BlovesC
home is where the Yeti is
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2008
- Messages
- 2,613
DH and I are on a streak of tackling "new to us" Disney restaurants for our date night. 
One of DH's favorite things in the world is Chinese takeout, which I absolutely refuse to eat in any shape or form (though I love other Asian cuisines). So when I suggested Nine Dragons, he was surprised to say the least, and very excited!
BUT FIRST! Cupcakes!
I've admired pictures of these two cupcakes at Sunshine Seasons for a bit now, and after riding Living with the Land (one of my favorites!) I steered DH towards SS!
I chose the Pineapple Coconut Cupcake:
Very pretty, very summery, very generous portion. I wanted to love this, but I really didn't. If you want to recreate this cupcake at home, grab some yellow boxed cake mix, toss in a can of pineapple, and frost with some canned cream cheese icing. It was moist and sweet, but I just didn't enjoy how fake it tasted. Baking cupcakes is a hobby of mine, but generally everything I make gets given out and it can be so much work I LOVE treating myself to an effortless, indulgent cupcake at Disney. But the day before I ate this, I'd made a batch for my coworkers; vanilla shortbread cupcakes with a key lime curd filling topped with fresh whipped cream...so that was still probably weighing on my tastebuds and clouding my judgment, haha!
DH chose the carrot cupcake:
He loved it! He said it was very dense and solid, but still fluffy. And he loves the taste of canned frosting so this was pretty successful for him!
On our way to dinner, we hit up La Cava del Tequila in Mexico for a jalapeno margarita. We simply can't set foot into Epcot without DH getting one of these, and while I love the taste of them, I rarely drink at Disney. I'm one of those people who instantly gets flushed and starts melting at the first sip of alcohol, so I need to be in the blasting AC or by a pool to drink!
We got his drink...and while it LOOKED normal...
There was something seriously wrong with this. DH took a few small sips and kept making faces, then he asked me to try it. It tasted like a glass of ice water with jalapenos in it! The kick of heat was definitely there, but absolutely nothing else. I took a much longer sip and tasted pretty much nothing...and definitely didn't get any flush. It seriously tasted like half the ingredients had been forgotten! We got the attention of the bartender, who made the drink the last time we had it. He actually took a sip of it himself, and I don't know whether or not he agreed with our assessment of it, but he DID make us a new one right away, which we really appreciated. And the next one was perfect, as always! It definitely hit me after I took a few more sips than I normally would just to "be sure" it was perfect. So weird.
We checked into Nine Dragons at exactly 6, and the hostess was preparing to have us seated before we even gave our name. Even at peak dining times in July this place seems woefully unpopular!
I absolutely loved the gorgeous decor inside...
I've read numerous reports of the seating area being very cramped. We were seated at a table right in the middle of the restaurant, and I felt we had plenty of space, even as patrons were seated at each of the surrounding tables. Perhaps they've spread things out a bit? It was definitely FAR roomier than the horrible table we were given at La Hacienda de San Angel, where waiters bumped into us each time they passed!
I loved the placemats, and it had certainly been awhile since a server handed me a crayon in a restaurant!
For our appetizer, I was hoping to try the Shrimp & Taro lollipops, but settled on a compromise with DH, who wanted something more known to him:
"Shrimp and Chicken Eggrolls with Ginger-Soy and Plum-Chili Sauce"
These really hit the spot. I'm not much of an eggroll person, because usually they're filled with pork, which I don't eat. But these were generously stuffed with big chunks of chicken and shrimp and vegetables, and they were VERY crispy without feeling greasy, almost like they were baked. The sauces worked well for us...DH preferred the ginger-soy, and I preferred the plum-chilli!
For my entree, I chose the Peppery Shrimp:
"Peppery shrimp with lightly spiced spinach noodles."
This was pretty much a perfect summer evening entree! I love the colors with the peppers mixed in, and the portion was deceptively generous. Our server, who was lovely, warned me about the spice factor on the dish, so I was prepared for some true heat, and this didn't really have any, at least to my standards, but then I love spicy food! While it may not have been too hot, I loved the flavors, and how plentiful and plump the shrimp were.
DH chose something he always enjoys, Kung Pao chicken:
"Kung Pao Chicken; A saucy Guest favorite-With Peanuts and Dried Chili Peppers"
Once again our extra considerate server cautioned DH about the spice factor and warned him about the chili peppers...which he ate like they were candy, anyway. This dish definitely had a nice kick to it though! I tried a bit of it and I wasn't a fan. I'm not a fan of overly salty, sticky sauces, which is why I don't like chinese takeout, but for DH, this was, in his words, "like really, REALLY good takeout".
The chilli peppers and the three eggrolls he'd eaten led DH to bow out of dessert, although I tried to pressure him into ordering something just so I could try it!
But I knew what I wanted before we went in....
Caramel-ginger ice cream!
Yes, this is the same exact ice cream you can get at the CS, Lotus Blossom Cafe. That didn't bother me one bit. I LOVE this stuff. The flavors are so subtle until you get a bite of one of the soft chunks of ginger which provide such an instant burst of powerful flavor. And it tasted even better not having to eat it out of a plastic container with a plastic spoon, so this definitely was a one-up on Lotus Blossom!
This was a very well-paced meal, and definitely one of the cheapest we've enjoyed at WS. Service was excellent, the ambiance was lovely, the restaurant was quiet and the low crowd was a pretty nice change for WS. Never in a million years would I have thought one of my favorite meals at Epcot would come from the China pavilion! We will definitely be going again.
One of DH's favorite things in the world is Chinese takeout, which I absolutely refuse to eat in any shape or form (though I love other Asian cuisines). So when I suggested Nine Dragons, he was surprised to say the least, and very excited! BUT FIRST! Cupcakes!
I've admired pictures of these two cupcakes at Sunshine Seasons for a bit now, and after riding Living with the Land (one of my favorites!) I steered DH towards SS!
I chose the Pineapple Coconut Cupcake:
Very pretty, very summery, very generous portion. I wanted to love this, but I really didn't. If you want to recreate this cupcake at home, grab some yellow boxed cake mix, toss in a can of pineapple, and frost with some canned cream cheese icing. It was moist and sweet, but I just didn't enjoy how fake it tasted. Baking cupcakes is a hobby of mine, but generally everything I make gets given out and it can be so much work I LOVE treating myself to an effortless, indulgent cupcake at Disney. But the day before I ate this, I'd made a batch for my coworkers; vanilla shortbread cupcakes with a key lime curd filling topped with fresh whipped cream...so that was still probably weighing on my tastebuds and clouding my judgment, haha!
DH chose the carrot cupcake:
He loved it! He said it was very dense and solid, but still fluffy. And he loves the taste of canned frosting so this was pretty successful for him!
On our way to dinner, we hit up La Cava del Tequila in Mexico for a jalapeno margarita. We simply can't set foot into Epcot without DH getting one of these, and while I love the taste of them, I rarely drink at Disney. I'm one of those people who instantly gets flushed and starts melting at the first sip of alcohol, so I need to be in the blasting AC or by a pool to drink!
We got his drink...and while it LOOKED normal...
There was something seriously wrong with this. DH took a few small sips and kept making faces, then he asked me to try it. It tasted like a glass of ice water with jalapenos in it! The kick of heat was definitely there, but absolutely nothing else. I took a much longer sip and tasted pretty much nothing...and definitely didn't get any flush. It seriously tasted like half the ingredients had been forgotten! We got the attention of the bartender, who made the drink the last time we had it. He actually took a sip of it himself, and I don't know whether or not he agreed with our assessment of it, but he DID make us a new one right away, which we really appreciated. And the next one was perfect, as always! It definitely hit me after I took a few more sips than I normally would just to "be sure" it was perfect.
So weird.We checked into Nine Dragons at exactly 6, and the hostess was preparing to have us seated before we even gave our name. Even at peak dining times in July this place seems woefully unpopular!
I absolutely loved the gorgeous decor inside...
I've read numerous reports of the seating area being very cramped. We were seated at a table right in the middle of the restaurant, and I felt we had plenty of space, even as patrons were seated at each of the surrounding tables. Perhaps they've spread things out a bit? It was definitely FAR roomier than the horrible table we were given at La Hacienda de San Angel, where waiters bumped into us each time they passed!
I loved the placemats, and it had certainly been awhile since a server handed me a crayon in a restaurant!
For our appetizer, I was hoping to try the Shrimp & Taro lollipops, but settled on a compromise with DH, who wanted something more known to him:
"Shrimp and Chicken Eggrolls with Ginger-Soy and Plum-Chili Sauce"
These really hit the spot. I'm not much of an eggroll person, because usually they're filled with pork, which I don't eat. But these were generously stuffed with big chunks of chicken and shrimp and vegetables, and they were VERY crispy without feeling greasy, almost like they were baked. The sauces worked well for us...DH preferred the ginger-soy, and I preferred the plum-chilli!
For my entree, I chose the Peppery Shrimp:
"Peppery shrimp with lightly spiced spinach noodles."
This was pretty much a perfect summer evening entree! I love the colors with the peppers mixed in, and the portion was deceptively generous. Our server, who was lovely, warned me about the spice factor on the dish, so I was prepared for some true heat, and this didn't really have any, at least to my standards, but then I love spicy food! While it may not have been too hot, I loved the flavors, and how plentiful and plump the shrimp were.
DH chose something he always enjoys, Kung Pao chicken:
"Kung Pao Chicken; A saucy Guest favorite-With Peanuts and Dried Chili Peppers"
Once again our extra considerate server cautioned DH about the spice factor and warned him about the chili peppers...which he ate like they were candy, anyway.
This dish definitely had a nice kick to it though! I tried a bit of it and I wasn't a fan. I'm not a fan of overly salty, sticky sauces, which is why I don't like chinese takeout, but for DH, this was, in his words, "like really, REALLY good takeout". The chilli peppers and the three eggrolls he'd eaten led DH to bow out of dessert, although I tried to pressure him into ordering something just so I could try it!
But I knew what I wanted before we went in....
Caramel-ginger ice cream!
Yes, this is the same exact ice cream you can get at the CS, Lotus Blossom Cafe. That didn't bother me one bit. I LOVE this stuff. The flavors are so subtle until you get a bite of one of the soft chunks of ginger which provide such an instant burst of powerful flavor. And it tasted even better not having to eat it out of a plastic container with a plastic spoon, so this definitely was a one-up on Lotus Blossom!
This was a very well-paced meal, and definitely one of the cheapest we've enjoyed at WS. Service was excellent, the ambiance was lovely, the restaurant was quiet and the low crowd was a pretty nice change for WS. Never in a million years would I have thought one of my favorite meals at Epcot would come from the China pavilion! We will definitely be going again.
I thought the same thing!
