Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant

Hi. You've got to check this place out! Insane awesome service from the moment I entered. Incredibly sweet and welcoming, wonderful smiles and upbeat personalities. The young lady who greeted me was extremely willing to provide the best customer experience for me that night. I didn't want to leave thanks to her. I wish I could've stayed. I was picking up a take out order and needed to jam out and deliver it unfortunately. Next time I visit I will definitely stay and eat. Hopefully I will be greeted in the very same way. They or at least 'she' rocked! I'd love to come see for myself again. David

Finally came back around but to try their dinner menu. Their set-up and pricing is on the same level as the Mayflower and Koi Palace chains. IMO it is more of a special occasion/gathering hall, as the space is huge with lots of large tables, and the food has a finer edge to it, more balanced and more cleanly presented, than say a mom/pop Chinese resto. But I feel Mayflower and Koi are a little more dialed in than this place, but not by much. *Note: the title of the dishes are from memory and generalized. Their website doesn't help and the menu pics are mostly from lunch. I should of just snapped a pic of the receipt.* Stir Fried Steak with Garlic and Green Onions ($20ish/4*) They used rib eye which is money. Only upscale Chinese restos will use this. It is tossed in a darkish sauce which surprising was not salty. Whole toasted garlic cloves add a bang with each bite and peppers and green onions round out the garnishments. Definitely higher level beef dish. Fried Salted Egg Shrimp ($20ish/4*) First time trying this prep and it was pretty darn good. Plump shrimp is coated in some salted egg yolk batter which is slightly salty and has a funky umami. It is fried til slightly crisp, but as it sat, it lost most of the crunch. The plate was also 50% squash/pumpkin, sliced thin and battered the same way. I didn't see that listed on the menu, which was a curveball. But the pumpkin is very compatible in this manner so I wasn't bummed. Fresh Rock Cod ($50ish for a 1.5 lber/4*) This is fresh from their tank so it is pretty expensive. $30/lb??!! But when it comes that fresh, it is pretty remarkable. The flesh pops and melts almost at the same time. Only a seasoned fish eater will highly praise this. We got it simply steamed and topped with scallion, ginger and cilantro. Soy and wok'd oil finishes, my absolutely fave way to get this. But $50+ for a modest portion for 3-4 peeps, is not everyday fare. So I keep it to that, the occasional splurge. So food was clean but not over the top. There's still a ton of other things that I wanna try. And I think I am more of a fan of this place more for dinner than day time dim sum. But it is also more pricier at night. Still coming back.

Dim-sum? More like dim-yum! I really wanted to get dim-sum on a Sunday morning, so I looked up a few nearby places on Yelp. Although this restaurant didn't have the highest stars, I still wanted to give it a try. I arrived right when the restaurant opened at 10 AM and was seated promptly. After ordering some jasmine tea, the carts started to circulate. I made the mistake of picking up everything that looked super delicious (maybe it wasn't a mistake after all?!) There was a lot of delicious food here, but i really enjoyed the char siu pork buns, egg custard buns, and chive dumplings. Pros + If you go early, you won't have to wait very long. + Good service -- they were always coming by with food, refilling water/tea, and it was easy to ask for the check + Food was tasty -- some things tasted better than others, but the overall quality was very good + Easy parking (if you go earlier!) Cons - Slightly pricey for dim-sum, but you definitely pay for the quality - The xiao long bao was just okay -- definitely get that at a different restaurant nearby. It didn't taste bad, it just wasn't as soupy as I was hoping it would be.

I am a fan, despite the long lines that can be out the door on the weekends. I highly recommend coming early -- like 10:30am or 11am, if you don't want to wait. This place is spacious, but gets full quickly. You can't go wrong with anything you order here. They have a huge selection. My personal favorite here is egg custard bun with the cookie crust. There are not a lot of places that make this. Another one that I like that a lot of other places do not make is the noodle wrapped Chinese donuts. You can ask for all the sides too: soy sauce, hot mustard, spicy sauce, and more. The staff are always walking around so it's easy to get someone to get you something you need. I just wish it was closer for me so I can go more often, but sometimes when I'm craving it, it's worth the 30 minute drive!

Over the years I've dined at Asian Pearl several times mainly wedding banquets. Located in Fremont on Boscell Asian Pearl is a huge Cantonese seafood restaurant that also serves dim sum. The banquet menus come in various price points depending on the multitude of seafood options. There is a back wall filled with live tanks with seafood of your choosing. All of the banquets that I have attended always have a steamed fish which is my favorite. There is usually a shellfish dish lobster or crab and their roast duck, all of which are good. Most of the other dishes are not so memorable. As in most Cantonese restaurants service is poor and always comes with an attitude. Its more the norm than an exception. Plenty of parking in the large shopping center lot. Go for the food, tolerate the poor service.