Nine Dragons--Impressed!!!

[ChrisMouse]

Hi all...

Just a quick review for you.

We were at WDW Nov. 15-22 for a trade show/anniversary trip. We were only able to spend evenings in the park, so did not get to enjoy much Disney food. We had a rather lackluster pizza at MVMCP and a delectable cinnamon roll (warm...mmmm) at the Main St. Bakery...

But our noteable dining experience was at Nine Dragons, of all places. We didn't get a chance to make ADRs for this trip, so we ended up eating off property a lot, and we ate a mediocre dinner at Planet Hollywood, but on Friday night we ate at Nine Dragons at Epcot and I am so impressed.

I was impressed that there was only a short wait, even without ADRs, and I expected it to be terrible as a result. The atmosphere isn't stellar. The restrooms are too small for the size of the restaurant. The decor is understated. It's ok, but the tables are smashed in there pretty good...they turn the tables very fast and are doing a good job of efficiently earning money for Disney LOL, but the food was fantastic.

Granted, we live in Denver, where the Chinese food is mediocre at best in general, but I grew up in San Francisco and have a love for good Chinese food.

We had an egg roll appetizer that isn't listed on the online menus that I've seen. They were shrimp and chicken egg rolls, and were phenomenal. The wrapping was crispy and not the slightest bit greasy. The chicken and shrimp were flavorful and complemented each other well. There were some diced peppers in there, but none of the overwhelming cabbage flavor that you usually can get with an egg roll. It was really outstanding.

My DH had kung pao chicken. He ate every bite and really enjoyed the sauce...spicy and well done. There were a few too many peanuts for his taste, but otherwise he liked it. I had the honey sesame chicken, and it was fantastic. The chicken was beautiful white meat with a tender coating that was perfectly cooked...crispy and not the slightest bit soggy despite the plentiful tangy sauce.

We didn't want to leave a single bite on our plates, so we were too stuffed full to have dessert, so I can't comment on the dessert choices...

I wholeheartedly recommend Nine Dragons...give it a try for something a little different!

 

[emh1129]

Glad to read your review! My Dad ate there in September and commented how delicious the food was. We'll have to give it a try sometime.

 

[rcraw45425]

SO glad you enjoyed it! You ordered our two favorite dishes, I get the KP chicken every time and DH and the girls get the Honey Sesame chicken. Of course he picks off of mine and I pick off of the girls, but I agree about the KP sauce, it is awesome. One of our local Chinese restaurants was named an "International Famous Restaurant of Chinese Cuisine" in Beijing, China recently. Apparently it's like the Olympics of Chinese cooking. Funny thing is we highly prefer Nine Dragons to it. Guess the chefs at Chef Lee's cook differently to impress the judges than they do to impress the average customesr, We dined there during our trip two weeks ago and walked away satisfied and wishing WDW was closer!

 

[Cat0727]

Mmm thanks so much for the review! You ordered two things both my sister and I enjoy. I hope to try it on my next trip! Did you happen to notice if they have scallion pancakes on the menu?

 

[hogwartsdropout]

I also enjoyed the Kung Pao Chicken. I ate there about a month ago. Something to note though... when getting dessert, don't get the rice pudding! It's really awful!

 

[bobbyshawatl]

We ate there on the Nov. 11th. We tried to go on Saturday, but they were not taking reservations, so we made a resy for a couple of days later. It WAS very good. Me, my mom, and dad got their special of the night, General Tso's chicken. It was served on a bed of spinach noodles. The chicken was excellent, and the noodles were great as well. Everything was spicy... even the noodles. They had some sort of red pepper seasoning on them. My wife got the honey chicken, which she thought was ok... I tried some of it, and liked it, but the General Tso's was better.

The service was quick, and the food came out fast. I was pleased with everything about the experience. It was one of our best meals of the trip.

 

[rcraw45425]

glad to hear that about the General Tso's, the specials were really selling when we were there. THat is something new for them (specials), maybe I'll try it in June (or not since I love the KP so much )

 

[TammyNC]

We eat there the last day of every trip (kids call it a tradition). We normally end up splitting two plates of the Honey Sesame Chicken and enjoy a bowl of WonTon soup also. We'll be eating there in a couple of weeks.