Nine Dragons - Big Disappointment

[CarolynK]

We went for lunch at 3:00, it wasn't crowded, we had good service, but the food was awful! I got General Tso Chicken which is described as having a "spicy brown sauce" which tasted like a plain barbecue sauce. And neither of the chicken dishes my husband & I had were white meat! I don't like dark meat but it never occured to me to ask. As we were eating, it occured to us that maybe in China, it's more traditional to use dark meat.

We ordered the kids the sweet & sour chicken (from the kids menu), which is actually just chicken nuggets with the sauce on the side. THEIR chicken was white meat! I was eating theirs instead of mine!

I left there hungry. Anyone else have a similar experience there?

 

[Nikole]

Unfortunately, I've heard significantly more BAD reviews for this place than Good reviews.

 

[inky dinky doo]

You didn't say which dish your husband had, but it's been my experience that General Tso Chicken is always made with dark meat; sweet and sour chicken is made with white. At least that's been my experience. Sorry you were disappointed.

Pat

100 days and counting . . . again!

 

[Muffy]

We ate lunch here in jan and were pleasantly suprised. We ordered the all you can eat luncheon. They bring out about 8 different dishes and they were all very good. It statred with 2 different soups and ended with ginger ice cream. I had heard many disapointing things about this resturant but I'm glad we tired it.

 

[PrincessAurora]

Sorry that you fell into the giant food trap known as CHINA. Every time I walk by there, I'm yelling "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!" in my head. This pains me because I LOVE Chinese food. Good Chinese food. I'm sorry but I don't subscribe to the adage that even bad Chinese food is good Chinese food.

Nine Dragons is WAY overpriced for mediocre food. You could get better in most towns that have a decent asian influence/population.

Lotus Blossom Cafe next door is worse. It seems like that is where they put the day old food. It is where cold, greasy noodles go to die.

Remember: Friends don't let friends eat in China.

 

[married@wdw]

I'm amazed at the differing opinions on this place!

This is the one place DH and I will not miss on our trip in January. We both love it! DH gets the honey sesame chicken (white meat and delicious) and I get the drunken chicken salad which has a great ginger/peanut dressing. Sometimes we order fried rice or lo mein as well, but we've never had a bad meal there.

 

[Baileymouse]

You know, I love Chinese food but can't stand this place. To me, Chinese or Italian is a waste on vacation because of our proximity to great Chinese and Italian in NYC. However, we did try Nine Dragons once and it was awful!

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

Originally posted by Baileymouse
You know, I love Chinese food but can't stand this place. To me, Chinese or Italian is a waste on vacation because of our proximity to great Chinese and Italian in NYC. However, we did try Nine Dragons once and it was awful!

Generally, I think it's a good idea to avoid ethnic (and regional) foods in touristy areas, unless you don't have access to that ethnic cuisine where you live.

I, too, would skip Chinese and Italian, since I live near a city with very good Chinese and Italian restaurants. Even though I can get excellent Japanese near home, I'd probably give Teppanyaki a shot because the kids would like the "show".

 

[eeyore0062]

We ate at 9 Dragons a couple of weeks ago and loved it. DH had the General Tso Chicken and it was quite spicy and tasty. No BBQ taste at all, of course, I don't know what type of BBQ sauce the OP uses.

We were a bit leary of going to this restaurant, bacause of the reviews on this board, but I am happy to report, that all of the food was wonderful, the service was some of the best in all of WDW, and we would gladly return again!

 

[tar heel]

General Tso Chicken is typically made with thighs -- dark meat, but it shouldn't taste like barbecue. It should be a spicy sauce with just a touch of sweet.

We've still never eaten at Nine Dragons b/c of the awful reviews it gets. I've picked up an egg roll from the counter service place, though, and it was fine.

 

[CarolynK]

Originally posted by PrincessAurora
Sorry that you fell into the giant food trap known as CHINA. Every time I walk by there, I'm yelling "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!" in my head.

So funny you should say that, because as we were leaving, two women were perusing the menu outside and I ALMOST said something to them! Glad I didn't, from the responses I've received, some people like it.

Originally posted by eeyore0062
No BBQ taste at all, of course, I don't know what type of BBQ sauce the OP uses.

I thought BBQ sauce is BBQ sauce. I'd have to say it definitely had a Heinz sort of flavor....

 

[Maddle]

We ate there at the beginning of August, and we all enjoyed our meals. My DS16 like the General Tso's (and he considers himself quite an expert - it's all he ever orders at any Chinese restaurant.) The service was very good, and they were able to accomodate the special requests, such as "sauce on the side" and "no mushrooms, please." - so I don't think the food is sitting in a big bucket somewhere waiting to be ordered. The restaurrant was not crowded, but not empty, either. We did not have PS, but were seated in a short time.

As an aside - our meal was timed just right, so that we finished up just as the Chinese acrobats were starting their show. We couldn't have planned it better if we had tried!

Maddle

 

[WebmasterPenny]

I've eaten lunch their twice and both times was good! I had the Taste of China lunch sampler both times and I was disappointed when I heard they stopped that - I thought it was one of the best value meals in WDW The Sesame Chicken especially was very good and we had no trouble at all with service.

 

[n2mm]

I agree with the poster who said, if you have a good Chinese restraurant at home that you visit, don't go to 9-dragons. We have tried at least 3 times (I'm not a quick learner) and each time I come out thinking, WHY?? I guess I kept thinking that it would get better. When we get home from a vacation to WDW, we usually order Chinese food from our favorite local place just because I know it will be great at home.

Actually a funny note to mention is that the owners of our favorite Chinese restraurant visited EPCOT a couple of years ago, but didn't visit 9-dragons. They had wanted to, but ran out of time. I would have loved to hear their opinion of this place. I'm sure if they were not pleased, the manager would have heard it in their native language because the owner is very opinionated.

 

[Desnik]

For the people who are reading these reviews and have not tried it yet, please don't not try it because of people saying it is bad. Take a chance and decide for yourself. There have been alot of positive reviews too.
We absolutely love this place and go on every trip at least twice!! We also only like white meat and always ask for it when ordering chinese food anywhere. When we go to Nine Dragons we have them make us chicken and brocolli in brown sauce because that is our favorite. They never had a problem doing this and it is always fresh and delicious. The service is always friendly and timely even with our food request. If I would have listened to the reviews here I would have never tried it and missed out on one of my favorite places to eat.
Just a tip, we like to make a late dinner here and ask for a window seat and watch Illuminations while eating.