China Pearl Restaurant

I was at this restaurant during the late quarantine time when things were pretty much opening up and also many restaurants opened up that time including this. It was recommended to me, honestly, by my uber driver and she was so ecstatic while recommending. So, I thought of giving a shot. The decor is good and impressive- spacious with lots of sitting arrangements, good smell and a calming atmosphere. Good for family eating outs or with friends or colleagues. There are few points that I would like to make for new goers: 1. Do not go by the menu. You might think that the menu is saying this n that. However, it’s not kinda thing that we draw in our mind. For instance, flat rice noodles doesn’t mean that it would be superbly long and non-sticky noodles. It’s far far different from that. I’m not sure, may be, that’s what the authentic Chinese flat noodles is. I’ve attached some photos for reference. 2. It’s pricy!! I don’t have any problem in paying more if the food is good and satisfactory to my eyes. However, in this case, neither it was satisfactory nor worth the money. Also, they charged for just normal water. 3. Authentic Chinese cuisine is different from the Indo-Chinese and American Chinese one and I’m glad that I’ve had all of them tasted. I love authentic Chinese cuisine. If not all, but definitely some. Albeit this place offers some authentic ones, however I would not go again just to eat some authentic Chinese cuisine again. I would be delighted to go somewhere else for authentic ones.

Good place for DIM SUM. Most DIM SUM are what listed for the day. May not have all the items listed on the menu. We tried shrimp DIM SUM and they were delicious. They also have variety of Asian food on the menu. Good and quick service. Fried Rice and Singapore rice noodles we tried were delicious. Nice ambience. Staff is wonderful.

In most Chinese restaurants, you most of the time expect good food, not good service. China Pearl is an exceptional one as the food is also bad. The plate of fried calamari was stuffed with a good bedding of fried onions, covered with a thin layer of squid and it was not good taste either. Fried pork chops were dried and chewey. Fried rice with salty fish was stuffed with chicken. There are more better restaurants here in Chinatown Boston that we have tried, but China Pearl is not one of those. Not recommended!

Delicious weekend dim sum spot that is almost hidden away on a quiet street. The entrance is a narrow long stairway that opens up to a fairly large restaurant. Food-wise, it was good. Nothing to write home about, but does fulfill your dim sum craving. Waiters were attentive and carts were passing on a regular basis. Expect to wait 15-20min on a busy weekend lunch time. Price point seemed a bit high with $60 for 3 people. Still worth a try if you're in the area.

Traveling in Boston, China Pearl offered the worst experience for me. As a Chinese, I can not believe the tast was so so so bad. I do not think any Chinese can stand that. The tast was not only fake Chinese, but also bad quality. The food I ordered even not warm enough. They also used a paper box to provide dine-in food. The decoration is also wierd. Everything is only for none Chinese tourists. I felt so cheated by so many good online recommendations. After the meal, I talked to one of the onwer from a shop in the China town, as a local, she told me China Pearl was good 7-8 years ago. No local Chinese will go there now.

This is the venerable Dim Sum restaurant in Boston's Chinatown. You don't have to speak Chinese to order, it's an exercise in pointing to what looks good on the serving carts as they are wheeled by. It's all good food and everything is little bites. Three or four pieces of shrimp, pork, beef, crab or veggies in various pastry wraps. Tea comes with whatever you order. There's also a full bar.