Several years ago, a family of new owners planted their spatulas at Cheng's Chinese. They're from Fujian, China, a province known not only for its oolong tea but also for its diverse array of fresh fish. Perhaps this familiarity with seafood is why one of the most popular menu items is the lunch buffet's fried shrimp, which careens through a blizzard of rice flour before it briefly hurtles into a hot pan. Chefs also wrap egg rolls, simmer soups from scratch, and make their own dumplings and wontons.
Crafting notably delectable frozen treats in small batches, Marble Slab Creamery utilizes ingredients from around the world and fresh dairy from local farms to percolate palates with super-premium ice cream. Just like tax forms, chef-inspired concoctions are prepared on frozen marble slabs to ensure optimal freshness and easy customization. The frozen slab enables expert dippers and mixers to gently incorporate your choice of candies, nuts, and more into the ice cream on the spot. Grab a heaping dish of original flavors ($3.79 for a regular size) such as pumpkin, honey, bubblegum, mango, and amaretto, or opt for the hefty Big Dipper size ($4.89), which comes standard with one mix-in such as cashews or Kit Kat pieces ($0.59 for additional mix-ins). Enjoy your custom creation in a cup or a freshly baked waffle cone, which can also be painted orange to mark off hazardous potholes in living-room floors.
The cooks at Ichiban Hibachi Buffet prepare a bounty of Japanese and Chinese dishes served hibachi- or buffet-style. Seasoned hibachi chefs cook Japanese and Chinese dishes on tabletop grills, flipping entrees in the air to dazzle patrons and momentarily alarm the janitor. Diners can peruse dozens of sushi rolls and sashimi varieties at the sushi bar—made with shrimp tempura, avocado, eel, or spicy white tuna—or enjoy helpings of dishes such as roast-pork lo mein and moo goo gai pan.
Slurp an 8-ounce cup of mushroom-brie soup ($2.69) or bite into a hearty honey-turkey wrap with colby jack, tomato, and mustard ($6.89). Green day's menu offers lettuce, veggies, and savory dressings spread out in a salad or rolled into a wrap. Fans of fiery flavors can try the buffalo chicken wrap tempered by cool gorgonzola ($6.89). Selections come sided with choice of veggie chips or broccoli crunch (florets flavored up by sunflower seeds and raisins). Energy seekers can rev up naturally with an antioxidant-rich guzzle of cool Via Blast ($4.89). Kids' options are also available.
Amid brick walkways and burnt-red walls, leaves rustle softly. Steam rises in the distance, then quietly disappears. One moment, this place emits smoky hints of cedar; the next, it teems with notes of ginger and cinnamon bark. This isn’t an idyllic college campus on a brisk autumn night. It’s Infusion Tea, a charming café on the balmy streets of Orlando. Sun streams through oversized windows, warming chilly scoops of gelato and triple-decker cream-cheese sandwiches. More than 70 types of tea—including blacks, greens, oolongs, and herbals—can be ordered hot or cool, like most jazz saxophone solos. Though they hail from faraway lands such as China, Japan, and South Africa, many of these teas are organic and fair-trade certified, reflecting values owner Christina Cowherd cultivated while traveling the world in the Peace Corps. Rare, premium teas such as gyokuro transport taste buds to new frontiers as well, whether nestled in a takeaway tin or steeped in a pot made for sharing in house.