9 + Nine

The food this place is fairly good I wouldn’t say it’s over-​the-​top or anything but I would say that you get what you pay for. The layout of the restaurant however is a bit crowded and it’s kind a looks little rundown. So if you get past the appearance you will enjoy the food I promise however at first glance you may not want to sit down. The tables, chairs, and placemats all look like they are 20 years old I could probably use a replacement. Back to the food however, it is worth the money that you pay and you will leave feeling full.

Best Chinese restaurant and my favorite in the city!
Authentic Chinese food!
Favorite dish is curry crab. It’s amazing.
Love their Homemade spicy sauce.
We always make reservations before we go so we can order special dishes.

This could be a seasonal problem. Hope it is not the norm. I understand that it was an exceptionally busy night, but…
The day before New Year’s eve we placed an order for pick up at 7:00 PM NYE. Arrived at 6:50 to pick up our 7 o’clock food order and waited for one hour and 25 minutes for our what turned out to be mediocre food. The portion sizes were disappointing for the money paid.
The spring rolls were the size of a roll of lifesavers and less tasty.
Not really impressed. The true judge of how good a restaurant is, is how good their food is when they are under pressure. Big failure in my opinion.

We ordered food for 11 for a birthday party and the food was very good. Each dish had a distinct taste and the young man who took the order made some great suggestions. The veggies in the dishes were crispy and crunchy. The food was great and we’ll definitely be back!

Great food. Very authentic. This is a must go if you are looking for Chinese food.

This is a Chinese restaurant with traditional taste.
The food here is supposed to be spicy according to their cooks.
The taste is really good. If you like specify Chinese food or wanna give it a try, this is the place you need to consider.
Rate is fair. Worth a try.

I’ve ordered delivery from 9+Nine a couple of times now and have been raving about it to all my foodie friends. This is some seriously tasty, authentic Chinese food. Finally!
You HAVE to try the Singapore Noodles. They are to die for. The ginger beef is also amazing and I’m on a green bean kick so I had to order the greens beans with spicy ground pork. Ermagherd. So delicious! And there is this dish called the Golden Pocket Bun. It’s this giant spongey bun thing that you rip up (I think, that’s how we did it anyway) and dip into what looks like a gross mushy meat concoction, but… Oh. My. God. Said meat dip is the most delicious thing ever. I had it the next day… alright, I’m lying, I had it 3 hours later on top of steamed rice and that alone made for the best leftovers ever.
The only reason I am giving this place 4 stars instead of 5 is that I have yet to visit the actual restaurant, but I am totally going to. As soon as I can.

Ate here three times in the last year. I live close by, so always want to try neighborhood spots for convenience. The first two times, this place was pretty busy. The most recent, on a sunny January Friday for lunch, a friend and I were the only two there at first, then a few more people came. Mind you, it’s pretty tiny inside with maybe six or seven tables in total (a couple of two-​seaters, a couple of four-​seaters, and at least one big round table in the corner for a larger group). Very basic, plain décor. A realistic-​looking hammerhead shark hangs above the door when you come in, but I didn’t notice it until someone pointed it out. Friendly service. Definitely one of the more authentic Chinese restaurants I personally have tried in Halifax. The funny thing is, during my first visit, I knew I wanted some kind of spicy noodle dish, but didn’t know what some of the menu items were. I requested then «just a spicy vegetarian noodle dish» and was brought a very good one, served in a stainless steel bowl. Giant portion so took half home. A slightly strong all spice or white pepper flavoring in it, not a ton of vegetables, but still hit the spot. So my second visit, I requested the Singapore Fried Rice Noodle for $ 13.50 and it turned out to be the exact same dish. LOL Although I liked it, I wish I had known I was ordering the same thing twice, because I like to always try something new for variety’s sake. Most recently, I asked for them to recommend a different spicy vegetarian noodle dish, and they suggested the Cantonese chow mein but with no meat. It was good, but not that spicy and had a lot of bok choy that I find gets soggy, so I didn’t finish it off entirely. But yes, would go back any time to keep experimenting.

Had been hearing good things, so we figured why not give it a try? The restaurant itself is quite small and cramped (nine tables, plus one larger table that can accommodate nine customers seated in a group or in pairs around it — which was my guess at the restaurant name), bathroom is small, awkward and not too clean. Based on the customers, I believe it is safe to assume that the food is prepared in a more traditional way than the popular «American/​Canadian» style.
Everything was very fresh, especially the green pea dish that was seasoned and cooked to perfection. I did find the beef a little bland, but really enjoyed that there was not an unnecessarily thick batter on the chicken like so many other places. You taste the food, not a bunch of salt or a greasy after taste. It also didn’t cause you to feel that «heavy/​bloated» feeling after you eat at a lot of other Chinese restaurants, which was nice.
I did find that unless you order a pre-​designed dinner, it was a bit pricy to get a variety of things to try, yet not large portions so leftovers are not guaranteed. The real downside, is that everything staggers out of the kitchen, so the meal could not be enjoyed together. We got one thing, ate it, waited for another, etc. It made for a long dinner, but gave lots of time to peek at what others were ordering — the fried fish in brown sauce or sweet & sour sauce seemed to be extremely popular.
Overall, fresh ingredients and clean flavors, just wish the timing of it all was better.

Amazing dumplings and now I know what ginger beef is supposed to taste likeThe only problem is I don’t live here I have to go back and we don’t have Chinese food like that
Will have to visit soon

Food here is incredible, big portions, non-​greasy and overall delish
It’s a bit more on the pricy side but you get what you pay for, which is good and they do deliver
We ate there in the restaurant once and it’s a very small space so you feel pretty crowded, I recommend that they find a larger space since they are getting more popular.
Overall, though, good authentic chinese that won’t leave you feeling gross later on. I recommend the sweet and sour chicken, ginger beef, bread dumpling rolls, and chicken fried rice, among other things

It is a good restaurant in general. The BBQ Duck is as good as those in south of China! The other dishes are okay, but we love the duck most! We’ll try different dishes next time.

Not too much English spoken here, as is typical in a good Chinese joint. Usual hole/​wall micro-​mall ethnic joint atmosphere (which sure as fuck isn’t why you’d go to a place like this). Friendly and quick service. Szechuan shredded pork delicious but not near as hot as it should be; General Hot chicken also not sufficiently spicy (guess I should’ve begged and begged) and also has bones in the nuggets (which was a bit painful and disconcerting on first bite). The dish was tasty (though not as sweet as one expects) but a bitch to eat as each lump was like an irregular chicken wing, covered with slippery sauce. Rice delicious.
Anyway, go, enjoy. I’ll be back.

Away from the touristy Halifax restaurants in a part of the city that seems more suburbia to these Torontonian eyes, is a gem of a restaurant in a strip mall. 9+Nine is a little 9 or ten table restaurant that serves a flavour of Chinese that has the authenticity of true Chinese cuisine. But look around and you will see the Chinese folks in the restaurant are ordering off menu. And their meals are the envy of the other folks who are ordering on menu.
We did a mixture of both. Calling ahead to reserve a table, due to the tininess of the spot, I asked whether they had lobster. The woman at the other end of the phone line expressed they didn’t but suggested we bring in a lobster and they would cook it up to our liking with a nominal fee. Great idea! We went to a fishermans market not far away and picked two one and quarter pound lobsters. Brought them in to the restaurant and they were ready for us. They asked us how we wanted it… Green onion and ginger of course! Perfect Chinese style lobster freshly bought from the market. And when the waiter brought our dish out to us we were suddenly even the envy of the other Chinese patrons in the restaurant. And our neighbouring table who commented on the proximity of all the tables when they were seated, practically drooled over our lobster. They were ordering from the menu.
The food we ordered from the menu, vegetables and shrimp (the shrimp were too small), and Singapore noodles were ok and most likely better than any other Chinese restaurant in the city. But really, if you are looking for authentic Chinese meal, know how to order your favourites and ask the chef for options. I’ve been told he’s quite talented and looking to downscale, hence the smallness of the restaurant. But don’t underestimate the largeness of the flavour when you want real Chinese flare.

The hallmark of a good ethnic restaurant? You are the only people not of that ethnic group who are eating there! We were the only non-​Asian people eating at 9+Nine yesterday, so that tells you how authentic and tasty it is!
We were hankering for some chinese food after a long hike and wanted to try a new place. We almost took our food home, but I’m so glad we decided to eat-​in and experience the wonderful service and presentation. I believe it’s a family that runs it — the mother and son (I’m assuming) were the ones mainly serving us and they were super friendly and attentive. Their timing was impeccable — each new dish arriving within minutes of us finishing the previous. It’s a small place but very clean and well taken care of. You can tell they take a lot of pride in what they do.
And the food! The best part of the food is that it’s so much fresher than your average «Americanized» Chinese food — nothing is over-​fried or loaded with salt and msg. The sauces all had just the right hint of heat and a great sweet/​sour flavour mix. We ordered egg rolls, pork/​veggie dumplings, Shanghai noodles, 3-​mushrooms with beef and a side of plain rice. Everything was delicious and presented really nicely — the rice came in cute little stainless containers with tops and the noodles in a large wok — easy for serving. The beef and mushrooms were perfectly cooked and had lots of flavour. I would definitely recommend ordering a bunch of things and sharing amongst your table.
Our bill was almost $ 60 + tip but considering the portions, and quality of the food and service, very reasonable (we took about half our food home). I think we found a new neighbourhood favourite!

This was the third time I visited 9 + Nine and I have been impressed by the quality of the food each time. Despite the cramped surroundings, you can learn to live with this inconvenience when you’ve tasted the authentic Chinese cuisine on hand.
My friend and I tried the Dinner for 1 special at the low price of $ 10.95; this gets you 1 egg roll, sweet and sour chicken, rice, and fried vegetables. The restaurant took the unusual step of serving the egg roll first; however, I could understand what they were trying to do as the food that came after was easily worth more than the $ 10.95 we paid.
What I especially enjoyed about the food was the lack of salt as some Chinese restaurants pile on the MSG to hide their shortcomings; even so, with 9 + Nine you get the best of both worlds as you have tasty food without the salt. The food on hand was not too much, but not too little as well.
I was also impressed with the overall selection of food as you have over 100 different items to choose from; the service was terrific and we did not have to wait too long for the food despite the restaurant being filled to capacity.
The only downside is the lack of space and the fact that there is only 1 small bathroom for everybody in the room. I would definitely recommend avoiding the small table to the right of the main door as the cold air can hit you in the face like a Mike Tyson jab.
After visiting 9 + Nine, you may just agree with me that this restaurant is one of Halifax’s hidden gems.

If you’re looking for your typical North American customized Chinese fix, then this is NOT your place. I suggest that you go to the ones you find in the busy side streets like Spring Garden Rd, Quinpool or near the waterfront.
This place on the other hand serves authentic Chinese food. I know and I’ve tasted it myself. I read some reviews saying that food is bland, to them I say, its easy to put extra salt and call that food but finely crafted Chinese food takes acquired taste buds and surely not many people have that acquired taste.
What amazes me about this place is that the cook is passionate about his cooking and changes his dishes from time to time. Have a little chat with the guy and his staff and you find out that he sources his ingredients from many places e.g. Farmers Market too. Little did I know that he went to visit my home country Malaysia 2 years ago and have incorporated some of the techniques from there. So yes, I’ll come back to this place anytime whenever I miss home.

Stunningly good — and I used to live in Toronto’s Chinatown, so I’ve eaten a lot of Hunan, Sichuan, Cantonese, etc. over the years.
What it is not: Canadian-​Chinese. What it is: subtle flavours, fresh ingredients, light sauces, sudden punches of garlic or star anise or ginger or chile or black beans.
I particularly like their mussels in black bean sauce, garlic stalk with shrimp, golden pocket bun, dry-​fried green beans with minced pork, the plum sauce duck, the cumin beef, and the Singapore noodles.
Do try it.

This still continues to be my one and only «go to» restaurant for AUTHENTIC Chinese (Cantonese) food. In fact, I’m sitting at a table right now re-​reviewing this place, while waiting for me ginger beef and Singapore noodles…
If you’ve not been here, you’re seriously missing out. Get here and do it quickly. This small hole in the wall will change your palate forever…
(You’re welcome)

Truly some of the best chinese food I’ve ever had. We went the day after a glowing review from Bill Spurr was posted in The Chronicle Herald. That being said, the restaurant was packed, and we had a bit of a wait. It’s a pretty small space, and the décor is nothing exciting. But the service and the food were both amazing! Our server was more than happy explaining the menu items to us, and making suggestions.
We ordered the steamed buns, sweet and sour chicken and beef with vegetables. First– the steamed buns! OMG — a must try. My newest addiction for sure. They come 6 to an order, and are fairly large (so go with a good appetite). They’re filled with a delicious mixture of succulent beef, green onions, and some other yummy things. They’re sort of fried on the bottom, and then steamed. The dough is soft and pillowey, with a slightly crunchy bottom. Where have these been all my life?
My partner ordered the sweet and sour chicken, and I ordered the beef and veggies, with neither of us having any intent to share. The portions are so large that the moment they hit the table my boyfriend says, «So, we’re sharing these right?». The chicken was delicious. It was lightly breaded, and was surrounded by veggies and amazing sauce. The beef came in long thin strips, with chinese broccoli, garlic & onions. It looked bland, but the taste was great!
Dinner, including a chinese beer, a can of soda, tax and tip came to $ 58.00. Had we not been so hungry, we would have got 2 meals out of it.