Discover why Nine Dragons Restaurant at Epcot is often overlooked and whether it’s worth visiting with the Garden Rocks Dining Package.
Epcot at Walt Disney World has numerous restaurants for guests to enjoy. These options range from festival booths, quick service, table service, and high-level signature dining restaurants. Whenever you have many restaurants, some become very popular and some are overlooked.
Restaurants have become popular and have become less popular for various reasons. Usually, the less popular restaurants are overlooked because of their reputations, which may or may not be valid.
Based on data from MouseDining, some of the least popular table service restaurants are:
- Spice Road Table
- Chefs de France
- Rose & Crown Dining Room
- Tutto Italia Ristorante
- Monsieur Paul
- Takumi-Tei
- Nine Dragons Restaurant
These seven table service restaurants are among the least searched for or desired advanced dining reservations for various reasons. Spice Road Table gets overlooked due to its style of cuisine. Two of these seven restaurants are on this list because they are high-end signature dining restaurants.
Nine Dragons Restaurant is on this list because many guests express that they can get Asian food at their local Asian restaurant and wonder why they would want to pay Walt Disney World prices for Asian food.
As a result, Nine Dragons Restaurant often has advance dining reservations available. So, we wondered whether this place was worth a trip, even though it gets overlooked by Epcot visitors.
In March, Jeremy and Rhonda Stein did a Garden Rocks Dining Package at Nine Dragons Restaurant. We booked another Garden Rocks Dining Package at Nine Dragons on our most recent visit.
Nine Dragons Restaurant at Epcot
Nine Dragons Restaurant is within the China Pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase. It offers a journey through China’s rich culinary landscape, blending traditional flavors with contemporary flair.
Upon entering Nine Dragons Restaurant, guests are greeted by an impressive glass mural depicting two dragons chasing a luminous pearl, symbolizing wisdom and prosperity in Chinese culture. The interior boasts a harmonious blend of modern design and traditional Chinese elements, featuring dark rosewood panels, intricate wood carvings, and lantern-style lighting that casts a warm, inviting glow. For those seeking a picturesque dining experience, window-side tables provide sweeping views of the World Showcase Lagoon. This makes it an ideal spot for people watching or enjoying the evening ambiance.
Culinary Offerings
Nine Dragons’ menu showcases a diverse array of dishes representing various regional cuisines of China, including Cantonese, Szechuan, Hunan, Mongolian, and Kiangche specialties. Some examples include:
Appetizers:
- Smoked Duck Bao Buns: Tender duck breast paired with scallions and hoisin sauce, nestled in soft steamed buns.
- Ha Gao Shrimp Dumplings: Delicate shrimp dumplings served with pumpkin puree, chili oil, and truffle sauce.
- Wontons in Chili Oil: A flavorful combination of shrimp, crab, and chicken wontons bathed in a spicy Szechuan chili broth.
Entrées:
- Kowloon Spare Ribs: Glazed smoked ribs coated in a house-made spicy sweet-and-sour sauce.
- Spicy Ma La Happy Family is a hearty stir-fry featuring beef, shrimp, chicken, and assorted vegetables tossed with dried chili peppers.
Desserts:
- Ube Cheesecake: A creamy cheesecake infused with the unique flavor of purple sweet potato.
- Mango Pudding: A classic Hong Kong-style dessert served with evaporated milk.
Family-Friendly Dining at Nine Dragons
Nine Dragons caters to younger guests with a dedicated kids’ menu, offering dishes like Crispy Honey Chicken with egg fried rice and Sweet-and-Sour Shrimp with lo mein noodles. The Kids’ Deluxe Meal combines shrimp and crispy chicken with a side of carrots and broccoli, ensuring a balanced and satisfying meal for children.
Beverages and Cocktails
Guests can complement their meal with a selection from Nine Dragons’ beverage menu. It features specialty cocktails such as the Lychee Martini and Jade Beauty and a variety of wines, beers, and non-alcoholic options like the Shangri-La Slushy, a refreshing blend of strawberry and mango flavors.
Our Visit to Nine Dragons Restaurant at Epcot
We visited on Mother’s Day (U.S.A.), May 11, 2025, to enjoy a Garden Rocks Dining Package. Our advanced dining reservation was at 3:00 p.m. on this Sunday afternoon. When we arrived, there was some confusion about our reservation and the Garden Rocks Dining Package. However, it worked out quickly.
We were seated at a very small table for two up against a wall. This offered very little room to eat with all the other stuff on the table, like cocktail menus, of which we had two for our table.
The restaurant seemed busier than we expected, but it was a weekend day at Epcot. Still, our advanced dining reservation was at 3:00 p.m., which is not a popular dining time.
Since we were using the Garden Rocks Dining Package, the Nine Dragons menu leans guests ot two or three obvious choices. Those include:
- Sichuan Shui Zhu Beef
- Smoked Duck Fried Rice
- Dry-Braised Prawns.
Why Obvious Choices?
These are the obvious choices with the dining package at Nine Dragons Restaurant since guests receive a non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverage (for those aged 21 and up), an entrée, and a dessert. Our Garden Rocks Dining Package costs $59. These higher-priced entrées are unique and provide something one might not order, which encourages choosing one of these three entrées. Also, these three entrees would be a challenge to make at home, increasing the reason to order them at Nine Dragons Restaurant. As a result, we followed the pattern that Jeremy and Rhonda Stein established. We ordered the Sichuan Shui Zhu Beef and the Smoked Duck Fried Rice.
When we ordered the Sichuan Shui Zhu Beef, the server made a big deal about the beef being more like a soup with glass noodles. We knew that, so we reassured them that we still wanted to order that entrée. This pattern of the server double-checking that we really want to order something will happen again.
When you dine here, beverages come in very small glasses. This could be an issue if you drink a significant amount of water or other beverages. During our visit, beverage glasses were often empty. Overall, the service was not bad at Nine Dragons Restaurant. However, it was erratic.
On a positive note, both entrees arrived at our table very warm. In fact, we struggled to take photos of the fried rice without overheating our hands.
Smoked Duck Fried Rice at Nine Dragons
According to the online menu, this $35.00 entrée consists of “Smoked ducked breast, egg fried rice, hoisin sauce.” Our first reaction related to its saltiness. Even though fried rice and duck can taste salty, we think some guests will still find this dish saltier than they would prefer.
Also, we immediately compared it to the Morimoto Gomoku Fried Rice at Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs. That may have been unfair since we love Morimoto Asia, and the fried rice dish there costs $4 less. The Nine Dragons fried rice was a slightly smaller portion size than at Morimoto Asia. However, you appear to get more duck with the Nine Dragons’ version.
The fried rice and duck tasted fine. While we doubt either merits the $35 price point, this entrée makes a decent choice. We ate all of this entrée.
Sichuan Shui Zhu Beef
In contrast, we did not finish all of this entrée. The Sichuan Shui Zhu Beef costs $35. It onsists of “Bistro beef, white mushroom, baby corn, wide glass noodle, Sichuan chili oil broth.” This dish is served with a side of white rice.
According to the printed menu, this dish ranked as one of the spiciest entrees at Nine Dragons Restaurant. On this day, it presented more than standard theme park-level spice. In fact, some bites with more broth qualify as spicy by any standard. However, most bites provide the chili oil spice, but nothing that most people ordering this dish will find overwhelming. The spice level does disappear reasonably fast. The spicy flavor does not overwhelm the other components included in the dish.
Based on the menu description, this dish was entirely adequate. Each component worked fine. Still, this dish, like the fried rice, was unremarkable. The beef came out very tender, but we wanted a more powerful flavor from it. In fairness, both entrees may have been poorly received since our group had lived some of their lives in Asia. However, the portion size for this entrée deserves praise.
Wide Glass Noodles
Despite that, the reason we did not finish this dish is the glass noodles. We expected thinner glass noodles, but the Nine Dragons’ versions were wide. In fairness, the menu says wide noodles. In addition, we labored to eat the noodles since they would not twirl on a fork and kept sliding off our spoons. The glass noodles are very slippery. Though they enhanced the soup, they did not function as a key flavor component with this dish. Still, they were well prepared and tasted fine. Besides difficulty eating them, guests should have no complaints about the wide glass noodles.
Like the fried rice, the Sichuan Shui Zhu Beef tasted fine. Still, this entrée failed to be worth $35. Nonetheless, it worked well for our dining package purposes. On to dessert…
Desserts at Nine Dragons Restaurant
Garden Rocks Dining Packages entitle guests to a dessert. Nine Dragons Restaurant has three desserts on the menu:
- Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake
- Ube Cheesecake
- Mango Pudding.
At Nine Dragons Restaurant at Epcot, guests should expect Asian-style desserts. This means that they will not contain the high percentage of sugar found in many desserts in the United States of America. We ordered the Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake and the Mango Pudding.
Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake at Nine Dragons Restaurant
This dessert costs $13, and the menu description reads, “Nine layers of light and soft crepes interlaced with delicate whipped cream.” It does have nine layers—yes, we counted them! This dessert offers a light conclusion to your meal at Nine Dragons Restaurant. Most guests will be thrown off by “Chocolate” being the first word in the name of this cake. It does not contain a robust chocolate flavor that most people will expect. Though understated in flavor, this crepe cake provides exactly what the menu states it will be.
Mango Pudding
When ordering this, the server quickly pointed out that this was not a traditional “American” pudding. Once again, we knew that and insisted we still wanted to enjoy that dessert.
The Mango Pudding features a Hong Kong-style mango pudding. This resembles what most people will think of as gelatin. Some evaporated milk and cut-up mangos complete this $12 dessert.
We enjoyed this light dessert, which was an excellent choice after the Sichuan Beef. Guests should not stop at Nine Dragons Restaurant for any of these desserts, as Epcot has so many other options. Still, they made good choices as part of the dining package to complete our meal.
Nine Dragons Restaurant: Good Choice with a Dining Package
Despite some concerns voiced about food quality at Nine Dragons Restaurant, this made an excellent choice as the Gardens Rocks Dining Package meal. The dining package only cost us $7 more to have reserved seats for the concert. Since it rained that evening, having a dry place to sit for the concert made every penny spent worth it. Considering the additional charge for reserved seating associated with an Epcot dining package can be as much as $30, Nine Dragons offers theme park value.
Final Thoughts About Nine Dragons Restaurant
While Nine Dragons may not top the list of Epcot’s most celebrated dining establishments, it offers a serene atmosphere, attentive service, and a menu catering to various palates. Whether you’re in the mood for traditional Chinese flavors or looking to try something new, Nine Dragons provides a pleasant dining experience amidst the vibrant setting of the World Showcase.
For more theme park dining reviews, visit MSM News every weekday at noon Eastern Time. As always, eat like you mean it!
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