Visited here with my partner and his mother to celebrate Chinese New Year and overall I really…read moreenjoyed it. I've never been to Pearl of the Orient before, but I really loved their neighbouring bar's food so was happy to try this place out for the special occasion.
The food itself was 5 stars, but I'm taking 1 star off due to speed and portion-size.
~ Atmosphere:
If you're looking for a fancy night, Pearl of the Orient really gives it. Sleek and classy, this place has all the makings of an upscale restaurant. Probably the poshest Chinese restaurant I've ever been in!
~ Customer Service:
The customer service was great, but the speed was really slow. Granted, we came on Chinese New Year which also happened to fall on a Saturday night, so I can't speak for the speed of the service for other times, but we waited over an hour for our food to arrive. As I recall, Ba Orient didn't take as long with the food so it could've been entirely that the kitchen couldn't handle the packed hall of diners, and some of the chefs may have been off themselves to celebrate the New Year. So, the long wait times may possibly not be a regular thing.
~ Food:
Absolutely gorgeous. I'll be honest, since I moved to Cardiff from California, I really had to lower my standards on quality Chinese food since there's little to no competition for an authentic Chinese restaurant. However, Pearl of the Orient's food is probably good enough to hold its own even in San Francisco! The Hong Kong stye crispy roasted pork was heavenly and the sea-spiced aubergine was out of this world!
The meal was so delicious and you can definitely taste the quality. The only disappointing thing is the portion sizing! I ordered 7 dishes total for 3 people which normally should've been plenty, but everything was in such small portions that we were only filled up when we ordered an extra dessert. Great tasting food, but if you're looking for a Chinese-style "feast", then you definitely need to order a lot more. I would've added more orders on, but with the wait times we decided in the end to not bother.
Oh yeah, for the dessert, go for the fried custard buns. OMG!
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Overall, I'm happy to give Pearl of the Orient a try again. It's a tad bit expensive, but in my opinion you're paying an extra surcharge for the magnificent decor and atmosphere. The food is incredible, but you might want to order a lot more than you had originally planned. However, if I come back another time and the horrendous wait is still in effect, I would have to pull the rating down.