Qi-Nine Dragons is a sister branch of Qi, which is also one of the most favourited Sichuan restaurants at J-Residence in Wan Chai. The newly opened restaurant is located in a brand new building, Prince Tower, on 12a Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, bringing classic spicy dishes to Kowloon.
The TST branch is a bit more spacious when comparing to the Wan Chai one. With no outdoor terrace in the dining area, the restaurant took over the rooftop of the building, offering customers a cozy place for drinks and bar snacks at the heart of Kowloon.
The view from this 20th floor restaurant is truly amazing, you may even enjoy “A Symphony of Lights” laser beam performance at 8pm daily.
The mysterious vibe from the dark interior design, the dimmed light, the black chopsticks, along with three mildly spicy appetisers have kick-started the Sichuan cuisine journey.
Flaky Scallion Pancake ($55)
These thin crispy pancakes are simple yet flavourful being perfumed by the chopped scallions. What really hit me hard is that it reminded me of my old time when I was living in Shanghai. I can still remember that I used to buy these pancakes every day for a budget breakfast / lunch as it costed around RMB2 at that time in China. Without spending numerous RMB2 back then, I would not have been able to get to where I am right now.
Chili Oil Wontons ($80)
These spicy wontons are no strangers in Sichuan cuisine. The thin wonton skin was wrapping around a mix of meat and veggie, swimming in a pool of spicy chili oil. It is probably the hottest starter among all but still very edible because the heat goes away quickly.
Just to give you a quick guide of the spiciness, I am going to provide a heat level with the spiciest being 5 points.
Heat Level = 3.5 out of 5
Mouth Watering Boneless Chicken ($85)
Also a very common starter to share among friends. The lean chicken is covered with heaps of mixed spices made with chili, shrimp taste, toasted sesame seeds and spring onions, yet it is not as spicy as the previous wontons. The soft chicken is surprisingly mild in taste when comparing to many other Sichuan restaurants.
Heat Level = 1 out of 5
Fried Spicy Chicken Wings ($100)
At Qi-Nine Dragons, you would not be disappointed with their fried items because they are all on-point with the perfect crispiness from the skin. The piping hot wings are rubbed with lots of spicy powder which actually is quite hot. The heat underneath the crispy skin remained moist and juicy, perfect to go with any chilled drinks on the menu.
Heat Level = 3.5 out of 5
Fried Calamari with Sichuan Miso ($138)
The calamari pieces are fried in an almost fluffy light batter, topped with a pile of fried garlic flakes and spring onion. It is savoury, slightly spicy, tasteful, and naughty, making it another fun sharing plate to enjoy.
Heat Level = 2 out of 5
Lettuce Wrap with Beef ($80)
If you are not a beef person, pork, chicken, or vegetarian options are also available. The minced beef is sauteed with chopped beans and pepper. It is a rather lightening dish to clean our palette before moving on. The sweet and sour hoisin sauce provided on side counterbalanced with the meatiness and fattiness from the finger-licking lettuce wrap.
Heat Level = 0 out of 5
Sugar Glazed Ginger and Scallion Chicken ($188)
Another non-spicy dish to awaken your heated mouth, strips of deep fried chicken tenders are coated with a thin glaze of sweet gingery sauce. This sticky crunchy chicken has become some people’s all-time favourite!
Heat Level = 0 out of 5
Sauteed String Beans with Minced Pork
We can’t skip the greens. The long string beans are not too oily after being fried with shredded minced pork pieces, along with a few pieces of dried chili giving a little more kick to the dish.
Heat Level = 1 out of 5
Cumin Pork Ribs
The cumin powder is dry grubbed on the whole big piece of pork rib with skin on. Again, the skin is super crunchy after being deep fried, while the cumin gives a pungent powerful taste to compliment the ribs. The meat remained tender after being marinated. I believe it can easily be liked by meat-lovers.
Heat Level = 2 out of 5
Chili Fried Canadian Dungness Crab ($695)
One of the highlights during the dinner! The Canadian Dungness crab is exceptionally meaty with a thin shell. It is fried with just a touch of batter so that all the flavourful goodness just sticks on the shell. The crab mountain is addictively spicy yet not too spicy.
p.s. The restaurant is thoughtful enough to provide gloves and crab cracker for you ladies out there
Heat Level = 3 out of 5
Braised Mandarin Fish Fillet in Chili Oil Soup ($300/Large, $200/Small)
The most anticipated bowl which is also the spiciest dish has been brought to our table. The big sized secretively hot bowl of spicy soup is covered in a layer of chili oil and a generous amount of ingredients are hidden underneath with dried whole chili, mushrooms, young bamboo shoots, bean shoots, along with some fresh slices of mandarin fish and starch noodles.
We are on fire but we cannot stop eating. The very edible spiciness made me want to punch an elephant with a strong numbing effect! Mandarin fish fillets give a strong fresh seafood taste which I like. However, the starch noodle was a bit bland and soft to my liking.
Heat Level = 4 out of 5
Dam Dam Noodle ($75)
Though my appetite has reached the peak, this nutty dam dam noodle is secretly my favourite kind of noodle because I am a big peanut butter enthusiast. The soup is so thick that it is almost like a thinned out peanut butter sauce, but with a hint of spiciness to it. The sweet, savoury, and nutty soup is literally what I need right now to cool myself off from the spicy chili.
Heat Level = 1 out of 5
Golden Custard Buns ($55)
Not only the golden colour look pretty and appetising, but The lava custard bun is deep fried until the perfect crispiness from the outside, yet fluffy and soft inside, with a runny filling of egg yolk rich custard. I have finished mine, should I go for second? 
Red Bean Pancakes with Ice Cream ($108)
Probably the most innovative dish we have so far from the restaurant, which combines the Japanese green tea ice cream with the traditional flaky and crispy golden red bean deep fried pancakes stuffed with slightly sweetened housemade red bean paste. The melting green tea ice cream with the strawberry sauce complimented interestingly with the deep fried pancakes although I personally like to enjoy it on its own, without all the complexity to it. 
Left: Red Dragon Cocktail ($80)
Right: Sichuan Cooler Mocktail ($45)
A selection of staple and newly invented mocktails and cocktails are also available on the drink menu. The Red Dragon Cocktail on the left is a tequila based drink with a kick of spiciness from chili, while the Sichuan Cooler Mocktail on the right is slightly sweeter in taste with a prominent lychee flavour. There are lots of other drinks for you to cool the heat off because Qi-Nine Dragons has got you covered! 
Address: 20/F and Rooftop, Prince Tower, 12A Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Opening hours:
Monday to Sunday (12 noon – 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.)
Public Holiday (6 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.)
For reservations, please call (852) 2799-8899 or email to info@qi-nine-dragons.hk
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