Opinions on Nine Dragons

[alternativepirate]

Hello everyone,

I love Chinese food and I was wondering what everyone thoughts on Nine Dragons were. I have heard mized reviews but to me the menu looks to have some yummy things listed.

What are your thoughts?

 

[dazednconfused]

Hi,
It was great!! Expensive though. This year, we'll be on the Free Dining plan, so it makes it even better. 2 thumbs up!!

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I have a question. What do they mean by "Chinese food"? Is it authentic or the battered Americanized stuff you get at the mall food court?

 

[Aimeedyan]

I think it's tasty - it's very Americanized, and typical of what you'd find at home. It's a little pricey, esp since many of us can get cheap Chinese in our hometown, but it's a nice change if you're craving Chinese food.

 

[alternativepirate]

I don't mind if it's Americanized. I get lots of athentic Chinese food up here in Canada and it is awesome, but I would love to get a bit down in the world.

 

[goofy&tigger2]

I don't mind if it's Americanized. I get lots of athentic Chinese food up here in Canada and it is awesome, but I would love to get a bit down in the world.

We think its the best Chinese food in Disney. We go there two or three times while there.

 

[LMO429]

looking to hear more thoughts about nine dragons

 

[DisneyKing82]

my family and I love it

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

we're going to try it in Sept for the first time, their counter service is really delicious

 

[PrincessTrisha]

What items are you looking at specifically?

My friend and I ate there at the end of June and really enjoyed it. The shrimp with spinach noodles and the fragrant 5 spice fish were outstanding.

If you go, you must try the cheesecake egg roll (for 2). It was crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside and a little piece of heaven.

If you want to see pictures, they are in my June Deluxe dining reviews link in my signature.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We wanted to eat there because we thought it would be like PF Changes...it was far from it...totally inedible food and DH was sick that night from it...click on my June link for a full review and tons of pictures...there is a reason this place is always available for lunch and dinner.....

 

[walt's assistant]

Pricey, which is why we do not eat there unless it is on the DDP. Food was very typical of Americanized Chinese food, but good. While we would eat there again, we think it is a missed opportunity by Disney to introduce more authentic offerings.

 

[opteeka]

Try the cheesecake egg roll
Food was really good. Kids loved it also. Best Service by far on our last trip in May.

 

[Jutori]

It was a little pricey but we thought the food was delicious! Kinda fusion, not authentic but not really what you would find in regular "take out" chinese places. I thought it was pretty yummy...

 

[clutter]

I think Nine Dragons is hard to peg because, more than any other cuisine, people's ideas of what 'good' or 'authentic' chinese vary so widely.

I don't know what 'authentic' is. And to me, 'good' is based on the quality of the ingredients, meats and vegetables, and whether the sauce seems gummy or not. (Based on that, I just had not good chinese in chinatown, so go figure.)

We actually like Nine Dragons. I think some of the more not common entrees are the better choices. If you order LoMein or Fried Rice, you're just as well off going to the mall.

My dd12 had the honey chicken, and declared it wonderful. The chicken was real, the coating was crispy and fresh and the sauce didn't taste plastic. I had the 5 flavor fish. While the fish was probably frozen, it was good, and the sauce for it was out of this world. I'd definately have that again!! Some of the dishes around me looked good, some not so great.

Anyway, if you're going for fried rice, don't bother. If you're going to try something different, it's not a bad choice.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I'm a little disappointed that the offerings seem so Americanized. While there is a variety of offerings that are "authentic" Chinese food, the North American version of battered chicken balls and fried rice is not. My rule of thumb is the closer it is to what people in China actually eat, the more authentic it is.

 

[BelleCat]

Dh & I ate there last Oct. did not care for anything we ordered. For the life of me the only thing I can remember was a noodle sampler, not bad, but not good. Mediocre, and VERY over priced. I think this is the only place I have ever complained about the price/value in WDW. Stick w/ your local chinese restaurant at home and go somewhere better in WDW.

 

[c&m]

I am lucky to live in the part of Canada where a lot of amazing Hong Kong chefs have immigrated to, and I eat Chinese food almost every day.

I've eaten at Nine Dragons before just to satisfy a Chinese food craving (can't go without it for a week LOL). I must say that my expectations weren't that high and I was surprised it was not absolutely terrible. But it was not great either.

Nine Dragons was not a usual Chinese restaurant menu -- rather limited to fried this 'n that and then loaded with goopy sauce. Good Chinese restaurants have more variety such as stirfried, sauteed, steamed, roasted -- not just deep fried -- and has more seafood/duck/chicken/beef/hotpots/tofu/etc. type of dishes. Also, the Chinese don't eat chow mein or fried rice for dinner (only steamed white rice with the entrees). Chinese restaurants include those noodle and fried rice dishes at dinner for Westerners. That is strictly lunch food, and if it is with dinner, it's only when you have a multi-course banquet.

But it was better than PF Chang's. We always find PF Chang's too loaded with sodium and MSG, therefore hiding the taste of the fresh ingredients. PF Chang's is not Chinese food but a westernized fusion style of it (example: using button mushrooms instead of Chinese mushrooms). If you want to compare Nine Dragons, I'd say it was similar to a Panda Express. So since it compares to mediocre Chinese food, I'd say it's not worth a TS to eat there...but may be worth a CS.

 

[Joshua_me]

^ What she said.

I think in general it's a fairly upscale version of "Americanized Chinese".

Is it better than what you'd find in a food court at the local mall ? For the most part, yes.

Is it "authentic" Chinese ? No, not by a long shot.

But, at least Disney is trying... I'm one of those people that crave Chinese too, and even though it's WAY over-priced, we've had dinner there quite often and I'd recommend it to others.

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

my wife loved Nine Dragons. She always ordered the fried rice and it was wonderful. There was plenty of large shrimp, large pieces of chicken and pork and it was a very filling dish at a reasonable price. The last trip they had new dinnerware and muct have had to pay for it quickly as they had cut the shrimp down to a skewer of 5 and the chicken and pork was reduced to tiny pea sized pieces that you'd be hard pressed to puck up with a chopstick.

We may go back, but not unless the return to what we loved.