Avatar Themed Dinner

This week, we enjoyed an Avatar themed dinner inspired by the food and drinks at Walt Disney World’s Pandora!

Pandora World of Avatar is a themed land inspired by the film.  This exotic and strikingly beautiful area celebrates the culture of the Na’vi and their relationship with nature.  And to commemorate the release of Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney+, I decided to make some of our favorite dishes from Pandora for a special dinner!

Pandora has two dining locations: Satu’li Canteen and Pongu Pongu.

At Satu’li Canteen, guests step inside a former RDA mess hall, now adorned with Na’vi art and artifacts.  On the menu you will find build-your-own bowl options as well as the famous cheeseburger pods.

Satu’li Canteen is one of our favorite quick service locations in Walt Disney World. To see more, check out our Top Quick Service Locations in Each Park!

Pongu Pongu is a snack stand located near Satu’li Canteen.  Here, you can order the famous Night Blossom slush.  Pongu Pongu also serves pretzels, pongu lumpia, and other specialty beverages.

We’ve had the pleasure of dining at these locations on multiple visits, so I rounded up our favorite menu items to create our Avatar dinner menu. 

Making these dishes was a great way to recreate some Disney magic at home when we miss the parks!

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Cheeseburger Steamed Pods

First up on our Avatar dinner menu was the famous Cheeseburger Steamed Pods.  Think all your favorite cheeseburger ingredients wrapped up in a pillowy soft bao bun.  It’s no wonder these are wildly popular at Walt Disney World!

I decided to get creative with our cheeseburger pods and didn’t follow a particular recipe.  Instead, I created my own filling with the following ingredients:

• 1lb hamburger
• ¼ cup finely diced onion
• 4oz Velveeta
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 3 Tbl relish
• 2 Tbl mustard
• 1 tsp garlic

First, I browned the hamburger in a skillet on the stovetop.  Once it was mostly cooked through, I tossed in the onion and cooked until soft.  Then, I added the remaining ingredients and continued cooking until the cheese was melted and the sauce was thickened.

I made my filling ahead of time and stored it in the refrigerator until I was ready to fill the bao buns. 

I’ve never made bao before, but I remembered Disney shared an authentic family recipe to accompany their adorable short, Bao.  So, I figured that’d be the perfect recipe to use for my dough!  You can find the full recipe at Food and Wine.

I’m happy to report the blending of the two recipes worked great, and I was thrilled with the end result!

Now, they weren’t nearly as pretty as the bao buns at Disney.  But they were soooo good.  The kids were big fans, and I have to say, I may have enjoyed these cheeseburger pods even more than the ones at Satu’li Canteen! (Big talk, I know!)

Teylu Hot Dog

The next dish on our Avatar dinner menu was inspired by the Teylu Hot Dog you can find on the kids’ menu at Satu’li Canteen. 

To make our Teylu Hot Dog, I used a copycat recipe from Diznify.  This was a super simple recipe to follow, and the result was great!

My six-year-old is a big fan of the original dish from Satu’li Canteen, and remarked how our Teylu Hot Dogs were just like the ones at Disney!

Ocean Moon Bowl

The Ocean Moon Bowl appeared on Satu’li Canteen’s menu to coincide with the release of Avatar: The Way of Water.  Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of trying this dish (yet!), and I haven’t seen any recipes online.

But it’s just so pretty!  And if we’re watching The Way of Water, we have to have it, right?

So, I got way creative with this one.  On Satu’li Canteen’s menu, it lists the following ingredients for this dish: blue noodles, tuna, watermelon radish, pickled daikon, rainbow carrots, avocado, cucumbers, and red cabbage with miso and sweet soy drizzle topped with micro cilantro.  That’s a lot going on!

I simplified things to make our Ocean Moon Bowl.  First, I stuck with the following ingredients: blue noodles, watermelon radish, rainbow carrots, avocado, red cabbage, edamame, and yum yum sauce.

To make our blue noodles, I first tried boiling spaghetti noodles with butterfly pea flower tea.  This is what we use to make blue milk for our May the Fourth Party, so I was hoping I would get a similar effect.

The result, however, was more of a sad green shade.  So, I cheated and tossed the noodles in a Ziploc bag with a few drops of blue food coloring.  Presto – blue noodles!

Then, I topped the bowl with our veggies and drizzled everything with a healthy dose of yum yum sauce.

I’m sure our Ocean Moon Bowl tasted nothing like the one from Disney, but I thought it was delicious, nonetheless.  I also think it captured the visual appeal of the original dish quite nicely!

Night Blossom

Our Avatar dinner wouldn’t have been complete without Pongu Pongu’s immensely popular Night Blossom slush.

To make our Night Blossoms, I used limeade and prickly pear syrup.  I blended each with ice and layered the two flavors together.  Then, I topped them off with popping boba pearls I purchased from Amazon here.

While my concoction wasn’t quite the same as Disney’s, the kids immediately recognized the treat and thoroughly enjoyed the sugar rush.

Pongu Lumpia

To cap off our Avatar dinner, I decided to make Pongu Pongu’s popular snack – Pongu Lumpia.  This sweet treat is a pineapple-cream cheese spring roll dusted in sugar.

To make our Pongu Lumpia, I used a recipe straight from the Disney Parks Blog.  You can’t get more authentic than that unless you’re in the parks!

This recipe called for simple ingredients and was very easy to follow.

The Pongu Lumpia turned out great!  They were a wonderful reminder of our adventures in Pandora and a fantastic way to enjoy some Disney magic at home.

I hope you enjoyed our Avatar themed dinner!  Looking for more Disney themed dinners?  Check out our Brave Themed Dinner and our Enchanted Themed Dinner!

Have any ideas for future themed dinners?  Let us know in the comments!

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