as they made adjustments to get the flavors just right.
“The only dish that we did put our own little twist on it was the moon cakes,” he said, referring to the Chinese sweet treat traditionally filled with red bean paste. “In our case, we have delicious passionfruit cheesecake, with a little mango jelly in the middle.” The change, he said, comes from a place of love and kept guest preferences in mind.
On top of the food itself, the serving style is also thoughtfully executed. “We have a special place in our heart when it comes to Asian cuisine—it’s how we like to eat,” he said, explaining that it’s not just about the dishes, but about the communal style of dining too. “Things come out as they get made, allowing for the cultural environment of sharing and eating with your family at the table, which is very much associated with Asian culture. So it’s not just the flavors, it’s the experience.”
Indeed, from the moment I stepped into the restaurant, I squealed with delights seeing the neon street signs, so reminiscent of my Asian travels, with one of too-cute cartoons of soup dumplings getting snatched up by chopsticks and another featuring shapes of foods I recognized from Taiwanese night markets. My favorite piece of decor—perhaps in all of Epic Universe—was the happy noodle cat over in the restaurant’s Tiger Bar. It’s a combination of two Asian traditions: a beckoning cat, believed to usher in good luck and fortune, and the slurping of noodles, which is considered a polite way to show you’re enjoying your food.
The main dining room stunned with a traditional red pagoda under a faux night sky that Rodriguez described as a “golden garden with lanterns moving up and down, so that you’re literally dining under the stars with music that has an upbeat kick.”
To the left was a separate room, with place settings and tableware that gave me an instant nostalgic feel of the Asian restaurants I grew up going to both in California and Taiwan. The room had traditional screen doors and it wasn’t until Rodriguez clued me in that I noticed art was of Celestial Park’s skyline but in the style of traditional Asian illustrations—a little Easter egg hidden for those in the know.
Another unique aspect Adam Rivest, Universal Creative vice president of creative management and branding, told T+L is The Blue Dragon’s full tea service. “It’s nothing normally offered in a theme park,” he said. “But it’s so awesome in the middle of the day to go sit and have a relaxing Asian-inspired tea.”
After all, Epic Universe’s dedication to offering a diverse range of true dining experience can be proven in pure numbers: it has just 11 rides but 30 dining establishments, which show a “crossroads for all cultures,” Rivest said. Whether that’s French-inspired fare at Café L’air De La Sirène, Nordic eats at Mead Hall, or barbecue at The Oak & Star Tavern, it’s all about getting the dishes just right.
“We didn’t want to make it anything that was going to disrespect the cultures,” Rodriguez said. “We want to hit you in the heart with authenticity in a way that show we’re really trying to pay respect.”