Has Dragon Lady improved? (Pacific Encounter)

[mum and son]

Hi all,

 

So a couple of years pre-covid I thought Dragon Lady was wonderful on the Aria, and I remember Angelo's got bad reviews. I've dodged Angelo's ever since but recent reports appear to be overwhelmingly positive. I went to Dragon Lady last October on the Encounter and thought it was terrible and a lot of reviewers seemed to agree. Over the last month I've read some positive things about Dragon Lady again.

 

Any feedback from those who have eaten at either venue in the last month or so? I accept that, generally, the quality of all cruiseline food has deteriorated post the spicy cough, but I'm just working out what selections to make for a 7 night cruise. I was thinking 1 x Luke's, 2 x Angelo's and the rest Waterfront. Maybe one Dragon Lady if the feedback is improving. I would happily eat a few nights in specialty but I'm cruising with my elderly parents and my dad has a "bulk bill" mindset. I will likely just go to Luke's solo. Thoughts?

 

Also, I remember Waterfront used to have 7 different menus and they didn't repeat on a week long cruise but recently read that they now have 3 menus that rotate throughout the cruise. Is that correct?

 

Thanks!

[Ozwoody]

19 minutes ago, mum and son said:

Hi all,

 

So a couple of years pre-covid I thought Dragon Lady was wonderful on the Aria, and I remember Angelo's got bad reviews. I've dodged Angelo's ever since but recent reports appear to be overwhelmingly positive. I went to Dragon Lady last October on the Encounter and thought it was terrible and a lot of reviewers seemed to agree. Over the last month I've read some positive things about Dragon Lady again.

 

Any feedback from those who have eaten at either venue in the last month or so? I accept that, generally, the quality of all cruiseline food has deteriorated post the spicy cough, but I'm just working out what selections to make for a 7 night cruise. I was thinking 1 x Luke's, 2 x Angelo's and the rest Waterfront. Maybe one Dragon Lady if the feedback is improving. I would happily eat a few nights in specialty but I'm cruising with my elderly parents and my dad has a "bulk bill" mindset. I will likely just go to Luke's solo. Thoughts?

 

Also, I remember Waterfront used to have 7 different menus and they didn't repeat on a week long cruise but recently read that they now have 3 menus that rotate throughout the cruise. Is that correct?

 

Thanks!

We were on the Encounter Nov last year, we dined as a party of four, in both those MDR and the Waterfront.

In the Dragon Lady of our four meals, three of us thought they were very good, one did not like theirs at all.

I think food is very subjective, if you like spicy and you get really spicy, you tell everyone what a great place to eat, if you don't like spicy, and you get really spicy you tell everyone how bad it was.

Frankly I thought all the MDR's were good, maybe I just chose well for me, or maybe lucky, but I would try all of them once, then stick to the ones you like.

The one thing I really liked about P&O Aust cruises, was they have three alternative MDR to choose from.

Have a great cruise.

 

Regards

John

[arxcards]

I am not sure I can be of much help Libby. We haven't dined in any of these on Encounter, and not since the first cruise back last May/June, so I don't know if they are improving or not. I look at the concept of the 3 different dining venues as one big dining room with 3 different menus and spaces. All three restaurants are supplied from the same kitchen. With that in mind, they all have the same pluses or minuses with food standard, variety & service so it is all about which menu you prefer. I prefer the Angelos menu & space, as it is a bit more traditional.

 

Angelos and Dragon Lady launched on Eden & Aria in Nov 2015 and were a great concept, but it is about time the menus had a decent shake-up, as they have hardly changed in that time. We usually saved Luke's till the last night, so we could leave the ship on good terms.

[Sparky74]

We cruised once on P&O pre COVID and were unimpressed by Dragon Lady. After an ill-fated attempt last October, we had 10 nights on the Pacific Encounter last month. Whilst I prefer Angelo's, DW would name Dragon Lady as her favourite of the three restaurants. I did enjoy the Pork Belly with Watermelon, a pairing I would never thought to combine. The Sweet and Sour Pork was also very good although quite different to how I've encountered the dish before. 
 

All three included (ie "free") restaurants have a limited rotating menu. I’d recommend dining at each of them. JMHO 

[mum and son]

Thanks everyone. I know food is subjective but I have read so many bad things about Dragon Lady of late that I was nervous to waste a night there. I wouldn't mind for just me by dragging my two old parents around adds an additional challenge. I'd be perfectly happy if I could spend my life in Princess Club Class dining eating Bugs and Beef Wellington every night but, alas, I am stuck with short cruises on Carnival and P&O out of Brisbane for a while... but life could be worse.

[reeves35]

We did Dragon Lady twice on Explorer last week and it was mixed.  The first night was really good; the second night was very average with satays coming out to us cold and some items being removed from menu (calamari) because the waiters were getting consistently bad comments on it.

 

The other thing we found was both Deck 6 restaurants (Dragon Lady and Angelo's) were incredibly cold.  We mentioned it to the waiter in DL who just laughed and said it was always cold which was a strange response. 

[ceeceeDee]

We disembarked Encounter early June. We didn't get a bad meal in any of the restaurants. We enjoyed Dragon Lady and Waterfront but our favourite was Angelos (aside from Luke's which was awesome and worth every cent). Of the three complimentary restaurants we dined at Angelos  4 times in 7 days.

[fishtaco]

So if you dont like your choices can you not just order another selection?

[dazadelaide]

What bad things have you heard about Dragon Lady?

The only problem I find with Dragon Lady is that the food is never spicy enough.

The good thing is that I just ask for a bowl of fresh chilies and they bring them out to me.

In Angelos they only bring me chili flakes but I prefer fresh.

So we usually eat 3-4 times in Dragon Lady and 2-3 times in Angelos on 14 day cruises we take.

Daz

 

[arxcards]

3 hours ago, fishtaco said:

So if you dont like your choices can you not just order another selection?

You can, always. Also you can still replace a dish if it is cold. It depends on the night though, as there are times you are happy to settle for the overdue plate in front of you.

[mum and son]

On 7/6/2023 at 8:14 PM, fishtaco said:

So if you dont like your choices can you not just order another selection?

Yes of course you can, but there are not a lot of options on the menus these days.

[mum and son]

On 7/6/2023 at 10:50 PM, dazadelaide said:

What bad things have you heard about Dragon Lady?

 

 

I'm in a few fb groups specifically for the Encounter and the Dragon Lady reviews from returned cruisers are just generally bad, although I have noticed an improvement in recent weeks. Years ago it was Angelo's that seemed to cop the bad reviews but it has done a complete 180 in recent times and most people rave about it now.

[dazadelaide]

Yes agree Angelos has got better since covid, but we really haven't seen any decline in Dragon Lady.

Maybee it's just Encounter, because since covid we have only been on Explorer (twice) and Adventure.

Daz

[ceeceeDee]

So far as Dragon Lady on Encounter goes, we were totally happy with our meals last month