China Pearl Restaurant
| Address: | 9 Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111, USA |
| Phone: | +1 617-426-4338 |
| Site: | chinapearlboston.net |
| Rating: | 3.9 |
| Working: | 8:30AM–9:30PM 8:30AM–9:30PM 8:30AM–9:30PM 8:30AM–9:30PM 8:30AM–9:30PM 8:30AM–9:30PM 8:30AM–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
JI
Jill Silverberg
*This review only pertains to my experiences with their Dim Sum menu* While not my preferred place to go for Dim Sum, this place is growing on me. Their pork buns are delicious and are, perhaps, the perfect size. Not too big but not to small either. The rice dish that is tucked within a lotus leaf is also quite good, though China Pearls features some king of meat within it, something I found odd since I always thought this was a vegetarian dish. A friend who has grown up on Dim Sum and acted as my groups culinary navigator confirmed that it doesnt usually have meat inside but can on occasion. Other things that my group of six ordered: shrimp dumplings, those long, flat noodles, sticky rice, pork dumplings (you can tell Im a Dim sum expert), and those delicious sesame balls for dessert. They do have a buffet bar with other things but Ive never ventured over there so I cannot stay what they have/dont have. I will say that this place can be super crowded, especially if you are thinking about visiting on the weekend. Plan ahead; you might have to wait up to a half hour to be seated, though those tables do turner over fast. Also, waiters can be hit or miss. Same for the carts. You could be waiting fifteen minutes for the right cart to come by only to have it run out of food (again) before it reaches your table. Despite the cons, this place is great, especially if you are new to Dim Sum or introducing it to your friends. One final thing: dont come here if you are a vegetarian. One of my friends is and she could only eat maybe two dishes, both of which our Dim Sum navigator had to find for her. If you love meat though, come on by.
VI
Victoria Sandbrook Flynn
Best dim sum in Boston! We got a table for two with no wait at 10:30am on a Sunday! We usually go earlier in order to miss the crowds, but we got lucky. Were regulars, but our visit last weekend was worthy of a review. A fine selection with the friendly service Ive had there to date! Buns, dumplings, rices, delicious fried things...it was all so good. A new feature since our last visit: pour guards on the teapots. Its SO much safer. Before, even an experienced tea drinker/dim sum goer could expect to spill a few cups on the table, but no more! We didnt spill a drop and it was super easy to refill our cups throughout the meal. As always, the atmosphere and decor are fine--nothing overly special, but not shabby. We also took quite a bit home with us for lunch and the rest of the family. We usually eat ourselves silly and spend about $60 for four people and we kept that rate this weekend.
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A Private User
I recently went to this restaurant with a few friends on a Friday night. The table and silverware were dirty. The service was awful. The food was brought out sporadically. Everyones food at the table was questionable and almost all of us became sick afterward. Not only that, but the restaurant was segregated. The non-Orientals were put in the back wing of the restaurant, hidden from view, and the Chinese guests were seated in a separate areas in the front of the restaurant. There is also a sign that states "Some of our best items are not available on our English menu". It made me sick to see this, and the food was absolutely unacceptable. I can see others have had different experiences, but I am not a picky person when it comes to restaurants, and I found everything about China Pearl to be intolerable.
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Thomas Farrell
Ive been eating at China Pearl for decades and used to know the owners daughter. They were at the time very aware that they were a business in chinatown with almost exclusively Chinese speaking customers, and they wanted to be more friendly to English speaking customers, so they insisted their staff learn at least a few words to communicate with everyone. I think theyve succeeded admirably. They are particularly known for extravagant Dimsum (chinese brunch), and they indeed have an incredible selection. I dont think theyre the best in Chinatown but they are very close, the quality is consistently great, and they frequently have the best selection. Prices may also not be the best, but theyre not bad, and I generally dont mind paying for a great meal with superior selection.
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A Private User
We had dinner here tonight. At the beginning of the meal a mouse scampered by my husbands foot (he kept quiet, so as to not ruin the meal for the rest of us). At the end of the meal, as we were paying, the rest of us saw a mouse running across the room. We told the woman at the register and also asked for a discount (as our stomachs began to lurch); she said that she couldnt do that as the food was not contaminated. How would she know that for certain? If this mice has no fear in scampering across the dining area, in the glare of the lights, with people in the room, how many more are there in the kitchen, when the restaurant closes, when it is dark and no people???
JA
James MacLellan
The wife and I were in town for a show and decided to stop by. We were never asked if we would like a drink... of ANY kind. So I had water and colored water called tea. The standard meats (chicken fingers, wings and spare ribs) and the Lo Mein were ok. It was the pork fried rice that had us both shaking our heads. It tasted off. Like it was old or cooked in dirty water. Oh, and our waiter had the foot long hairy mole as well (ever hear of a razor or scissors?). Nothing against you if you have one, but in the food service industry, not a good thing. Thank god the wife missed the hairy mole. Not a fan of this place. Oh and they like to vacuum while you are eating.
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A Private User
The food was mediocre compared to the nearby Hei La Moon. It was often oversteamed leaving some of the dumplings soggy. There was also the problem of a very dirty restaurant. The tabletop didnt have any tablecloth, which would be fine, but it was sticky and nasty. The tea tasted terrible. It really felt like I was at a feeding trough instead of a restaurant. I would recommend trying other places down the street. I believe this place probably had good stuff, was clean, but seriously needs to change their flooring or clean it, get some tablecloths or new tables. Its also in a very obvious location so probably stays in business because of that reason.
BE
Ben Harris
One of Bostons better Dim Sum locations. Large banquet style room with plenty of tables, but dont let that fool you, it gets very busy after 11:30 on the weekends. The carts come around pretty frequently and they usually keep the food fresh. You need to go up to a separate counter to get veggies yourself. The staff is what youd expect at a Dim Sum restaurant, somewhat friendly and helpful but not overly service oriented. The restaurant doesnt compare to most of the West Coast or NYC Dim Sum restaurants, but its one of your best bets in Boston, though if you are okay skipping cart service I prefer Winsor.
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D Narry Julie Ton
Dimsum decent. Not "wonderful" by any means. Service is HORRIBLE. We were seated on the back end of the restaurant, which is absolutely fine if we were just attended to properly. I couldnt even count the amount of times the servers never came over to our end of the restaurant. They saw me and my boyfriend seated at the far end on our end and never bothered to take the 10 steps it took to get to our table. They just turned their cart around and walked in the other direction where the main area of the dining room was. I have to say Im not very surprised. Never going to eat here again.
