Friday, April 15, 2011

Café TuTu Tango (Orlando)

The foodie that we are, I assign Ben to do some research about some of the must-eat places in Orlando but after the long day walk at the Theme park, we pretty much stick to the restaurant at the hotel or within 10 mins walk from the hotel for our entire stay =P

Café TuTu Tango was the only one on our list that was nearby and on the way to the Outlet Mall on our first day there.... so we decided to head over for Lunch before heading to our vigorous shopping trip... we arrive at 11:10 and we were told that they won't be open until 11:30 but we were seated and were offered to order our drinks while waiting for the kitchen to open (^_^)







The restaurant was inspired by the time when artist found inspiration and community in sharing food, drink and philosophy with one another. Throughout the restaurant, you'll see plenty of arts available for sales...


Even the dancing frogs and vase on display was for sale
and just love how random, how everything doesn't match
 


There was a few of these antique looking drawing table all over the place, at first we thought that it was part of the decor.....

... but an artist came by when we was leaving and actually sat down and started painting, it was so COOL


It's more of a tapas style dishes and there was plates & cutlery right at the table for easy sharing of dishes.  ♥ how colorful everything was


While waiting for their kitchen to open, we got one each of their "Award Winning Sangria".
It was not fruity enough for my Sangria taste but they really didn't skim on the alcohol... it was super strong!!!


I have to say the service was super friendly great... since it was our first visit she kindly listed all the best seller and her personal favorite. We end up ordering most of her suggestion and as usual we order more than any other table especially since it's only lunch and there's only the 2 of us, since we wanted to try everything.. we almost wish we have an extra stomach each =D
We was also told that since everything is made fresh in house it may take longer... but it did came in a very orderly fashion and got our first dish within minutes of ordering

Roasted Pears on Pecan Crisps
~ pecan crisps, crumbled blue cheese & arugula
This is the fish and definitely my fave dish of the day, the crisps came warm and although it's very thin, it has a super crispy & light exterior with a very thin soft center that you could definitely taste the pecan. It's like nothing I've ever tasted and you have to get a bit of everything in a every bite... it's just such a great combination of texture and flavor; sweet of the pear, sour of the vinegar, creamy salty cheese, refreshing arugula together with the earthy crunchy crisps... every bite was like heaven (^_,^)



"Famous" Cajun Chicken Egg Rolls
~ roasted corn, cheddar, goat cheese, red onions, salsa roja and creole mustard
This was their #1 seller and it does live up to it's name... I'm not a big egg roll fan but this was really good, even the salsa on the side was super refreshing and good.
It's even better enjoying it with a cold glass of drink (aka our Sangria)




Picadillo and Cheese Empanadas
~ spicy beef, manchego cheese and cilantro sour cream
I like this one even better than the egg roll, the pastry was super flaky and it's definitely made fresh in-house since you can totally taste the difference. 
With a tiny bit of spice, it's served pipping hot and goes so well with the cold sour cream




Grilled Guava BBQ glazed Ribs
~ malta-guava bbq sauce and pickled cucumber
The waitress mention that it's fall of the bone good but this was definitely on the dry side and was not falling off the bone.... but the pickled cucumber was so good and refreshing, I could munch on it all day long


Pork Cuba Libre
~ pork tenderloin marinated in rum, cola and lime; served with oven roasted creamy sweet potato salad and cilantro-lime mustard
The rum and cola part had us, so we just had to order this =P
Such a lovely and colorful presentation, the sweet potato salad was surprisingly good but as usual pork tends to be on the dry side but the mustard made up for everything since it was so fresh & tangy =P


We were so full by then but as the foodie that I am, I just have to take a look at their dessert menu... but I did promise to Ben that I will not order any...
 but after reading the menu, I really wanted to try the Banana Pizza  then was told by the waitress that it was her favorite without mentioning if and what I'm ordering.
(I really wanted to try the calzone too)


Banana Pizza
~cinnamon flatbread, fresh bananas, banana-walnut ice cream, caramel sauce
You can actually see the guy making this fresh and turning it in the pizza oven and this came pipping hot... I was expecting a thin crust pizza w/ bananas all over it w/ caramel drizzle (something like the one here) but there was some sort of crumble on top with whip cream.... 
Ben said he'll only take a bite and couldn't help me finish it when we order this but he end up eating 1/2 of this =P



Verdict :
Wish there's one like this in Toronto so that I can go back again and again.
If you are in Orlando or decided to visit, this is a MUST-TRY
Fun Decor, Great Service and Great Food (^_^)
 I bet that the atmosphere at night would be even better and you'll be able to enjoy more of their "drinks"

Café Tu Tu Tango on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. I love the decor here~ :) The glazed ribs look good =) Portion size are great, huh? haha you totally get what you pay for in the US, and more!

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  2. The ribs is actually not that great, a bit too dry and tough....We basically eat mostly "island food" for dinner when we were there, so ther'll be another post coming with the same guava ribs taht's much better =P

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  3. Ahhhh yeah the "glaze" on top of the ribs fooled me :)

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