(510) 526-6800
Parking: shopping center parking lot
Last Visited: April 24, 2010
Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$
I’ve eaten at Asian Pearl for both dinner and dim sum. My most recent trips have been for dim sum and as long as the dim sum is piping hot, then it’s pretty good. Cold dim sum (see fried squid) is rarely a good thing, so keep that in mind for wherever you may go.
The primary dim sum dishes fall into the small, medium, and large categories. There are also specialty items that will cost a bit more.
During my March 2008 visit, we sat outside the restaurant. They have put up screens and rolled out carpet to expand the seating into the atrium area of the shopping mall. The screens help to block out distractions, although, it’s not as nice as inside and there can often be a draft. Inside, the room can be a bit noisier. There is a lot of gold and green in the room along with bright cream colors all around. For lunch, dim sum carts are rolled around as well as people carrying trays of steamers and plates.
At Asian Pearl, you’ll find that the dishes tend to have larger portions – partially due to the price and partially due to the style of food served at the Ranch 99 shopping center restaurants.
Dim sum prices are as follows: Small $2.40, Medium $2.95, Large $3.50, Special $5
- Pork
Spareribs with black bean sauce - Spareribs cooked in black bean sauce top pieces of chopped taro. The taro not only helps the spareribs to be raised higher on the plate, but it absorbs the juices from the meat. Good, although I like to have my spareribs a touch spicier from red pepper flakes. The picture shown here is for a similar style of spareribs, but this one is cooked in its own juice with dried goji berries topping the dish which adds a little sweetness. $2.95- Steamed rice roll with beef – Three rice rolls are filled with black bean sauce and drizzled with sweet soy sauce. The rice wrapper was a bit on the thick side, but the beef had a nice mild flavor – perfect for those who don’t want a heavy cilantro flavor, but bland for those who look for cilantro. Okay. $3.50
- Steamed chicken feet – Chicken feet are braised and steamed over fried tofu puffs. The tofu puffs serve the same purpose as the taro in the sparerib plate – soaking up all of the flavor and adding height. The chicken feet have a nice flavor and are fairly plump. When tofu puffs aren’t available, tofu skin is used as a substitute. Good. $2.40- Shrimp dumpling (har gao) – Four shrimp dumplings are served in a steamer. Fairly standard. Okay. It might have been outstanding if more hot. When it is hot, you’ll find that sometimes the skin is a bit torn, but the flavor of the shrimp and the bamboo shoot are smooth and blend well together. $2.95
- Pork Dumpling (siu mai) - Four pork dumplings are served in a steamer. Fairly standard. A shrimp is placed on top of the pork which is wrapped in a skin. Nice presentation. Okay. $2.95- Steamed tofu skin roll – The unique thing about these rolls is the size of the roll. They’re fairly large and another unusual item is that they’re served in a bowl. Usually, they’re served in a small plate, but if you like to have tofu skin rolls (containing meat and vegetables along with glass noodles) with a lot of sauce, this will be perfect for you.
- Fried tofu skin stuffed with shrimp – Tofu skin is wrapped around shrimp and deep fried until golden. The tofu skin had a nice crispiness to it. Good. $3.50
- Gai Lan – The gai lan vegetables are boiled and served with oyster sauce. Unlike vegetables that are boiled in plain water, these are typically boiled in water with some additional ingredients that soften the vegetables and keep them a bright green. Very good. Specialty item. $5
- Beef Balls – Three beef balls made with cilantro are steamed over Napa cabbage. Good flavor and texture with the cilantro not being too overwhelming. This is served with Worcestershire sauce. $2.40
- Fried Squid with Salt and Pepper - As you can see, I've gotten this more than once. The first time, during my March 2010 visit, the flavor was perfect and the temperature was hot since they had just come from the deep fryer. The
second time I ordered, the temperature was unfortunately at room temperature and it was very unpleasant. For this reason, I dropped the food rating from three stars to a two to three star range. The same dish looks different and quality should never be sacrificed. When you are paying the price for a 'special' item which costs more than the regular dim sum, you should get what you pay for, not something that shouldn't be served. Lack of consistency is never good. $5- Sesame Balls – These sesame ball desserts are delicious, especially right out of the deep fryer. A ball of lotus is wrapped in rice flour and rolled in sesame, then deep fried until golden brown. Very good.
Most noodle dishes are about $10 to $12.
- Beef chow fun – A large plate of chow fun is cooked with onions, green onions, bean sprouts, and sliced beef. Very nice flavor. Simple presentation. Good. On occasion, a little burnt smell because it's very hard not to burn chow fun, but overall, okay.- House Special Crispy Noodle – A large plate of noodles are deep fried and topped with a variety of meat and vegetables. It’s been a while since having this one, but I do remember the quality of the noodles was very good – crispy on the outer edges of the plate and soft in the center where the meat and vegetables along with the sauce is placed. The last time I tried it, there was octopus, beef, chicken, and baby bok choy.
One thing that was really nice about Asian Pearl is their attention to refilling the teapot. They constantly check to see that you have enough tea and take away any empty plates. Also, during our meal in the outside area, they changed our plates (this doesn't always happen though). Changing plates, though popular during dinner, is rare for dim sum lunches. Good service most of the time. Asian Pearl is also good about not rushing its clientele, so you can continue to enjoy your meal without any pressure. Food quality depends on the temperature, but overall, it’s a good find for Richmond and comparable to or better than other dim sum places in the Bay Area. Sometimes I wish we could get a temperature reading before we actually take the dish though - that's probably my biggest complaint. The dim sum is a bit light on flavor for those seeking traditional styles, but great for first time dim sum eaters.
No comments:
Post a Comment