Poor Old Nine Dragons.....

[Leota]

You never see anyone rave about Nine Dragons.... you hardly even see anyone mention it. Probably because there's a Chinese take-out around just about every corner, so we never think of getting it in Disney. That & our experience with the CS in China is not that great.

But, a couple weeks ago, we were hot & hungry, with no reservations & me with some tummy monster issues, looking for a quick TS lunch on our last day at Epcot. We wound up at Nine Dragons. I'm glad we did.

The atmosphere was very pretty, the service was good, our Blackberry Ice Teas were kept full & the food completely shocked us with how good it was. We split the Appetizer Trio (cuke salad, fragrant chicken & spicy beef - all cold) and the Honey - Sesame Chicken.

If you have never tried it & are interested in Chinese, don't hesitate. It was really good.

Anybody else been pleasantly surprised by Nine Dragons?

 

[babyrich]

I haven't been there in a couple of years, it was good when we went; but I wish they would update the menu a little.

 

[readytogotodisney]

My DH and i went last January for the first time and both of us really enjoyed it!
No complaints here.

 

[magicalcouple]

DH and I have ressies for it in October for our Adults Only meal because it's one of the few on the World Showcase we've not done before. We have been hesitating and considering cancelling it but this makes me hesitate again! Tell me more!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

Never been there. Apparently if you like regular Chinese food of the type you can get at the neighborhood restaurant, it's just fine, but not raveworthy. The problem I would have with it is paying those prices for just regular Chinese food of the type you can get at the neighborhood restaurant. It's not that I think it would be bad food, just that there are so many other places to eat and this one is reported to be pretty pedestrian.

 

[PAcpl]

How does it compare to a P.F. Changs? I am not into Chinese food at all! But P.F. Changs I can actually stand (plain sweet & sour chicken is yummy!).

 

[dvcdisney]

We've dined there several times. We've always enjoyed in, but in the past few years, they have changed a bit. The food hasn't been as great. We used to rave about the service. Now, service is a hit and miss.

I can still recall dining there about 6 years ago and there were very few people in there. Our server was attentive without being obtrusive. He spoke to our children a few times and taught them some Chinese words. The tables were far away from each other, etc. We always seemed to get the same server vacation after vacation. And to our surprise, he remembered us. He mentioned something that my son had mentioned to him that I guess was very memorable. He really enjoyed being our server and we enjoyed it every time he was there. A few times, we were put in another section, he would come over and say hi to us and remind my son what he said. It was really cute.

Fast forward to our last visit. I couldn't believe how close we were to the neighbouring tables. The woman beside our table couldn't even get up to leave because she couldn't fit between the tables. We had to move our table for her to leave. Our server was fine, not that attentive. We had to ask for drink refills and even then, it took awhile. The food portions decrease but the prices didn't. I found the hostess was quite abrupt this time.

I do agree that the food is not excellent, but it was good. We did like it. They did add a few new things since we started dining there, but none appealed to us. We order basically the same things. We used to dine here eat time we vacationed at Disney, but now it's only once in a while.

Actually, I'm a little sad how "low" in our must dines they have gotten. But I guess it was bound to happen.

 

[princess aleya]

I have never been but would love to try it, maybe on the next trip. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Leota]

Personally, I think all the Epcot WS restaurants are pretty pedestrian for "ethnic" food. Bt, given that limitation, it was a well done example of Americanized Chinese food. As well done or better than the other Americanized, Theme Park versions of World Cuisine available there.

We generally stick to the resort restaurants because of that.

 

[JimmyV]

The problem I would have with it is paying those prices for just regular Chinese food of the type you can get at the neighborhood restaurant. It's not that I think it would be bad food, just that there are so many other places to eat and this one is reported to be pretty pedestrian.

I am squarely in this camp. I have been and our meal was fine. In fact, it was superior to what we can get at the local neighborhood restaurant. But it wasn't twice as good. But it was twice as expensive. And it just didn't immerse me in Disney. Probably because most local Chinese restaurants go overboard with the decor such that when I was in the ornate Disney dining room, it just didn't seem all that different to me. I'm not saying that the food is better in the German Biergarten, but when I enter that building, I am "Disney-fied" in a way that I just don't capture in 9D.

 

[DVCconvert]

I like Nine Dragons, but I miss the old menu that used to offer a nice selection of Dim Sum at lunch time.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we realllllly like it!! we had lunch reservations for this trip, but didn't make it. it was sooooooooooooooo hot we ended up at a water park

we hope to get back there soon!!

 

[Pixiedust34]

We liked Nine Dragons! I wrote a review about it here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2570556

We had the free dining plan, and I told the kids to pick an Epcot restaurant. They wanted to try someplace new to us, so they picked Nine Dragons. It was good to try it. I will say that I think it's pricey if you're paying OOP for the food, but it was a nice dining experience. I wouldn't mind eating there again.

 

[pink5683]

OP, I had a similar experience as you when I was on my honeymoon. My husband and I just happened to stop there for lunch to get out the heat and we were pleasently suprised with both our meal and the service, and from what I remember, what we ordered inside didn't cost that much more than what we would have ordered from the CS outside and we got to enjoy the AC!

 

[NancyIL]

Nine Dragons was the last of the World Showcase restaurants that I tried. That was partly due to the abundance of Chinese restaurants at home, and the poor reviews of the restaurant. However, the reviews improved, and I have enjoyed lunch there several times in the past few years (most recently last month) - as well as a very good dinner in Dec. 2009.

 

[wdw&sonny]

We loved it. We love "American Chinese" at home and happened across it one day without ADRs for lunch and had a wonderful experience. The boys still talk about the mango-strawberry smoothies. I had a delicious iced green tea and we all shared familiar dishes like General Tsao (sp?) chicken, lo mein, pot stickers etc.
Sure it's expensive, duh. So is the water.

 

[TDC Nala]

Of course everything is expensive. But I can go around the corner from home and get Chinese food just like theirs. At least here I can't go around the corner to a German restaurant. Which is probably the reason I've been to Biergarten but not Nine Dragons. Chinese food is so easy to get at home, why pay more for it. There's nothing about Nine Dragons that makes me want to pay the premium to experience it when there are so many alternatives. If they still had the dim sum, that's harder to come by at home.

 

[livinlife25]

I don't see General Tso's on the menu, has it been taken off?

 

[AbbyPan]

Nine Dragons is the closest Chinese food I've had to NY Chinese in all of Florida. not bad!

 

[wdw&sonny]

We had it in Jan 2009. Not sure it was called General Tso's but it was the same basic entree.