East Pearl Restaurant

Reviews

• V T.

  star star star star star_border 8 June 2026

  This is a barebones classic Cantonese restuarant, whose menu has some Vietnamese translations in certain sections, making it a suitable choice if you are bringing your elder Vietnamese relatives who would like to read the menu too. Similar to "Full Kee" in Falls Church VA, but this is so much better than Full Kee.
  No lineup here on a Sunday during lunchtime, we were seated immediately.  Service here is also quite barebones, we were sitting very close to the hostess and although she was very quick about clearing dirty dishes from our table, it seemed a bit rushed and almost aggressive at times. Does the food make up for it? YES.
  
  *N5 Shrimp Dumpling & Noodle in Soup: Solid rendition of this classic dish. Dumplings are decent-sized, broth is not too salty, and quite balanced. The size is quite appropriate for the low price of $6.95.
  *Y6 Beef brisket yee mein soup: I'm not familiar with yee mein, but for those of you who are unfamiliar like me, it's a flat egg noodle. Broth is definitely different from the shrimp dumpling soup, it's got a more beefy flavor to match with the brisket. The brisket comes in decent sized chunks, not overly tender and definitely not chewy, quite a satisfying taste.
  *R1 Roast Pork: This is "char siu" (unfortunately this place doesn't have "siu yuk" roast pig which I really would have liked). I was afraid it would be overly sweet like many other Chinese restaurants seem to do, but this time it was actually quite balanced between savory and just lightly sweet. We only ordered 1/2 pound to share between four people since we wanted to enjoy other dishes as well, this amount was appropriate just for us to get a taste. If you're interested in having more per person, a 1/2 pound between two people may be more appropriate.
  *R3 Steamed Chicken Hong Kong Style: This dish comes out cold but is still delicious! The chicken they use is very appropriate for this bone-in style, with a more chewy texture, and beautiful light marinade. Comes with a ginger oil dipping sauce which is simple yet very authentic. I wish the chicken could have been a little warmer but this was still delicious for me.
  
  Not the very best Cantonese food I've ever had (I've never been to HK but I am from Toronto if that means anything about my Canto food experience) but for the DMV area that seems to be lacking in this normally fundamental style, East Pearl is a solid choice for old school classics and I'm satisfied.

• Haru S.

  star star star star_border star_border 5 June 2026

  The food was pretty great. We came here on a weekday afternoon to meet up with some old friends who live in the area. While everything we ordered arrived quickly, I wouldn't say our waitress was cordial. There were a few times we needed to get up and ask for more water or tea. Overall service was prompt, but impatient.
  
  That said, the duck and pork dish was delicious and the traditional intestine dish was spicy and savory. Everything we ordered was pretty greasy though, even the green veggies, so I couldn't eat much without my stomach getting upset. The portions were large enough that there was enough left over to take home. On the menu, I spotted some very traditional dishes, as well as Americanized items. If you love Chinese cuisine, this place might be worth a try.

• Wei S.

  star star star star_border star_border 3 June 2026

  Nothing really special at least the dishes we ordered are just okay.
  My friend recommended the roast chicken and roast duck combined dish. Not very authentic compared with the ones in Hong Kong or in Flushing New York. The roast chicken and duck are both bit oily though plain.
  
  I ordered intestines with the chinese preserved vegetables. not much intestines. There were only bit of tiny pieces. The chinese preserved vegetables are not strong enough. They probably were washed too much before being cooked.
  
  The stir fried beef with flat rice noodles for some reason doesn't have much green onions and the flat rice noodles are chopped into squares instead of the original long ones. The taste is okay.
  
  Another friend of mine ordered beef with onions. She is from Hong Kong. She made no comments on any of the dishes.
  
  Portions are okay

• Christine P.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 30 May 2026

  We returned to this restaurant again because the food was great last time. But, I don't know what's going on with the staff at this place, but it started with the rude looks that were given to us (after we came in smiling), and continued with more rudeness while ordering our food.  They offered no help with the menu and even other staff members gave us dirty looks from the wait station.  
  
  The chow foon I ordered was so salty and greasy, and the fried rice was flavorless. Also, in the past, this place was packed, but today, we were one of only three tables in the restaurant.  
  
  We were all thinking "what the heck happened to this place?"
  
  So I looked at the reviews on Yelp, and surprise, surprise, a vast majority of the reviews mention the horrible, RUDE service.
  
  I will spend my money elsewhere.  Seriously, there's no time in my life to waste on an experience like that.

• Mia S.

  star star star star star_border 29 May 2026

  I'm not big on Chinese food but this was a damn good place to dine at for any cravings. It's located in the same area as Maki and Tea-Do, East Pearl's got you for authentic and delicious dishes. A few star dishes in my opinion:
  
  -Fried Shrimp Dumpling
  -Kung Pao Chicken
  -Beef Chow Fun
  -Deep Fried Cod Fish
  -Sweet and Sour Shrimp
  
  Everything tasted fresh and delicious! Customer service was okay. A few of the servers looked like they were having a rough day but they did a good job with cleaning up and refilling our drinks. Just a warning, it gets super loud in the restaurant. I'm not sure if it's the layout of the building but I felt like I was screaming across the table just to be heard. The parking situation here isn't so great either but I got lucky with a spot in the back. Reservation is recommended because they get very busy. They also have lunch specials during the week. Overall, a decent experience.