Pearl

**** Pearl has closed

Having already visited the "Convoy Dim Sum" trinity of Emerald, China Max, and Jasmine, with mixed results, not to mention a horrible experience at Lucky Star. We decided to finally retry Pearl in Rancho Bernardo:

We'd first set foot here back in '04 when they first opened. At that time I thought they took a back seat to their sister restaurant Emerald; but based on recent comments here, I was made to believe that Pearl has overtaken Emerald.

We arrived and were immediately seated:

And in a flash we had tea, ice water, and the first carts arrived! Needless to say, I was impressed. We got some shrimp and chive dumplings:

These were very tasty with a nice shrimp and chive flavor, though the wrappers were a bit dry, but not a bad start.

Vegetarian Bean Curd Roll:

These rolls were filled with bamboo shoots and cloud ears fungus, the soy based broth was so very rich, and the chilies added a mild heat. These were excellent, both in taste and texture.

Fried Chive and Shrimp Dumplings, one of my favorites:

These were cold, which made them taste somewhat greasy, and the shrimp rubbery. I also noticed that these dumplings were somewhat smaller then I'm used to seeing, although there were 4 of them instead of the usual 3.

Shrimp Cheong Fun:

We really noticed the size difference with this dish. Though the noodle was cooked perfectly, slightly chewy, with a nice "pull" to it. These were quite small, and only had 2 small shrimp in each. About this time I noticed something; all these hard working servers were smiling; our water was being refilled on a regular basis. I really only needed to make eye-contact with a Dim Sum Lady, and she would make her way to our table. I was in total shock, was there some mind-altering hallucinogenic substance in my tea?

I was snapped out of my trance by the next cart with the Beef Tripe:

Now this was the tripe I remembered from Emerald, nice and crunchy, with a slight amount of heat from the chilies, in a slightly chicken flavored broth. Very nice!

Chao Zhou Dumplings:

These dumplings are a real challenge. In many cases the wrapper is not cooked correctly, and ends up being a sticky mess, with all the filling(chopped bamboo shoot, etc) falling all over the place. Not in this case, though. These were cooked well, and there were nice whole dried shrimp in each dumpling. Very well done.

At about this time, one of the Waiters came up to use and asked if everything was alright. What!!! In a move that I thought was tempting fate; the Missus mentioned that she hasn't seen any Fried Taro (Taro Gok). The Waiter quickly asked one of the "Ladies" something; turned to us, and said "We don't have any right now, but we can make some for you, how many would you like...." As soon as I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor, I choked out "Just one will be fine...".

As the Waiter left we were immediately scanning the room; this service made us really want to get more Dim Sum. Wait A Minute! That's what it was; Pearl was using "reverse psychology" to try and get us to order more Dim Sum!

Tofu in Chili Sauce:

Beautiful aren't they? But these are best admired from a distance. This had to be the sweetest chili sauce I've ever had. In fact, I couldn't taste anything for a while after eating this. Ick!

The Missus flagged down the dessert cart and got some desserts:

You'll have to ask the Missus how they were.

She said they were "just okay", before inhaling them......

Our blessed Fried Taro Ball:

These were brought to our table piping hot! Though on the smallish side each one of these were topped with Masago (Flying Fish Eggs), which added a nice saltiness, and hid a scallop inside! The pork and taro filling was mixed to the perfect ratio. These were among the best I've eaten - delici-yoso!!!

We also got Sticky Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf:

These were also on the small side, though like most everything else; was done very well. About this time the Waiter walked up to our table, and apologized for taking so long with the taro. Welcome to the Twilight Zone! Are we really eating Dim Sum? The Waiter also asked us if he could get us anything else....why? Because if you buy ten dishes you get two free!!! Amazing.... We ended up getting another order of sticky rice to go. The damage? $36.91, not bad really.

The last most surprising thing happened while I was waiting for the Missus, who needed to visit the Restroom before we left.

While I was standing "holding up the wall". One of the Waiters walked up to me. The little voice in my head went "oh-oh, here's where we come back to reality..." But he just wanted to make sure we got our free Dim Sum, and struck up a conversation, telling me to come back for dinner, and started showing me the "specials". He surely thought that I was a bit strange, looking back and forth. I was searching for the "hidden cameras".

Needless to say; this is the best service I've ever had in a Dim Sum establishment. It's as if the Dim Sum God was trying to make amends for all the lousy and mediocre Dim Sum experiences we've had recently. I'm going to have to return, to see if  history will repeat itself!

In a nutshell Pearl on this visit provided excellent service, good Dim Sum with a contemporary flair.

Pearl Chinese Cuisine
11666 Avena Place
San Diego, CA 92128

Comments

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

The dim sum indeed looks delicious, although I can't believe you had 10 dishes! Nah, jus kidding. Usually when I go and have dim sum with friends, we will order 6 or 7 dishes and go out for some dessert afterwards. Lucky that you were able to get TWO free dishes as well. Service here sounds exceptional. If you go back, I'd be curious to know if the service was the same.

[Annie]

wow, that is very impressive!! and here, i was just thinking how much i miss LA already (i was just there checking out rowland heights yesterday!!) i think we might check out pearl soon to satisfy my dim sum cravings!!

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - It really didn't feel like much. I think the portion sizes are a bit smaller then the norm.

Hi Annie - We plan a revisit soon to see if the service and food is repeated.

[Kathy]

Hooray for good dim sum! The fried taro balls look especially good - I've never seen a restaurant put masago on top (or serve it on a rectangular plate!).

[mealcentric]

Good service at dim sum?! Whoa. Maybe they thought you were a food critic or something since you were taking pictures? Man, I would love to get even a smile during dim sum.

Food looked REALLY good.

[Rachel]

Hi Kirk,

I have had great experiences like those you speak of before, however, they are few and far between. But once you encounter them, don't ever let go!!! I am sure that when you become their "usual" customers you might get even better service, freebies, they might get to know the dishes you like and make them fresh for you etc. :) I am glad you had a great experience. I had been to a restaurant in Sydney with waiters who asked what I would like even before the carts came round and they would get it fresh from the kitchen !!

The taro balls with roe on top is a surprise ! It sounded yummy with the scallop too. but yeah that chilli sauce did look very sweet. I have a common favourite with you, the shrimp and chive dumpling :) I'll have it any way I can, steamed or fried. I also love chew zhau fan guo (cantonese for the chau zhou dumplings)

Oh yes!! I need to tell you that I tried your recipe for niu rou mein soup and I loved it!!! Even my Australian husband said it was nicer than one we had at a taiwanese restaurant earlier in the year. I used udon noodles as we are out in the styx and it was the only fresh type noodle (other than hokkien) available at the supermarket. Thanks for that reciple!!

[elmomonster]

Awesome! This is the same treatment I got at Pearl the three or four times I've been this year. I was also very impressed. I'm glad you liked it too. What's interesting is that it's the only dim sum place I've ever been in to in San Diego. Seems like it's the default.

Agree on that tofu in sweet chili sauce though...too sweet.

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - The taro gok was the hit of the day - really well done. I also think that getting them straight from the kitchen helped.

Hi MEalcentric - I was pretty much in shock for most of the lunch. Wow, I just realized I forgot to post the cost....better get on that right away. Was $36.

Hi Rachel - I'm glad the Niu Rou Mein recipe worked for you! We keep wavering on our preferences, whether we enjoy the menu type dim sum, or cart dim sum. I love the varying textures in the Chau Zhou dumplings, the glutinous wrapper, the crunchy peanuts, and the shrimp!

Hi Elmo - I think this is the only San Diego Dim Sum experience necessary. It's good to hear that my experience wasn't a random event.

[Pam]

Hi Kirk,

I'm glad you had a great dim sum experience to make up for those not-so-great ones lately!

I've never seen Woo Gok (Taro Balls) look that good!!! Now you got me jonesin for dim sum!

[mabel]

Pearl is my favorite dim sum place in SD, by far. I think it's totally worth it, despite the higher prices and smaller portions. :)

[Kirk]

Hi Pam - Yes, I got Dim Sum redemption and then some....

Hi Mabel - Thanks for the rec' BTW. I didn't think the prices were particularly high; especially if you end up eating ten (12)dishes! :o) But I thought the service was outstanding.

[Angie]

I've been going to Emerald for years but have never been to Pearl because Emerald is so much closer. I also assumed that since they have the same owners, Pearl would be comparable. Now I definitely have to go and check it out for myself.

[lance]

I guess you finally found a "keeper". Very surprising they were to friendly and thoughtful. Those dishes looks so good, especially the taro cakes. Is the tofu with sweet chili sauce steamed with the sauce or fried and the sauce poured over? A nice thing about smaller dishes is that it's easier to eat 10 dishes and get 2 dishes free. Sound like it balances out and you get to try more dishes.

[Kirk]

Hi Angie - I had made the same assumption as well. But right now, I rather have Pearl.

Hi Lance - It seemed like the sauce weas poured over.

[mizducky]

Hi Kirk--A very tardy comment on this post, just to say that on your recommendation I checked out Pearl today and found it as fantastic as you described. And I got them to make us some fried taro balls too (the last already-made dishful had just been snagged by the next table) and found them really yummy. Once again, thanks for the tip!

[Kirk]

Hi mizducky - I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. We think that Pearl does a pretty good job, and that the service there has always been very good.

[Caroline]

Yes, I just had some Dim Sum last week during my work lunch. That was my first time eating dim sum during the weekday. I came in, got seated, and served right away. =) Food was delicious, nice service, and good view of the park.