The 2024 Lunar New Year Festival at California Adventure has started and with it comes different food to try. The event, which runs until February 18th, includes 6 Festival Marketplaces (food booths) as well as specialty items offered at different restaurants. We’ve tried a decent amount of what’s offered at the Lunar New Year Fest and, in this post, we’ll rank and review all of the items we’ve tried!

Even though it is the perceived offseason at Disneyland Resort, Lunar New Year Festival always seems to bring in crowds. I’m always very surprised at how long the lines are at the festival marketplaces. Sure, some days might not be as busy but be prepared to wait for a while if you’re ordering food. Thankfully, the lines generally move pretty fast.

There are a few ways to avoid the crowds though! Getting there as soon as the marketplaces open, around 10:30 or 11 is a good way to go. Having an early lunch will save you a good amount of time. Another way to beat some of the crowd is that you can order from all of the marketplaces at once. Even if you’re going to four separate booths, you can order from one, go to the pickup line of the different places and show them your receipt. Here’s a link to the menus so that you can be prepared!

If you are planning to eat a decent amount or are sharing with some friends then we recommend the Sip & Savor Pass. At $46 (or $43 for Magic Key Holders), the pass will give you six digital vouchers to redeem for any of the marketplace (and select other locations) dishes or non-alcoholic drinks. We recommend spending the vouchers on the food items as that’s the best bang for the buck. You will likely save a few dollars going this route.

We still have a few items to try at the festival and will add them in over the next week. Relative to last year, we have loved what we’ve tried so far! There are only a few items that I wouldn’t consider ordering again and even those were at least interesting! Let’s get to the list.

12. Bahn Mi (Paradise Garden Grill)

The Bahn Mi consisted of Grilled pork belly with pickled carrots, cucumbers, daikon, and jalapeños with a spicy mayo. I didn’t find the sandwich to be overly spicy, unless you got a bite of the jalapenos. Unfortunately, I didn’t think the dish was that interesting. The pork belly tasted good but this wasn’t anything special.

11. Garlic Noodles (Longevity Noodle Co.)

The Garlic Noodles were tasty but fairly generic. I thought they had a very buttery noodle taste with parmesan on top. What did differentiate them was when the garlic kicked in, that gave the dish some depth. I don’t think these were overly unique and they’d be easy to replicate at home, but they did taste good.

10. Lunar New Year Punch (Bamboo Blessings)

This mocktail (you can add rum to make it a cocktail) consists of mango nectar, tangerine and grapefruit juices, and banana and coconut syrups garnished with mango jellies. There’s quite a bit going on here, as you can read and it tastes decent. The juice is a little sweet but the banana and grapefruit add some layers to the drink. It’s fairly refreshing but I like other drinks at the festival more.

9. Tiger Milk Boba Tea (Paradise Garden Grill)

Disney drinks are really hit and miss, usually ending up too sweet instead of relying on flavor. That’s not the case here as this Tiger Milk Boba Tea with brown sugar had some nice depth between the brown sugar flavor and boba. On top of that, you could actually taste the tea without it being overpowered by the sweetness. It was a nice and refreshing drink!

8. Fried Lemongrass Chicken Dumplings (Wrapped with Love)

I wanted to like these more than I actually did. The dumplings were served with a plum sauce and weren’t bad overall. I liked the chicken and the lemongrass flavor was nice but a bit overpowering. This is slightly more ambitious than the next entry but not quite as good, in my opinion. That said, if you like lemon chicken then you’ll probably enjoy this!

7. Steamed Pork & Vegetable Dumplings (Wrapped with Love)

These were fairly generic dumplings but that’s not always a bad thing! Dumplings are great, even the ones that aren’t amazing. The pork and vegetable filling was good and balanced, although I wish the pork was a little stronger. Dipping them in the black garlic sauce that came with the dish was a highlight and added some needed flavor.

6. Shrimp Lo Mein (Longevity Noodle Co.)

This dish, consisting of pan-fried lo mein noodles with sautéed shrimp garnished with green onions, packed some flavor into it. I was impressed by the noodles themselves as they had a good sauce and better than other options that had been at this booth over the years. The shrimp also had good flavor but they were rubbery and felt like they’d been sitting out for a while as is unfortunately the case with many festival foods. Overall, I liked this one quite a bit but there were some drawbacks.

5. Mickey Chinese Hot Dog Bun (Bamboo Blessings)

I’m as surprised as you are that this ended up as high as it did. The Mickey shaped bun has just a touch of sweetness along with the sesame seeds and scallions mixed in. The hot dogs put in the bun tasted similar to smokies instead of actual hot dogs. All of it worked well and we were impressed by how fresh it all tasted.

4. Mandarin Orange Mousse Cake (Lucky 8 Lantern)

I don’t always love mousse so ending up this high in the rankings was a pleasant surprise. The dish is made up of layers of mandarin mousse with vanilla cake and clementine compote finished with white chocolate crunch balls and a tangerine glaze. My biggest critique was that I wish the cake and white chocolate was a little more noticeable but I really liked the flavor here. On top of that, this is the prettiest dish at the festival.

3. Green Tea Horchata (Cappuccino Cart)

This drink was really well balanced, with even layers of cinnamon, green tea and cream. It’s a really refreshing drink to walk around the park with. There’s boba in this drink with a flavor that really reminded me of cheesecake. The menus don’t actually say what it was but I ended up thinking they were an asset to the drink rather than a deterrent.

4. Red Spice Fried Chicken Bites (Red Dragon Spice Traders)

They aren’t kidding about the spice here! These had me sweating. But they were also delicious and full of flavor beyond the spiciness. The dish consists of fried chicken chicharrones in spicy red chili sauce. My only complaint is that a few of the chicharrones were largely just breading. That was the case for the majority though and it ended up being a fantastic option. If you like spice, maybe move this dish up a little bit on your list.

3. Raspberry Oat Milk Tea (Wrapped with Love)

This drink is made up of Ceylon Tea, raspberry and demerara syrups, and oat milk garnished with skewered raspberries. I found the depth in this drink to be really refreshing and delicious. The syrups added a sweet and floral flavor while the Oat Milk added a nice, but not too heavy, creaminess. This is my favorite drink I’ve had at any DCA festival.

2. BBQ Pork Bun (Prosperity Bao & Buns)

The star of this dish isn’t the bun, which is filled with delicious and juicy pork. But what ties it all together is the kimchi mayo and garlic chili crunch on top! The mayo gave the dish a spice and creamy taste to perfectly compliment the sweet bun. I didn’t find the crunch to be all that spicy but your mileage may vary. Dumpling and baos at Disneyland Resort are generally hit and miss, but this is the best one I’ve had at DCA or Disneyland.

1. Quesabirria Egg Roll (Lucky 8 Lantern)

I’d elect this dish into the Festival Food Hall of Fame! I’ll even order the plaque! This Egg Roll is filled with Oaxaca cheese, beef birria, and a side of guajillo pepper consommé. Birria is having a well deserved moment, at least around Southern California, and Disney has jumped into that game. Juicy, tender and flavorful beef along with cheese inside of a fried dough is always going to work for me but this manages to not be overly heavy or greasy. The consommé adds a savory stew like flavor to dip the Egg Roll in. This is the best item I’ve had at any California Adventure food festival!

What dishes do you like at California Adventure’s Lunar New Year Festival? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!