Have been coming to this restaurant since I was a kid! Theyre most popular for dim sum but also serve dinner / can order from the menu at any time. Came here most recently with a big group of my friends for Chinese New Year. We consumed most of the dim sum items being brought around including dumplings, lotus, Chinese bbq buns, egg tarts, red bean sesame balls, sticky rice, and more! We also preferred the shrimp wonton soup, Chinese broccoli, Mongolian beef, and a fish for the table. All were very good! read more

Omg. Went to Royal China for Dim Sum and found it closed. They moved to Duluth. . So tried OP. What a let down. Food was old and cold. We had to send 3 dishes back because they were so old, our chopsticks wouldn't go in. When we complained, a waitress told us not to keep ordering it. Maybe you shouldn't be serving it then. Extremely rude. No worries, wouldn't come back here if the food was free. read more

Went here on a Saturday night for dinner and the place was almost empty, which was surprising. Service was attentive and the food was excellent. The spicy eggplant was some of the best I've ever had. Chicken and broccoli, shrimp with green beans, and pan fried dumplings were all great. I would definitely return. read more

Always the best when i come! Me and My family always come here on sundays whenever we can! Congee soup never disappoints with a spoon of their oil chili sauce! very good i always tell my friends about this spot. So good!!! read more

Updating my review, because when out of town friends do come into Atlanta and want dim sum, I direct them to Oriental Pearl! Here they have a lot more options and better quality food compared to Canton House. To have a good experience, you must be in the proper mindset to expect poor service and assertively flag down the carts you want. If you want something specific (like the yummy "footballs"), then ask the wait staff to find it for you. Beat the brunch rush and arrive before 11am. read more

Overall, the experience was ok. The food was decent but there were a few annoyances. First, the wait staff was basically hovering the entire time. As soon as we looked up from the menu, they were ready to take our order and we had literally just sat down... maybe it was due to the lack of patrons but it quickly became annoying. They were very nice though. As soon as we noticed they served shark fin soup, it bummed me out a good bit. If you don't know much about how shark fin soup is created, I recommend doing a little research. Chef Gordon Ramsey did a special on how shark fin is obtained - The process is rather inhumane. The food was decent - we had the general Tso's chicken, dumplings and egg drop soup. Nothing to write home about but was good. Not sure we'll be back when there are so many great options for Chinese around the area but glad we tried it. read more

Looovvveee the dim sum here! Everything comes out fresh and hot! Service is ok, but if you grab one of the servers and request a couple of items you want, they'll bring you some. Parking can be a little tricky, especially during the weekends. One of the best dim sum meal I've had here in atl, and I can't wait to come back for more! LOCATION/PARKING: Oriental Pearl is located in what's considered Chinatown in Chamblee. Parking can get a little crazy, especially during their busy hours on the weekends. Because the parking lot isn't efficiently designed, be careful of pedestrians, especially little kids. ATMOSPHERE/DESIGN: It's well decorated with Chinese decor. I like the warm colors and placements of the tables. FOOD: **If you're not familiar with dim sum: it's Cantonese/Hokkien style food prepared in small portions. Each dish can range from $2-$4 depending on what you get. Some places also have bigger entree dishes that they serve and those are obviously going to market at a different price. Some places will make the dim sum in the back when you order it at off times and some will have the dim sum on rolling carts. They'll display what they have on the cart and you get to pick and choose. Then they'll mark it on the dim sum order card. My family and I went for dim sum on Saturday and the food was awesome! Everything was fresh and hot and tasted super good. Here are a couple of items we tried: -- Shumai (Pork Dumplings) - opened dumplings. I'm usually not a huge fan of this item because I think the meat at most places taste a little funny... but it was actually pretty good at this place and it didn't have that awkward, funny taste. -- Har gow (Shrimp Dumplings) - One of my favorite items. Really good here. Came out fresh and hot! -- Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Roll) - I absolutely love this dish. The roll is made from rice noodles and is usually filled with either shrimp, pork, beef, or vegetables and is topped off with a seasoned soy sauce. I looove getting this with shrimp. Sooo good! -- Tofu Skin Roll with pork - This was probably my favorite item that I ate for dim sum that day. It tasted soo good at this place. It's the best tofu skin roll I've had so far. -- Curry Squid - I love calamari and curry so this is the perfect dish for me! -- Beef Tripe - I'm also iffy about eating this dish because it tastes a little funny if it's not done correctly. I love how this place added lots of ginger to their tripe to help the flavors out. It was surprisingly really good and I know it was definitely one of my family's favorites. -- Custard Bun - White fluffy goodness with egg custard inside. I think this place made the egg custard just a little too sweet for me but still good. The have a lottt more to choose from and we also got some more, but those are just some of my favorites that I usually have to grab. There was also the turnip cake that I wanted to try at this place because it looked really good, but didn't get the chance to since we all got full from everything else. Next time though! SERVICE: Service was ok. There was this one guy that made everything awesome though! He would come to our table and bring us some of the items he thought we would like so that was nice. We were also seated at the platform area in the back so it was a little harder to get some dim sum carts to roll around our area, but nothing too bad since we still got all of the dim sum we usually like. OVERALL: I think this was one of the best dim sum meal I've had so far in atl. I was really happy with all of the items we got and really happy that everything came out fresh and hot. I hope this place is consistent because I know I'll be back for more in the near future. read more

Oriental Pearl Restaurant - Interior - Seafood Near Me - Chamblee, Georgia

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I got many a 'whooa, you've never been to Oriental Pearl?!' shocked looks, but... 'tis true. I just had my first visit here for a pre-arranged banquet style dinner with about forty people. I was really impressed with the superclean, brightly lit and modern (well, I'm not talking Jonathan Adler modern, but 'modern' in comparison to other Buford Hwy joints) interior. I was really delighted by the dishes, and would give the food five stars. There were a ton of dishes new to me, that I'm sure Chinese cuisine pros have been hastily packing away for a while, but nonetheless. New to me. Some of 'em included (sorry for the non-technical terms here)... duck skin wrapped in little taco-ish things, a sizzling tofu that came out complete with flame sizzling underneath, a duck + tofu soup, and much more. Definitely all a hit with everyone at our table, with the sizzling tofu being the favorite. So. Lesson learned? Duck here rocks. read more

Bring a empty stomach when you come here. It's dim sum and the waiters come around with little carts of different food for you choose. It's hard to say no to a lot of it , so most the time you have to roll me out the door ! The food is really fantastic, try the crunchy taro I love it so much. Most people like the pork bun and dumplings. But when you eat here after awhile you try everything. It's a great place to try a lot of different food. The service is always good Great place when your are hungry !! read more

For years I've heard the name in conjunction with "dim sum." I'd driven by it, I've even had a couple failed attempts to visit. But almost 13 years in Atlanta, I'd never had a chance to handle their dumplings. Until Sunday, that is. Yes, it was a group of overly critical, ever hungry Yelpers. Yes, there was a significant Asian contingent with us. Yes, things were being ordered and passed about so quickly that my knowledge of what we ate can be pretty much summarized as "yeah, that white stuff" or "those shrimp ball things" or "what is this? Tripe?" I'm sure James H., who ordered half the stuff for us, could tell me their names, but when he speaks Mandarin, my eyes glaze over. It's like he's speaking a whole other language. I'll just stick with "that crap with the bean paste in the middle that makes me feel like a dog who just ate peanut butter." Overall, it was good. As with dim sum, some (ha!) will be hit, some will be miss. Fortunately, there was more hit than miss. I preferred more of the, um, fried stuff, but the table preferred more of the, um, not fried stuff. (If I'm being to technical in my descriptions, just let me know.) Still, it was mostly good. The tripe? Not so much. The service was also hit or miss, emphasis on the miss. More specifically, when the waiter missed my glass and sent half a pitcher of water on to the table and then missed the opportunity to hand me some napkins so that I could sop it up. Fortunately, the table cloth and the fact that we were at the end of our meal mitigated any wetness, despite the best efforts of the manager who brought me a handful of napkins 10 damn minutes later. Still, it was crowded and the flow of dim sum and tea never ebbed. The check came and it was fairly accurate (I think.) I mean, hell, it was $15, tip included so I really can't complain. Based on dim sum alone (and not any other time of day or meal,) four stars. read more

You can ask me for recommendations on any type of Korean food and I can point you to the right direction. However, I cannot say the same for dim sum restaurants. I'm a novice when it comes to this particular type. Therefore, I can't discuss how authentic Oriental Pearl's dim sum was or things of that nature in this review. This doesn't mean I can't distinguish the difference between good food, mediocre food, and bad food. With that said, I like the dim sum variety offered by Oriental Pearl. I really enjoyed the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf and shrimp in flat rice noddles (two of my favorites). Upon my first visit, I was told by a friend that chicken feet dish is the quintessential dish in dim sum restaurants. Naturally, I ordered it, but couldn't eat it because I didn't know how to (and frankly, the appearance did scare me just a tiny bit). Lesson of the day? If you are new to dim sum, I would advise you to play safely and venture outside of your comfort zone one step at a time. If you go during their busiest hours, they may ask if you would be okay sharing a big table with other diners. Typically, I dine with a small group of friends and since we can't fill the entire table, they take other diners who are willing to share a table. I loved the experience each time. It was really interesting to see what everyone is ordering and it's a great way to see what everyone else is ordering. I also appreciate how I can get away with the incredible wait! I wish there was a better way of seating people during the busy dim sum hours. Every time I go, the place is packed, with people lining out the door. Currently, they give you a number written on a Post-It note and you get seated when your number is called. However, the place gets so busy some days that it's impossible to get through the waiting crowd to get to the seating hostess for a number. Also, if you are not waiting inside, you may miss your number being called. Do try to stay inside, close to the seating hostess! read more

Every-time we are in the area we come here. Whether it's for Chinese New Year, gotcha day, or just to eat with friends, this is an amazing and authentic Chinese dim sum restaurant. It is always crowded (I'm guessing because of how much people love it) but you get food in no time because it comes around in carts. The handy food revolver on the table comes in handy. This place introduced me to my FAVORITE FOOD IN THE WORD - Lai Wong Bao which is an egg custard bun. I have driven substantial lengths just to get some from a local asian grocery store (usually in Chamblee, Norcross, or Peachtree Corners) if I don't have time to go sit down and eat. I would 10/10 recommended this place! read more

Dim sum and then some! Definitely a Disney style experience. High volume environment, serving over 200 people in an hour. Not very clean, or personable. But your going for the crazy Dim Sum experience. They certainly deliver that. The food is sometimes hard to recognize and or figure out what type of meat your eating (meow). I see this as more of a, "take an out of town guest for brunch because its off the beaten path and memorable" The problem is ATL does not have defined ethnic areas so your left with Buford Hwy and they do not live up to the hype. read more

A-OK. Taken to mean Atlanta-OK. I have had dim sum from California to New York. I will say if you are yearning for dim sum and you are in Atlanta, you can get your fix at Oriental Pearl or Royal China. I am motivated to write this review because I also just dined at Oriental Pearl, a dim sum restaurant located within a couple blocks or Royal China. If you check my review for that restaurant, you will see it has been copied and pasted from this one. The only difference might be that Oriental Pearl "feels" less tired. If you try this comparison, you'll see what I mean. I also believe that the crowds show up perhaps a little earlier at the Royal China than at Oriental Pearl, but at some point at both restaurants, your just another person waiting to hear your number called out in unintelligible "Chinglish". Dim Sum : Good Variety: Good Service: Good Ambiance: it is what it is. read more

Though no longer a resident in Atlanta, I am well acquainted with the local Chinese restaurants and their history given that I was raised in the area and used to frequent the larger establishments including this one. Oriental Pearl has a long history in my family with it having been one of our go-to dim sum places growing up. I would say these were its more "golden years" with its downfall beginning around two decades ago. After an incident during this time where one of the floor manager's answer to our dim sum dishes being cold was, "That's just how it is," our patronage to the establishment ceased thereafter. It has been at least a decade since then and we recently went back to give it another go (truth be told, it was somewhat of a last resort considering we had intended to go to another dim sum restaurant in the area only to find out that it had relocated up to Duluth, and we needed to go to Chinatown's supermarket anyway). At any rate, we figured we'd give it a try since it'd been so long. Upon entering, we saw signage regarding a 20-25% upcharge for their pricing due to COVID, and that the pricing on their menu was NOT an accurate reflection of the actual costs. We ordered a number of dim sum dishes, as well as some other entrées for takeout including their wonton noodles, seafood chow fun noodles, and snow pea tips sautéed with garlic. Our total came out to be just over $80.00. All in all, the food was mediocre at best. This being said, my primary reason for rehashing my visit here with a less than glowing review is the siu mai that we ordered. It was literally spoiled, sour with a pink center. As soon as we opened the box, you could tell there was something wrong with them. Upon using my chopsticks to cut into one, you could smell the sourness of the pork and pink center. Needless to say, my parents and I were disgusted and appalled at the idea that they would feel that it was acceptable to serve such quality to its patrons. It's one thing for food not to be that good (the taste factor), it's another thing to serve something that is spoiled and should not even be consumed. I would say that many people during COVID-times would feel sympathetic towards restaurants in needing to increase their food prices, and provided that the food you serve is good (or at the very least, not spoiled), I doubt anyone would make a big fuss. Had we dined in, we (of course) would have sent the siu mai back; however, we did not have the opportunity considering we did takeout. My only regret (other than the obvious one of wishing we'd gone elsewhere for food) is that I did not take a picture of this misfortune to accompany this review. For the sake of those who reside in Atlanta, I write this review. In light of my history with the restaurant, coupled with this failed last attempt at giving it another go, I think it's safe to say that Oriental Pearl lacks quality and the level of customer service needed for a basic restaurant and is NOT a safe bet for even its dim sum - a staple in Cantonese cuisine. This is practically the equivalent of McDonald's serving moldy patties in their Big Macs. I implore you to spare yourself a visit to this establishment and go to one of the other larger 酒樓 or dim sum/banquet halls. If not for your taste buds, for the sake of avoiding your need to take a swig of some Pepto for your stomach. read more

Ok, but then again my dim sum standards are quite high. Not much selection - the usual shumai, shrimp dumplings, meatballs, potstickers, kanji, turnip cake. A few sesame balls here and there. Service was quite slow. Water out of Styrofoam cups. Maybe their game was off today. Sorry, it's been a while since I've rated a place as low as a two, but I can't justify even a three this time around. read more

Yum. I have come here several times over the last few years and thought I had written a review but I guess not. The first Yelp event I submitted was for Chinese New Year in 2008 at the Oriental Pearl. I picked it because I had been there before and liked the food and knew they had a lot of space as well as the proximity to the festivities at the cultural center in the same shopping center. Since then I have been back several times for dim sum and regular meals. Very good dim sum. It can get annoying when you come in during dim sum for a regular meal though as they are militant about asking you if you want some. For the regular dishes, they make some good beef chow fun. I do not believe I have tried any duck here though. I may need to do that. I love that they have fresh seafood. The lobster was very good. My main problem with lobster is the difficulty in eating it. Sometimes it can be very hard to get the meat out, and I really like meat. One positive thing about the current economy is the price of lobster has fallen dramatically. For something I find very delicious, I appreciate that I can get it for a good deal at the moment. May need to come back here again for some more dim sum. I am seriously lacking this year in the dim sum area. Definitely need to let my inner Asian out. read more

No no no. I was SO disappointed in the Dim Sum. There were only two carts going around with a limited selection that had been sitting out for a while. The service was abysmal. We were completely ignored on numerous occasions and I had to ask different waiters just for a water refill. We were also brought the wrong tea and they didn't even have rock sugar. They weren't even close to busy enough to overlook the terrible service. Many of the dumplings were all dough and no filling. Plus, it ended up being more expensive than I expected. It wasn't outrageous, but based on the quality of food and service I was not happy to hand over the money. If you want good dim sum for a great price, go to the canton house. read more

This is my Dim Sum place. Great quality dim sum, and great prices. I have never spent more than 15 dollars here (which includes tax and tip), and I am always crazy stuffed when I leave. The shumai is very high quality. Other favorites includes the Chinese Broccoli, the sticky rice, and even the chicken feet. The barbecue pork buns aren't as good here... small in size and taste isn't that great. Every time I go here on the weekends, it's packed. And rightly so. Dim Sum is a great place to go with a large group of friends due to its communal nature, wide variety of foods, and cheap prices. Just don't go with any squeamish eaters. I struggled for a long time trying to figure out what my favorite dim sum place is in atlanta, but i've settled. Oriental Pearl all the way. read more

I was so excited that Altanta had some dim sum spots and came across this one on Yelp! Got there relatively early on a Saturday morning, we were sat right away and the carts started swarming as soon as we sat. My go-tos for dim sum are always: har gao, siu mai, char Siu bao & wo gok. The dim sum was hot but the flavor was just okay not as flavorful as the spots back home. The fried taro (wo gok) was horribly bland, the meat mixture inside had no seasoning. The pan fried dumplings, freshly fried on the hot cart were very good as was the look fun with pork. When in Atlanta we will definitely like to try this place again. read more

Oriental Pearl Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Chamblee, Georgia

This restaurant serving Dim Sum has been a staple in the Atlanta area. You can see from the patrons that there are a variety of experienced and inexperienced eaters, just as varied as the morsels rolling around the dining room. It is wise to arrive at 11:00 AM on a weekend because within a half hour, there will be a slight wait, dependent upon the size of your party. We were pleased to know that they served Guk Bou tea, which is blend of Bo-Lei and Chrysanthemum tea. The variety of dishes increases as the hours progress, therefore if you are seeking the full experience, relax and enjoy the ride. On this visit, friends were chatting and we spent a good hour and forty-five minutes enjoying each others company. Of course, there were some of the same dishes passing by often, but at other times new items would appear freshly hot and warming. The taste in my experience with Dim Sum across the U.S. was a bit lackluster in comparison to some of the other major metropolitan cities, which was disappointing. The Har Gow or Shrimp Dumpling was not spectacular. The texture of the Coeng Fan or Rice Noodle Roll was a bit thick and did not possess the "slippery and smooth" texture that is to be expected. The Wu Gok or Fried Taro Dumpling had a very nice outside texture which was light and fluffy, but the taste was bland. Again, the exterior texture of the Haam Seoi Gok or Fried Saltwater Dumpling was excellent, but the meat filling lacked seasoning. The stand out of the meal was the Bo Lo Baau or Pineapple Bun, which were still warm from the oven. It possessed a wonderful flaky topping, the bread was chewy and moist, while the custard filling was delicate and not too sweet. There are limited options in Atlanta for authentic Cantonese Dim Sum, although this experience did not meet my expectations from a flavor standpoint, I can see why the restaurant has become a staple for many diners. They offer decent service, the hosts seem to be very attentive to customers and recognize repeat diners. read more

came here with my lunch club because we wanted to have a new experience. this place did not disappoint!! they push around different carts and you pick what you want and share with the table. the staff were all friendly and helpful and explained what everything was. everything we tried was amazing! at the end we all agreed this was our favorite lunch place yet. i definitely recommend this place if you want a new experience and a chance to try lots of different, delicious food! id give them 10 stars if i could! strongly recommend! read more

So today, I was introduced to the wonder that is dim sum... OMG I had no idea what I was missing for all these years. I loved how authentic the place is, from the ambiance, to the food. The staff has very limited English, so be aware of that. Also the parking on a Sunday afternoon was a bit tricky. Most of the time I ended up eating what my friend ordered, a veteran of the O. Pearl. She recommended the shrimp dumplings with some greens, the bread dumplings with beef, and their version of broccoli which was very interesting to eat as the stalks were huge and it was all very very delicious. Just watch out about putting soy sauce on dumplings as they become quite difficult to pick up with your chop sticks! When I walked in, I noted that the staff would go around the restaurant with carts that carry different dishes, and you would pick out what you want and they would mark it on your tab. Be aware though, if you don't know Chinese, the check may be a bit of a surprise as there are no prices displayed. I found this experience delightful and delicious and I honestly can't wait to come back. Yum!!! read more

I always come to Chinese places and this place has amazing dimsum. That said.... You'll be lucky to get any food if you sit down. I would recommend take out only. I've been here lots of times and it's hands down one of the top dimsum places in ATL, but every time we're here they won't serve us. They need to constantly be flagged down for a straw, a drink, some food...!! It wasn't busy as we waited for the lunch havoc to die down before coming in. We waited a good 20 min at an almost empty restaurant before I decided to find someone to take our order. They never came once to ask if we needed anything. I know Chinese places are terrible at customer service and I'm use to it, but this place is just over the top. read more

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I tried dim sum at Oriental Pearl for the first time yesterday. I liked it. No fishy smell. Decor is very traditional Chinese style but doesn't look dated or dingy. Service is good. There are dishes here that I like better than at Canton House but some dishes I like Canton House better. The dish I like most here is the shrimp wrapped in fresh flat rice noodle. They fry it on their hot griddle cart so the outside is crispy while inside is nice and soft. (At Canton House they just steam it so it's just soft.) And the sauce, which is dark and a little bit sweet, is good. The griddle cart here is flaming hot and that's a good thing. Radish cake is a bit too soft. It needs to have a bit more chew I think. BBQ pork bun, the filling is not too sweet but needs a bit more soy sauce and five spice aroma. Custard bun, the filling is a bit more eggy and thicker than at Canton House but still good nonetheless. However, the dough is kind of chewy. I think if they would use the same dough as the one for BBQ pork bun, which is a bit more soft and fluffy, it'd be great. That's what I prefer anyway. Chinese cruller with shrimp in the middle, this one is not bad but I prefer the texture of the one at Canton House a bit better. Deep fried dishes here suffer from low temperature the same as Canton House. Again, I do think deep fried dishes should be ordered off a picture menu so they come out piping hot and crispy. They can deep fry them in advance and keep them in an oven and just pull them out as customers order. All in all, this is a good dim sum place and I'll swap between here and Canton House from now on, depending on what I feel like eating. read more

Came here for the first time today and the place was packed. We came around 1:30 and had to wait maybe 10 minutes for a table. Btw, the hostess hands you a sticky note with a #, but the # doesn't necessary correspond to the order of arrival. For instance, a group with #57 may have a table before #55 if the next available table can better accommodate the # of ppl in group #57. You'll know what I'm talking about if you go. Well, I would rank this place as nicer looking than Royal China and China Delight. I was told this place was renovated not too long ago. In terms of dim sum, I felt that this place had fewer selections for some reason. Less desert choices for sure, ie, yes custard, no mango jello-thingy. Standard dim sum; dumplings, tripe, chicken feet, taro, are there. However, unlike my last visit to China Delight, the tripe doesn't come with daikon ( turnip root); just an observation. Also, the taro was extra greasy = sad face. However, when we ordered gailan ($7.95), it came with a big pot of rice. None of the other places gave us rice with our greens, so that was interesting. The service was good, couldn't ask for more from the usual dim sum places. The great thing about this restaurant is the location. It's located in "Chinatown", which is basically a little strip mall. So, after you eat dim sum, you can walk off your weight to the food court and eat some more. I recommend the HK BBQ located on the far right of the food court. This place is solid. My rankings is as follows in terms of dim sum. China Delight, Royal China, and Oriental Pearl. I only have one black-listed indefinitely, and that's Canton Noodle House. read more

I've been to Oriental Pearl 3 times since arriving in Atlanta. Why? Decent Dim Sum (3 points if in NYC) and decent Seafood. With freshly swimming crabs, lobsters and fish, you can get your seafood prepared as you like it. I would always recommend getting steamed, seasoned fish when getting fresh chinese fish. Fried fish is a waste of the delicate flavours of a fresh, fresh fish. Last night, I returned, getting chili crab, Black grouper, PiPa Tofu, Pea sprouts with garlic, Jelly fish, Corn/Crab soup, Cantonese styled fried noodles with beef for a party of 4. Solid dining, really... though I'm dying to go back to Hong Kong. (6 weeks!!!) Atmosphere is decent here -- though a bit gaudy for my tastes. I'm not entirely sure why southern chinese banquet style restaurants insist on the colours that they get -- they always strike me as somewhat akin to quickie-wed joints. But then again, they try to cater to chinese and vietnamese wedding banquet traditions -- so maybe that's it. Hmmm... Still, pretty reasonably good quality. 4 out of 5. read more

Good dim sum. The tea was served with too much tea leaves and it was over brewed. Sent it back twice until I got passable tea. Service was okay though I quickly learned that you have to flag down some of the servers to get them to stop. I actually stood up and stopped one of them as they were going to pass by for the third time without a glance over. Food temperature was good. Parking was available around noon though there were no spaces at 12:30 and people were circling the lot in their cars. read more

Following last Saturday's trip to Canton House, I had a friend of the family call me up and tell me that they were going to Oriental Pearl on Sunday. I'm not one to pass up yet another trip to eat dim sum, so I joined the group, and had a great experience in contrast to the former restaurant. From a purely food-to-food comparison, Canton House and Oriental Pearl both have average to above-average dishes. The Pearl, however, has a greater variety of dishes to choose from, and the frequency at which the food carts arrive, while even making allowances for table location, is far better here than at Canton House. We got our food at a much faster rate, and thus, it was much fresher. read more

There aren't many dim sum or Cantonese eateries in Atlanta, but this one will have to do. As usual, you can expect a bit of a wait on weekend lunch hour depending on your group size. The best way to enjoy dim sum is to come with a group though. We saw the carts constantly circling around. We grabbed the usual dim sum flair - shu mai (open-topped steamed shrimp dumplings), har gow (steamed shrimp dumplings), turnip cake, cheong fun (rolled rice noodles with choice of shrimp or pork filling), jiu cai bao (steamed then fried chive dumplings). Everything was pretty tasty and we would come again if we ever get the dim sum crave again. read more

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My boyfriend and I have decided that when we go out to dinner we are going to go to places we have never been before. So we chose Oriental Pearl the other night. We walked and was greeted by almost the whole staff. I guess they were excited to see two new people or something. The dinning room was decorated in lots of Chinese decorations, sculptures, and pretty chandeliers. The dining room was pretty big with maybe 50 tables but there was only one other group of maybe 10 people eating. It seemed kinda strange because they are open late and it seemed like a cool place. We sat down and the owner (from what we could tell) took our drink order and placed a few joke my way when I told him that I wanted Sweet and Sour Chicken to eat. It was not really funny, I felt awkward and kind of embarrassed to eat it but it was really good. It was not rubbery chicken like some places you may go to. The service (besides the unneeded joke) was great and we were always full on drinks and very well taken care of. I know that we will be coming back! read more

Oriental Pearl Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Chamblee, Georgia

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My Atlanta dim experiences have been absolutely rubbish. This was supposedly one of the better dim sum restaurants, or so I was made to perceive, yet I was thoroughly disappointed. Firstly, when it comes to dim sum, the Cantonese call it "Yum Cha," the literal translation meaning, to drink tea. Therefore, tradition would have it that the tea is to be enjoyed whilst dining on tapas styled dishes. So one would assume that the tea be hot, no? ... their tea was lukewarm at best. Secondly, cleanliness..... Eww. Just a very dilapidated eww. Thirdly, the restaurant was busy. Good for them. But they pretty much try to cram as many tables into the restaurant as possible, leaving no room for the dim sum carts to roll. Furthermore, we were place at an unusually large table at the corner such that the carts weren't even able to maneuver our direction. We basically ended up sitting there for 1.5 hrs, with no food offerings and little hospitality. Fourthly, their hospitality was a bit lacking. The waiter took our teapot for a refill and the teapot somehow ended up in Narnia because it never made its way back to us. Finally, as for their food... lukewarm temperature for the dishes that we did manage to get our hands on. But seeing as the cart lady shooed me away when I tried to be proactive by walking over to her to get my own damn food, we didn't really get to sample a lot of what they had to offer. read more

Great way to end our long weekend in Atlanta! We love getting dim sum on vacation since we don't have it at home. Servers were quick and attentive. We had shrimp dumplings, shumai, BBQ pork bun, shrimp chives dumpling, spring rolls, turnip cake, sesame red bean ball, and custard. Shumai continues to be a favorite. BBQ pork bun wasn't as good as we usually like it. We branched out and tried the chives dumpling and it was so good! We were lucky to get the last turnip cakes--mmmm. My friends daughter loved the custard so I gave her mine :). Red bean sesame ball wasn't best either, but overall we loved oriental pearl. The fifth star goes to the wonderful hospitality. Already it was crazy having us with two toddlers and 1 infant. BUT on top of that, the host helped my hubby out big time. He went in to the men's room to change our almost 2 year old son. No changing table...change next to a urinal on the floor, in the small cubicle next to the potty, or try to squeeze him in by the sink??? Thankfully the host had been in the bathroom and saw my husbands conflicted thoughts. He took him to a private dining area and offered the table or putting chairs together. We had a changing pad, so my hubby just changed him on the floor. But he got lucky not having to change him in the bathroom. It's always SO gross when I have to do that!!!! Thanks Oriental Pearl for taking such good care of us :) read more

Great for just quick and solid dim sum. Come early on a Saturday or Sunday before the lunch rush comes in. Simple decor, enough room for all the carts to get through and frequent service, even at the edges of the restaurant. I was a bit disappointed in the selection, I was spoiled in Hong Kong with dim sum and I miss the soup dumplings. It took a while for the greens to make their way to us, it was mostly fried. We were a bit upset the first batch of har gau was not wrapped well (immediately fell apart) and there was no rice in sight. Now that I think of it, it took a while for them to bring around a desert cart too... Sigh, it was fine, but I don't think I'll be coming back too soon. read more

Dimdim sum sum. To me, all dim sum places in Atlanta have the exact same food. It is probably because all of them get it from the same supplier who gives them the same frozen stuff that they just steam before bringing them out to its patrons. So my review isn't really based on taste since they all have the same food. I wish this place had kangee without the thousand year old egg. Some other places at least have 2 options when it comes to kangee. Fermented duck egg that is basically a black mush of gelatin substance isn't too appetizing for my eyes or my tongue. I asked the waiter to give me kangee without egg and he could not understand me. So we basically went back and forth between whether they had plain kangee without the egg and his response was simply "do u want or not?" He obviously understood that I didn't want the egg in it but proceeded to pour me a cup with extra eggs in it. Well, he could have at least stirred around to try to get the least amount of egg in my bowl. But I think it was rather the language barrier so I will let it go. What I like about this place is that food carts come around faster than other places. So u are not sitting there eating one dish waiting for some other stuff to make its rounds. We were able to get most of our dishes at once and get out of there pretty fast. I commend the owner for being smart. It means less people waiting and more turnover for the limited dim sum time. I learned a long time ago to always try to beat the wknd dimsum crowd by going there at 11 instead of after 12. Because if it is past noon, its a madhouse. And especially this place, there isn't enough parking for all the dim sum crowd. So get there early and get out. read more

This place is great. The lack of a fifth star is just because of the frenetic atmosphere of the place. I know that's how it's designed and supposed to be, but I wasn't a fan. The food is phenomenal. We came for a little pre-Chinese New Year lunch, and gorged ourselves. Dumplings, tempura, egg rolls, the works, everything we had was great. The place was super crowded, so the carts were a little slow getting around, but still they came regularly enough where it wasn't an issue. We'll definitely coming back. read more

After living in Los Angeles and New York City most of my life, moving to Atlanta was a major disappointment, at least in the Chinese food department. Before I discovered the Oriental Pearl, Canton Cook II was my favorite for seafood, but the prices and waitstaff attitude was abominable--"Too high," and "Awful," in that order. So finding this place was an extremely welcome change. My waitress, 'Doris,' was exceedingly warm and friendly, instantly making me feel at home, unlike other places. But what really impressed me was the sheer variety of delicious dishes on their menu... it was HUGE, a more than worthy successor to any of the Chinese joints I've enjoyed in either LA or NY. Fresh seafood is never inexpensive, but I thought the prices were reasonable, and virtually everything who waited on me was nice, a welcome change from the usually chilly attitude of Chinese waiters in Atlanta, and many other places. I ordered the Dungeness crab, and it was ENORMOUS. The roast duck was perfectly prepared, with a delicate seasoning, and light, crispy skin, just the way I like it. And best of all, they had CHINESE broccoli, a staple dish in any major city, but for some reason totally missing in Atlanta. I really wanted to order more food, just to sample it, but I was dining solo and couldn't possibly consume all that was already in front of me! The place was nicely decorated and CAVERNOUS inside, which means they do a bang-up business on weekend "dim sum" days, which after my first experience with them tonight, will certainly be tops on my agenda when I surely return. Check them out, you'll like them. read more

I'm from California and it has been extremely difficult to find great Chinese food especially a place that serves Dim Sum. May wife and I found this place by accident. We yelped a place next door and saw this placer. So we decided to check it out since they offered Dim Sum. We were quite impressed with the flavor and selection. We weren't disappointed like our first time at a restaurant in the same shopping center as Hong Kong supermarket on Jimmy Carter and hwy85. read more

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Eh, ate here a few days ago, and don't recall a thing. It was a blur. Guess the quality of food and service didn't impress me much. Of course, coming from SF didn't help their case either. I guess this is one of the only places around here that serves Dim Sum, so I guess you're stuck with them. But please do not think what you're eating here is remotely good. Decent, maybe. Definitely not great. Any hole in the wall Dim Sum in SF can make this place look bad, but then again, any Hong Kong hole in the wall can make SF look bad as well. Guess it is a sliding scale. Thus the 2 star review, instead of one. read more

I've had dim sum in multiple cities and putting my being an Atlanta native bias aside, this place is really good. I don't speak chinese (mandarin or canto) so the best I can do is describe what I usually grab when I eat dim sum. The wrapped pork dumplings and clearly wrapped shrimp (har gow and shumai?) are my go-to's and are always fresh here. The problem I've noticed at other places is that since the serving carts stay hot to keep the bowls warm, the bowls at the bottom of the stack are still being steamed and get overcooked but aren't moved towards the top when new bowls are added (I made a diagram below) [ top bowl ] ----- goes first when someone wants it [ bowl ] [ bowl ] [ bottom bowl ]-------closest to heat When new dim sum is added, the bottom bowl should be moved up to keep fresh but I believe people just place new bowls on top, again making that bottom bowl overcook its contents. So by the time rush hour hits and these bowls are served, theyre soggy or chewy. Pearl does a good job of rotating (I watch that closely and take my dim sum very seriously) so the bowls are kept fresh. Moving away from the science, everything tastes great. The real star here is the congee (rice porridge). It sounds simple but here it takes on a whole new form. There are bits of aged egg that add occasional bites of yolk that mixes well with the almost buttery rice. Top it all off with chopped chives and fried wonton skins and its the best $2.50 you can spend in chinatown. The lost star is credited to service but when a restaurant gets as busy as this, its slightly understandable that having your drink refilled takes a bit longer than usual. read more