Very bland food. All I could taste on my rice was the frozen vegetables. Nothing else. Over priced for mediocre food

I paid $26.58 for shrimp fried rice and egg rolls, seems a bit pricey for the portion. The portion of rice is way smaller than it used to be and it has no flavor. The peas in the rice were cold and not cooked through. I found hard uncooked noodles in two of the tiny egg rolls. The food was very underwhelming and I will unfortunately not be coming back. I miss the old White Pearl. read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Very small portion on rice - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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so fucking good honestly no notes. depends what you order of course but everything my family and i have tried has been AMAZING ! fast polite service in a cute little restaurant. read more

Been years since I've been there but food and service was always good. We need good restaurants like this so I hope they stay around for a long time read more

I've been coming here since I was a kid. I am Lao and this place has been great to me every time. I got a large to-go combo fried rice. It came with soy sauce and to go authentic spicy/Asian chilli sauce. Idk anywhere else that does that. Large combo fried rice for $10.60. Five stars. The portion size and quality is great. Going to save some for lunch tomorrow. read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Been going here for 25 years and it never disappointed it is the best pho in Illinois!

Great service, delivery was on time ! Good food! I Highly recommend this to my friends and family!

The food here is delicious! We got the Tom Yum Soup and Pad Se Yu and both were an excellent level of spiciness. The server took our order quickly and the food came out almost immediately. We'll definitely be back soon to try out more of the large menu! read more

Great place to get authentic Laotian food. Even if you're not into experimenting, the fried chicken and egg rolls are fantastic. The coconut drink isn't the best, but nobody's perfect. read more

My husband and I tried this place for the first time last night as we are in search of a solid thai restaurant. The Mongolian beef had barely any beef, no thick sauce and a few vegetables thrown in that did not appear to be sautéed. The pad see ewe had onions throWn in there, I've never had a restaurant put onions in the dish so I didn't thiink to say no onions. We ended up throwing most of it away and getting Panda Express which was cheaper. read more

My husband and I stopped by after hearing so many good reviews from our friends. It's a great place for authentic Laotian food! We got the egg rolls, sausage, beef jerky, sticky rice, papaya salad and pad Thai. The portions are huge! The beef jerky was my husbands favorite but everything was so good! We will definitely be returning. Typically when you go to Lao/Thai restaurants their sticky rice is wrapped in Saran Wrap, warmed in the microwave and is too wet and sticky and gardens quickly. The sticky rice here was fresh and that made a difference in how well we enjoyed the food. Can't wait to go back & try other dishes! read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Chicken noodle soup is to die for!!!! I have never been disappointed by it. Thick and heart and super delish. Nothing else I've had really was fantastic but this soup alone I could almost give 5 stars! read more

Parking lot was dirty and had garbage all over the place. The rear kitchen door area full of junk. I did not enter the establishment

Exquisite egg rolls, unique. Really good fried rice that isn't your typical fried rice so it's also different. Overall, a unique experience. But it's like Chinese food, and I'm not too into greasy food much anymore strangely enough. read more

This place is so goodI tried lots of their foods!! I love the Shrimp fried Rice with Vegts.- The soup is so good alsoI always go there and the staff is very friendlyGreat place read more

Small little spot off McLean, but so worth the trip. They've got a few tables and may seem dead at times, but (like I said) so worth it). The service is pretty decent. There's, at most times, just one guy that runs the register and serves the tables. Super nice guy, so just have some patience. Service is pretty good. Staff is nice. Menu is a decent size and I've yet to be disappointed by anything I've ordered there. It's the place I go when I want home cooking but everyone is too tired to cook. You can get Lao food there, which is one of the reasons why I love this place. My go-to is usually the chicken noodle soup (khao piak sein) with bread. It's always good and they always have it on their menu (it's a hard to find item at other restaurants in general. My cousin likes to get the combo rad na with the noodles extra crispy (you'll just have to try it one time - so good). There other foods are pretty good as well, but I'm just writing about my most recent food order. They also do take out; so convenient. TLDR: amazing place to go, especially for Lao food (which is hard enough to get). read more

If you want authentic Laotian cuisine in Elgin, this is the ONLY spot. The fried chicken wings are devilishly delicious I've also ordered the fried beef jerky, larb, sticky rice and papaya salad. Just know that when your server asks if you want your food "mild" he actually means "hot." read more

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The beef Pad Kee Mao never disappoints, although I had a hard time communicating my request for "less jalapenos" when I ordered over the phone last week, which can easily overpower their dishes. The Gheng Phet Gai and crispy chicken wings are also really good. read more

I've been eating at white pearl for years and they never disappoint, I love how consistent they are. I usually get pho here its the best. However, I was out with friends and wanted something shareable. The portions are huge so we only got 2 entrées and a few sides ( not pictured). Howie is always super friendly and attentive. read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Kung pao chicken - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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My family and I are Laotian. Typically home cooked meals are the way to go for our type of food, but sometimes we don't always want to cook. White Pearl would be awesome if it were closer to us! The food is authentic and has the Laotian flavors we look for. I have brought my mom here twice now. She's one of those that can get pretty judgmental on other people's food if it isn't her own lol. However, she loved it! She even complimented how good the sticky rice tastes and the amount of food for the price we paid. So this is definitely on mom's list going forward! read more

I got recommended to go here by a couple of friends for a while, but never had the chance to go til now. I had a pho and Laos food craving and skipped going to the city to come here. I like that it's a small, family owned restaurant. That usually means either the food is really good... or really bad... after all the recommendations and reading the reviews and seeing the pictures, I decided that it would be really good! Ummmm... I was really disappointed. Did I even go to the same place as everyone else?? :/ The guy who was serving us seemed incredibly uninterested and it looked like he didn't want to be there. He came to our table and I asked for a few min to decide what to order and I felt like he got annoyed?? Already the mood of the meal was ruined by then & we just sat down... I wanted to walk out, but I tried to stay positive and I kinda drove far to get there so I figured if the food was as good as the reviews say, it will be worth it. We ordered combination pho, beef jerky, and papaya salad. Initially, I told the server I wanted spicy papaya salad. He basically made me feel like we couldn't handle spicy. He said that if it was too hot, they can't change it once it comes out.... ok...? I was told spicy has 10-12 chilies in it, as opposed to the medium, which only has 5. I ended up getting medium because I had a feeling the portion would be small anyway... The beef jerky came out. It was a very small portion. Not worth the $9.50. I guess it was good that it was fresh and hot, but other than that, nothing special. It was just salty. The papaya salad portion was also very small. It was close to $9. I didn't think it was worth it. I thought it would be fishy, stinky, spicy, salty, sweet, sour, just how I like it. This was mostly salty and spicy. Also, it didn't have just 5 chilies. It for sure had way more than that (more like 10-12). Not sure if he accidentally ordered spicy or what, but it wasn't medium. I figured, maybe it was medium and he explained to me wrong. Who knows? I didn't mind the heat level. I like spicy food and spicy papaya salad, I just didn't expect it. I was told it was lao style, but I've had lao style papaya salad many times. This definitely wasn't it. The combination pho was also a very small portion. Usually when you get pho, there's a lot of noodles at least, so you leave with a full belly of noodles. This was skimpy on noodles, meat, seafood, everything. I didn't like that they used imitation crab meat. The broth tasted like a watered down veggie broth or something. There was nothing meaty or rich or flavorful about it. Not worth the $9+ at all. The guy came to fill our water (even though our cups were full) and it felt like he basically came over to scoff at us for the spicy papaya salad. He asked if it was too spicy and that this is only medium and I wanted spicy. Like wtf? He didn't check up on us or even look over our way after that. When we were done with our food and wanted to pay, he was at the register on his phone. I don't expect really good service from asian restaurants, but this experience was just bizarre. The service sucked, the food was overpriced, portions are tiny. I've had plenty of homemade Laos food and this wasn't anything like it. Idk why I thought that since it's in Elgin (not in Chicago), it would be reasonably priced. It was actually the opposite. I really wanted to like this place, but nope. I will never be going back. read more

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Update: Going to take a star off of my review. Wanted to get take-out tonight. Called and got no answer. Tried again, no answer. Tried again and they had turned their phone off. I guess we'll be eating somewhere else and be less likely to call them again. read more

It was 90's degrees that day and there were no AC in restaurant. Food were not the best since the new owner took over. Everything is dried and didn't cook the correct way. Service was also poor, not sure if the server had a bad day but it was an uncomfortable atmosphere being served by him. Overall, we will not be going there anymore. read more

Wow. I just got from lunch here and I'm extremely impressed. I ordered the pho combination (beef meatballs, pork, chicken, tripe, squid, shrimp) soup. It's bright, delicious and savory umami wraps around you like a warm hug on a fresh, breezy day. Dip some fresh lettuce in the broth, drop in some crunchy bean sprouts, add a dash of lime and please don't forget some Siriacha hot sauce (it is beautiful). All of the other reviewers are correct. The food is amazing -- it's literally a pearl in a dumpy old Taco Bell. But a few bites into your food and you'll forget where you are. Some basic notes: eating pho (pronounced "fuh") isn't like eating a regular bowl of soup. Here's some great tips below: A Pho Primer From http://www.phofever.com/primer.php Resist the urge to dive into your bowl of pho immediately after it is placed in front of you. A little patience and adherence to the following will enhance and enlighten your pho experience. Step One: Season your pho. Lift your spoon and sample the steamy broth. Mmmm. If the broth is a little bland, add a dash of fish sauce. Not too much, just a little at first and more if you need it. Next, add a sprinkle of black pepper and squeeze an entire wedge of lime into your bowl. Step Two: Add herbs and sprouts. Add about a handful of beansprouts to your pho. Use your chop-sticks to push them down to the bottom of the bowl. Make sure to submerge any pieces of rare beef that are still pink as well. Next, add 10-12 leaves of Thai Basil to your bowl after removing them from the stems. If your pho restaurant serves saw herb, tear 2-3 of them into one inch long pieces and place them in the pho as well. Add 3-4 slices of serrano chili if you enjoy your pho spicy. Alternately, keep the serrano chili to the side for later use. Step Three: Prepare for dipping. Squeeze some hoisin sauce and sriracha chili into a small saucer. A 50/50 split is recommended, but use less sriracha if you are sensitive to spicy foods. Mix the two sauces together where they meet along the border using the tip of your chopsticks. Take a taste of your creation. At this point some like to add a splash of hoisin or sriracha chili to the broth. Purists frown on this practice, but to each his own. Step Four: Time to eat. You are now ready to enjoy your pho! Use your chopsticks and spoon to evenly mix all the ingredients in your bowl. Pair pieces of beef with Thai basil, saw herb or a slice of serrano chili - dip into the hoisin sauce / siracha chili mixture you made in Step Three. Don't forget to sip the broth in between bites of noodles and beef. Enjoy! read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Here's a pictur of my bowl of pho. Sorry, I wasn't pho-ast enough. - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

I have been going here for 5 years. It's now a family legacy. Egg rolls with the sweet peanut sauce is so good that if i have friends try it for the first time, they will be asking me to bring them some more or will try it themselves. The Pho's broth is good which i cant find in any other Pho restaurants. Place has not changed though. I even think it's still the same tables when i first came here. But if you are looking for good,cheap quality meal. U would recommend it. 102 soup is one of my favorites... Sticky rice plus the beef jerky....NOMM!!! read more

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What the pho? Must admit that I was disappointed after reading several good ratings. Table next to ours had food on the floor, not bussed properly ... pretty unappetizing. Seafood tomyum soup had imitation crab, ew. Papaya salad had a fishy flavor and did not seem fresh (maybe a day or two old). Would probably be good if fresh. My pho had good broth but noodles were in a lump. Also can't say I was fond of having plastic chopsticks on the table for self service. Maybe I'm a spazzy but who knows what the prior guests did to these? I asked for disposable pair but they did not have. On the plus side, server was nice but inattentive. read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Seems unsanitary. Wonder who touched, sneezed, dropped these before I got here? - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Place is a small family owned restaurant. They have a private parking lot and it's sometimes full in the weekends especially winter time. Exterior is a little crammy while interior is okay. Sometimes chairs and tables are not cleaned properly. You'll see food that will stuck on your shoes when you're unfortunate enough. Service is alright, sometimes awkward as the guy tries to small talk with you which I find weird. On the other hand, one of the best phó I have ever tasted! So I am always literally here for phó and most of the time for pick up. My husband loves the fried chicken and lap. I used to order some egg rolls and other appetizers but they keep getting expensive and portions became smaller so I stopped. Bathroom has a weird old smell and occasionally the floor is wet. They accept credit cards which was good as some don't. All in all, I just come here for 102 (phó-beef) read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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[Prologue] I started this review in Feb 2009, and am now just finishing it after going there again today. [Alrighty then...] This place was recommended to us by friends last year and while a bit far for the suburbs (near Elgin Community College), it's worth dropping by if in the area. We've now been there on a couple occasions and have not been disappointed yet. This place was another restaurant in another life [looks Taco Bell-ish], and the furnishings pretty sparse save the big screen TV [pic]....no worries. The place was actually pretty drafty inside and the bathroom downright chilly. Tables are well spaced [lotsa room] as is the waiter service: order then get food that's it. Also not a big fan of the plastic chopsticks. No checks, no AMEX. This is not strictly Thai, they have a bunch of stuff there and bill themselves as "Authentic Asian Noodle Cuisine"--I would say 1/2 Thai 1/2 Chinese. I was Jonesin' for the Laos Sausage ($6.95 for three) which I remember as being good: and they were again :) Spicy, fresh, and rather large, could actually consider these as a small entree--you'd be missing out if you DIDN'T try these but generally enjoy red meat. Natch, I ordered Pad Kee Mao (Beef, $7.75) with no mushrooms and it was some of the better I had: spiciness was perfect; used red and green hot peppers; Thai Basil and Chinese broccoli; not a lot of residual oil. The spousal unit got the Wonton Soup ($6.50) and it was large, as expected, and rated 8 of 10--guess for a finicky person, that's a pretty good endorsement. There are the token Tom Yum soups, and some rice dishes (mostly pepper or broccoli and XXXX [meat]), but don't expect a full Thai menu; only one thing is more than a ten-spot. A lot of the people there--probably regulars--seem to get some sort of Pho, so my bet is that's decent as well. I got my typical Diet Coke ($1.25, no refills) and Pooh got the Thai Iced Coffee-Black ($2.50) which she said was pretty good--I'm not a coffee guy so I didn't dare try it. The menu is not exhaustive and you won't get the full restaurant treatment, but the food is tasty, quick, and cheap. read more

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The chicken wings and the soup is excellent. I prefer take-out rather than dining in. For me, the food choices are limited!

This was just awful. Our first time ordering here and the food couldn't have been worse. Usually when I order from a Chinese place for the first time I get the basics. Beef fried rice and a couple of egg rolls. How could you screw those up right? If I don't like it then I don't go back. I won't be back. read more

Ok but they screwed up my order, come for real Lao food but were really skimpy on the shrimps.

Wow. When I have to travel for work and need to grab food, I never have high expectations. Granted, Elgin is not exactly the middle of nowhere, but not knowing the area, I was reluctant to try Asian food before I needed to be at a meeting. So glad I checked Yelp and went in because this place is great! The menu is huge, the staff is super friendly and although it isa dive inside, it is not like it is filthy or something - just low frills and packed with municipal workers (another good sign) having massive bowls of noodles. I got a fried rice combination plate and a spring roll and wished I had a cooler or fridge in my car because I totally would have taken the rest home if I didn't have to leave the food in the car for the next 4-5 hours! read more

the worst restaurant!!! worst costumer service!!!! the cover is melting to the food!!! not recommended!!! read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

If you can get past the fact that this place is in an old Taco Bell and not much has been done to the place since, it's a solid choice for some pho. Admittedly, I had no idea what pho even was prior to my visit, I only heard that this place served a great bowl of it. Good food? I'm there. I ordered the chicken pho for my first time because I was afraid to get a little bit more adventurous with a dish I'd never had before. I thought the soup was really good. Lots of chicken and I love cilantro so I was happy. My daughter ordered the chicken pad thai and it was just ok. It wasn't bad, not by any means, but it wasn't out of this world amazing either. I will definitely be back to try more of what they offer. Their menu was quite extensive and there were a lot of dishes I've never tried before. read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Chicken pho and chicken pad thai - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Catered for my daughters birthday and July 4 and wow . They definitely hooked me up! Everything was delicious. My go to restaurant now

The good: Fresh Tasty Home-made Family-owned Friendly Decent prices Many people of Asian decent eating there (good sign) take-out order ready in 10 minutes The bad: Hair inside my egg roll (homemade and delicious so shouldn't complain but...) Asked for Combo pho without tripe but they forgot to omit the tripe. I get very freaked out even looking at tripe No website No online menu (posted pics here) The Pho had great flavor (and enough for 2 people) the egg rolls were in my Top 3 of all-time, my daughter loved the chicken wings (which is crazy because they're just chicken wings but they have some secret seasoning) and the Lo mein is very good!(this is not a typical Chinese restaurant so it's not the same lo mein you might expect). Overall, looking forward to trying the rest of the menu. read more

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This was our first visit based on a recommendation and we were not at all disappointed. The egg rolls were delicious and both our main courses were very enjoyable. I had the chicken curry coconut soup- very tasty and my husband had one of the beef wide noodle dishes. He mentioned there was a lot of onion but still really enjoyed it. The portions are large so go hungry. We'll be back. Sept 21st: On our 2nd visit today, not disappointed! read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Gaeng phet gai - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

We were visiting from Florida for my birthday and decided to quick grab a lunch before catching our flight to Las Vegas. The place was pretty clean, fast service, great portions for the $$ paid, good customer service., and the parking was easy to access. We ordered the lard Na and pad sa ew combo and we were fulfilled and very satisfied with our orders. Their Soy bean drink and coconut juice were good as well. We will come back on our next visit to try the beef jerky, papaya salad, and sticky rice we saw on the menu. read more

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Literally some of the best PHO I have ever had! Cute little restaurant on the inside and super fast service.The portions are huge. I ordered the chicken pho ($7.50) and it was so big I had to take some Togo! Definitely will be coming back! read more

White Pearl Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Soo good ! Used to love beef pho but the chicken pho is my fav now ! Small little hidden gem in town.