Foodie Finds: Anaheim Packing District

So, I'm a little late discussing the Anaheim Packing District.  I went for the first time last night, and it was something.  I was expecting it to be a bit more open in terms of space.  Every inch of space has either a food/drink/merchandise stand or is covered with tables, chairs, and swings (yes, SWINGS!).  It's a foodie paradise in a way because there are so many options.  Unfortunately I only tried two places because I arrived about an hour before closing.  I will have more pictures of the interior next time I go, since there aren't any of downstairs, except for where I ate.
 

 Giant chickens were on either side of the doors! 

Upstairs, right.

Upstairs, left.

Strawberry lemonade w/boba
& cotton candy, in a jar.

A sticky mess that ended up on me sweater.

First stop:  Mini Monster.  They were running out of jars, and had run out of vegan Thai Tea. That was the one thing I wanted to try.  Instead I had the strawberry lemonade.  The same given tasted better than what I got, perhaps because it was more concentrated.  Anyway, since it was my first time, I  got my drink in a jar ($2.00 extra) & added the cloud, which is just some cotton candy (also extra).  There were also options to add Fruity Pebbles or Tajin.  The novelty of the cotton candy quickly wore off, as it became a sticky mess after it was gone.  The residue mixed with the condensation.  You can imagine what that was like.  Fun for one's first time, but I wouldn't get it again.  Since my drink wasn't really sweet--it was actually a bit watered down, I added the cotton candy to it.  There wasn't much boba either.  On the plus-side, there were a lot of strawberries.  Their cotton candy was okay.  Not as melt-in-your-mouth as the stuff from theme parks.  I want to say the whole drink was around $10.00.  Yes, that is insanely expensive, but considering the jar is take-home, it was worth it.  I heard they give a discount if you come back and use it.  They also had split cups.  I was tempted to get one with two different drinks in order to try everything that they had, but I didn't.  There is quite a gap between the halves (it's not a cup with a divider inside), and you don't get a whole lot of liquid.  Plus, I'm not sure if the cup is reusable.

Hot pot!

Next it was time for dinner.  There were so many places to choose from.  I wanted to try the poutine because it's one of my favorite dishes.  One place had all kinds of poutine:  chicken pot pie, katsu curry, and others.  There was also a pho place, a bar, ramen, and many more options.  Decided on hot pot at Rolling Boil.  It's good quality, but for the price I expected a lot more.  I was satisfied at the end, but could have had a little bit more to eat.  My broth combo was sukiyaki & miso (I mixed 2 broths together).  The sukiyaki definitely overpowered the miso.  Just by looking at it, I could tell there wasn't enough miso, but it was still tasty.  Sukiyaki is sweet, so I figured the miso would balance that out because it's saltier.  You get to pick two sauces, and I chose the goma (sesame) and ponzu.  For protein, I picked the 4pcs each/2 types:  New York steak and Gulf Shrimp.  The proteins were very good.  I was a bit iffy getting seafood because you never know, but it was very fresh-- definitely recommend trying it.  According to the server, everything is made from scratch.  Yes, I would go back...even though the prices are ridiculous ($17/my order).  Next time I will try a noodle soup and the s'mores mochi balls (s'mocha).

The insert. Sorry about the liquid on it.
Happens when it's tilted w/the cap on.

The bottle w/iced chai latte.

There was also a smoothie/shave ice place.  They had these really cute bottles.  I'm a sucker for reusable bottles, and at $3.00, I figured it'd be worth the purchase.   They had a few of them.  This one says, "i am Awesome".  It also has a neat little insert to keep ice from hitting you in the face.

*Parking is definitely at a premium.  The lot fills up fast, but there is street parking if you're lucky enough to find a space.  When you go, give time for parking, especially if you get there later at night.

Have you been?  What's your favorite place to go?