White Pearl Restaurant

My countless check ins and photos will prove this to be one of my favorite restaurants…read more Every dish I have tried so far has made it to my regular rotation. But my regular go to is pad Thai with either chicken(no extra charge) or beef (extra charge) Along with a Thai iced tea. You can choose your spice level. Lunch specials are a good portion and includes an appetizer. Can't go wrong with the crab rangoon or spring rolls. I always bounce back between the two. Spacious clean area, friendly attentive staff and you'll be able to hear the people you are talking to. So far I've never had to wait more than a minute to be seated, order taken within a few minutes after receiving menues and food comes out at a timely manner. Stop by and explore a wide variety of dishes from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam!

I had a really enjoyable meal. The place has a casual, welcoming vibe, and the menu offers a great…read morevariety of Thai and Lao favorites. We started with the spring rolls, which were fresh, crisp, and served with a tasty dipping sauce .The drunken noodles were a standout--packed with flavor, slightly spicy, and perfectly balanced with veggies and noodles cooked freshly. Another highlight was the papaya salad. It was refreshing, and tangy. Honestly, it was one of the best papaya salads I've had in a while. The Panang curry with tofu was creamy and aromatic, a comforting dish that paired beautifully with steamed rice. The tofu soaked up the curry flavors nicely, making every bite delicious. I ordered a cold Thai tea, which was sweet, smooth, and refreshing--perfect alongside the spicier dishes. Overall, the food was flavorful, portions were generous, and everything tasted freshly prepared. It's definitely a spot worth visiting , with plenty of vegetarian-friendly options.

Lao jerky

See all

Sticky rice

Spicy Thai Lao

4.2(351 reviews)

34.4 mi

I read the 4+ star reviews and maybe they are having a bad day but I ordered simple dishes like…read morefried rice and pad thai. The food came in a very nice recyclable box but the food was not edible, the rice was mushy. There was rice mixed in with my pad thai noodles. I won't be coming back anytime soon.

Great food, friendly service. Very reasonable prices. We enjoyed the noodles. I would definitely…read morereturn.

Tom Yum Chicken Soup

See all

Lao Kitchen

4.4(16 reviews)

42.3 mi

I really enjoyed the food here. Flavorful across the board. The crab Rangoons were some of the best…read moreI've had, crispy and generously filled. Spring rolls were solid, egg rolls were pretty good, and the Laos-style jerky was a unique highlight with great flavor. The Pad Krapow was delicious (I ordered mild for the table, but I think it would be even better with more spice). The Pad Phet was something totally new for me -- the crunch and lime really stood out in a great way. Lastly, the Lao fried noodles were tasty and satisfying. Overall, a great meal with lots of dishes worth coming back for.

Excellent food, and AMAZING SERVICE! Lexi and the owner were simply great, down to earth people. I…read morewill be back, I'm in Rockford once a year for a religious function, and this will be a regular spot for me and my friends.

Sticky Rice, Lao sausage, Lao papaya salad and kow Piek Sen (chicken noodle soup)

See all

Fried Chicken Wings: juicy and crispy! (5/5)

Maly Thai

4.3(403 reviews)

7.7 mi

Drunken noodles were very good. Service was good…read more Pad see-iew was delicious, the shrimp and broccoli were cooked well and not too chewy! The portions are also very generous and I have a delicious leftover. Staff was also really friendly!

We used to go here when it was Vino Thai. Located in a strip center near Target in St.Charles…read more We ordered online for pickup and the app was easy to use but totally miscalculated the pickup time. Gave us a 30 minute window and order was ready in less than 10 minutes which was annoying since we live at least 10 minutes away! The food tho was good. Freshly made and good portions. We tried the Avocado Spring Roll GF but it was lacking in flavor. I alwats go with the Pad See-Lew which was loaded with chicken but not much broccoli. Medium heat was all I could handle as far as spice level. My wife had the GF Gardeners Noodle which was one of the House specialty's. She loved it. Prices are slightly higher than other Thai places I have tried but food is solid and fresh.

See all

Tuk Tuk Thai Isan Street Food

4.4(362 reviews)

34.8 mi•Lakeview

Instant classic…read more While Tuk Tuk is a bit expensive, it's always worth it. You know exactly what you are getting and it's always phenomenal, there isn't a single thing I have tried I haven't liked. This is such a good spot to go with friends or for a casual date night. The staff is friendly and they are happy to explain different dishes. This one is regularly on repeat for me!

Highly recommend here if you are a Thai food lover. The menu…read moreis big and the staff is friendly. Cute and colorful decorate. It's all so flavorful and delicious. Also huge portions. First stop and tried these Tiger Cry Kor Moo Yang Crispy Pork Rinds Tally Pad Pong Karee Tom Yum Goong Nam Khon Hot Pot Pad See Eiw Mango Sticky Rice Coconut Ice Cream We will definitely come back and explore the menu!

Restaurant decor

MANGO STICKY RICE

See all

THAI ICED COFFEE

Real Thai Restaurant

4.5(151 reviews)

26.1 mi•Dunning

This restaurant is very special to me because my parents owned a restaurant at this exact location…read morein 1995-1999: when I was age 2-7. It was called Cracovia and it was a Polish buffet. We lived above the restaurant during that time period. My dad was the chef and my mom ran the restaurant. I love Real Thai because the food is fresh, flavorful, and authentic. Everything that we ate was delicious, especially the fried mussel pancake! I usually only order pad Thai at Thai restaurants, but I decided to branch out and order the pancake...and I'm so glad I did! It was crispy and even my 4 year old liked it. Service was attentive and the food came out quickly. We will definitely be back here again...both for the nostalgia and for the delicious food.

Always enjoy our meals there. Not sure how people can deal…read morewith hot level 5 Love how fast pickup orders are ready.

Spicy Basil (Pad Ka Pow)

See all

Tiger cries

Khmai

4.6(113 reviews)

33.4 mi•Rogers Park

We went to Kaun Khmai and I was honestly so blown away by the food that I now want to do a tasting…read moremenu at Khmai! This restaurant was incredible and is easily in my top 3 restaurants in Chicago. It's super cute inside, very ambient with the lit up green lights at the bar. The staff were so friendly and helpful, explaining the menu. The menu is SO vegetarian friendly!! And gluten friendly as well, just make sure you ask and they can make tweaks. Everything had such a rich profile flavor - savory, salty, sweet, spicy. I love the use of lemongrass! We tried as many things as we could fit - the mango salad (nyorm svai), bok tropp, chien trop, amok tawhou. I would've loved to try dessert but this was genuinely soo much food! They give big portions. It's hard to pick favorites because I would order everything again, but the bok tropp might take the gold. The eggplant was perfectly crispy and the sauce that came with it... insane!! Also even though we were in the more informal side, the presentation for all the dishes would beautiful. I can't recommend this place enough!

This was our first time dinning at Khmai and we will definitely be returning…read more We were a bit apprehensive, we had dined at the chefs previous restaurant Khmer twice and both visits were a disaster, not because of the food but the terrible service. The front of house was a completely disorganized mess that really let the kitchen down. We needn't have worried, the service at this new restaurant/location was absolutely top notch. Everyone that helped us was personable and knowledgeable, our server Ava was really great, a real asset to Khmai. My wife opted for the "funky" chefs menu, I tried the "mild" menu. All 8 courses were tasty, nicely presented and surprisingly large for a tasting menu, you will need to loosen your belts!!! I enjoyed all the courses except the salmon curry, the curry was lovely but to both of us it didn't work with the salmon, a milder white fish would have been a better choice. Other than that we both thoroughly enjoyed the bread course, fish cake, fried fish, chicken wing, pork belly, papaya salad, bone marrow and the dessert. The cocktails were excellent. The wine list needs work, it only had 3 options, although the albarino we had was excellent. How about expanding to 6 whites, 6 reds, a rose and some sparkling wine? The "family meal" looked very interesting, next time we'll probably try that, although the tasting menu changes every 3 months, each menu coming from a different region of Cambodia. Lovely food, vastly improved service and pleasant surroundings, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Cha Mee Katong

See all

Nyam Svai

House of Pho

3.7(508 reviews)

10.7 mi

We have not been here for a while but I was having a craving for their Pho soup. It is made with…read morefresh ingredients none of the chemicals you'd get from eating at most other restaurants. We ordered the same soup the small eye round steak Pho soup. They give you a little plate of garnish on the side there were bean sprouts, jalapeno slices, Basil on the stems, and limes. The soup itself had the meat and green onions diced in the broth. The soup was hot but not too hot to eat temperature-wise. Our waitress was really nice but it took her at least 10 minutes to wait on us. There was a lot of people dining in tonight. The restaurant's very clean and there's plenty of seating. The restaurant is always comfortable not too hot not too cold. I highly recommend you come here and give it a try. They have several different soup options, noodle dinners, appetizees, and sandwiches. They even have lunch specials Monday through Friday (non-holidays). My husband really likes the bubble teas. Will be coming again soon.

I tried House of Pho for the first time last weekend. Inside was spacious, and the service was…read moregreat. I ordered the special pho (#19), which comes with thinly sliced rare steak, brisket, tendon, tripe, cilantro, and onions. I also got the BBQ pork banh mi. The pho was pretty solid. However, I was disappointed with the banh mi. It looked quite different from the menu photo, which, of course, I understand that menu items are created to look their best and don't always come out the same, but this sandwich ended up looking more like a carrot sandwich, and I'm not a fan of carrots. There was only a thin slice of BBQ pork, and the bread was too doughy. The proportions felt off overall, and it was honestly my least favorite banh mi I've tried. I took a bite and ended up giving the rest to a friend who took it home. If I'm in the area, I'd come back for the pho.

Inside

Grilled Pork Chop with egg

See all

Chicken ban mi

Rock-Pho'd

4.5(216 reviews)

40.1 mi

Was in town for work and someone recommended this place when I mentioned Asian food. Since I am a…read morebig fan of pho, I decided to give it a try. Location is small, but nice and clean. Servers were very attentive and friendly. I had an order of egg rolls and the Rock Pho Special pho. The egg rolls were freshly made and cooked..and they were excellent. The sweet and sour sauce wasn't the standard syrup you get at many Asian places but was deep red and very tasty. The pho came out extremely hot and absolutely loaded with meat. Broth flavor was excellent and all the meat was great. Definitely highly recommended!!

Food was very fresh and tasty. I had the chicken pho and my husband had the drunken noodles with…read morechicken. Both were amazing and reasonably priced. The waitress was very friendly and helpful with explaining the menu since it was our first time. The place is very cute.

Chicken potstickers

See all

Immm Rice and Beyond

4.1(389 reviews)

33.7 mi•Uptown

Came twice, first time was just for drinks and then had to go back and try food…read more Drinks were excellent, and my friend had the special mango sticky rice which was excellent! A bit unexpected but worth the try! We came back for food, and got the spicy chicken egg rolls. So good, and then I had the panes curry which was excellent. Tons of chicken, great flavor, and excellent service! Cute little atmosphere and a great lunch or date spot!!

Really great food! It was pretty warm but it was a hot day. I ordered the tea, drunken noodles, and…read moresome mango sticky rice. The rice has pandan added to it, so it comes out green and a bit sweeter. Personally i would have liked some more of the cream sauce though, but it was still very delicious. The drunken noodles were great and for a dollar more they add a meat. I didnt know it was another 2 on top of that to add more chicken though but it was a decent amount regardless. Kinda wished i hadnt gotten the extra so i could see how much it normally has. Service was quick and they kept checking up on us. I'd go again if im in the area!

Khao Mun Gai

See all

Poh Pia Krapao (Thai basil chicken eggrolls) Spicy and delicious!

Why does Yelp recommend reviews?

Hundreds of millions of reviews are posted on Yelp, and our automated recommendation software works in the background to showcase the reviews that it …

17 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Bethany J.

11 years ago

We went there for the first time because I saw they had hand pulled noodles. I was so excited to try them. I was super disappointed to see how small the portion of noodle to soup was. I got one chicken noodle for my daughter and one for myself. She finished the noodles in 2 minutes, and there was nothing left for her to eat. Usually, when we go to noodle restaurants, they have plenty noodles in the soup that you feel full and ready to take a nap, but here, both my daughter and myself were still hungry, fishing around the soup for more noodles. The service was not great either, the short Asian male server was more interested in the game on the big screen TV then asking us if we needed anything. I am giving 2 stars because the noodles we did get were pretty good, but they kind of tasted like udon noodles, which is not what I was expecting. read more

Jenny S.

529

15 years ago

Mom and Pop shop, you certainly can't get better than this especially in the suburbs. Everyone has the tendency to drive far away to the city to get their fix of Thai food, yet others from Chicago resort here because of their authentic taste in food. If you're looking for the best Pad Thai & Pad See Euw, RECOMMEND! I definitely would recommend the "Laos" dishes which are the: Sticky Rice, Beef Jerky, Papaya Salad, Laos Sausages" = PERFECTION! read more

Sun L.

13 years ago

I have quite mixed feeling of this place. I am huge fan of pho so i been to a lot of different one. First of all, the price was ok. I would say little bit more pricy than others. Taste was good but not outstanding. Services were good one day and so so other day. This place was one of difficult one to review. read more

Alison P.

3 years ago

Unfortunately everything was just bland and without sauce. Pad se yew and pad Thai were dry and totally lacking flavor, especially the pad Thai which looked and tasted like they didn't use any sauce at all, just plain noodles! Mongolian beef was good but 1/3 won't be changing our minds. Sad! read more

Tom M.

11 years ago

Excellent food. Large portions and always served hot and fresh. Thom Yum soup is one of my favorites. It's a very small family owned business so don't expect the fancy corporate image. I eat here on a regular basis on lunch breaks. read more

Mira H.

3 years ago

Same tasty for 10 years +++ Beef jelly is so good with sticky rice. Papaya salad is good too for who don't eat spicy like me. Whatever new owner or management I always love them read more

Brad B.

9 years ago

Greatest ever eaten! Take out or dining in is phenomenal delicious fresh and wonderful food! Owners are friendly and helpful! Love this little pearl of a place! read more

Kate D.

13 years ago

One word: Pho. Two more words: In Elgin. I jones for this place regularly.

Gabriella C.

13 years ago

I love this place but i don't like how the prices went up

Ryan D.

14 years ago

Best Laotio style Asian food. Great pricing and potions

D S.

11 years ago

Best authentic Asian fusion food (Chinese/Thai/Laotion)

Luis P.

15 years ago

thai and laos food. i dig!! definitely two thumbs up!

Landon C.

15 years ago

mom and pop shop with a home made feel. i like it!

Jesse F.

114

14 years ago

Great food and value. I only get take out.

Reena K.

12 years ago

Go for the soups. Love this place.

Jan D.

15 years ago

Horrible food nuff said

Brandie V.

16 years ago

This place is great!

White Pearl Restaurant - chinese - Updated September 2026

People who viewed White Pearl Restaurant also viewed

Fortune House

3.5

(91 reviews)

I must preface this by saying that this review isn't about the food, which is actually very good…read morebut rather about their outrageous prices. I've been here a few times now, and the costs just keep climbing. While the food is tasty, inflation has clearly hit them hard. I recently ordered sesame chicken, hot and sour soup, pepper steak, and walnut shrimp, and the bill came out to nearly $70. I remember when Chinese takeout was both cheap and good. At these prices, I'd honestly rather go to P.F. Chang's and get the full sit-down experience and service. I never thought I'd say this, but this local takeout spot is officially pricing me out!

We liked the food previously, but this time the chicken was chewy and the rice and other dishes…read morewere dry. We won't be coming back here.

New Hong Kong

3.6

(114 reviews)

Excellent service. The food is reasonably priced especially for the large portions that is served…read more The ambiance is your typical no thrills vibe. I was today years old when I learned you can ask for the flat rice noodles to be fried extra crispy for a pillowy interior, crunchy exterior that holds the sauce beautifully with each bite.

Ordered delivery from New Hong Kong Restaurant. The food was decent overall, but nothing really…read morestood out. Some dishes had oddly sized portions from small versus large, which was a little disappointing. Everything arrived pretty quick, but I'd probably try a different Chinese spot next time.

Chan's Garden

3.6

(54 reviews)

Came back after a while. Thank you for bringing the egg roll back. Pan fried Cantonese stir fry…read morenoodle and bbq fried rice were great! We will be back more often

We've come here for years, and specifically because orange chicken was our daughter's favorite and…read morethey had the best, even for take out Bacău's they separated the sauce and had nice steamed broccoli. We ordered on Friday night because she was coming to visit, I won't say it was bad, but now it's the typical gluey version and no veg I can get anywhere. The beef chow fun was...eh....again not what we are used to from the past. I got the hot and sour soup, that was still very good, but I ordered a pack of the crispy noodles as usual, except these were very stale, and not pleasant. I get having these ready to go, and maybe with all the weather lately, maybe it's cutting costs in the current environment I don't know , but very underwhelmed from what has been our go to spot for decades. There is a reason we always came back, and now you just joined the ranks of the many places around. I'd gladly pay a reasonable price to have the old level of expectation back. I've already got a general replacement in place, the style is just different, but we will head down the road a few minutes more often unfortunately. Hoping all the best for you guys and you find your way back.

Chinese Wok

3.2

(31 reviews)

I have only been one time. The food was fine. I had no problems. I picked it up. The people were…read morevery friendly.

Bullshit service. what takeout place has no plates. I asked for a containers instead so I can use…read morethat as plates but they man rudely said no. food taste like soggy cardboard

Great Wall Chinese Restaurant

3.1

(65 reviews)

First time and last time ever ! Generals too chicken lol more like sweet and sour and 1 piece of…read morebroccoli. Where the veggies or the the heat ???? Chicken so tuff couldn't eat . Fried rice didn't get much and only one sliver of onion. Crab ragoon what a joke so small for the cost and most was over cooked and had a napkin in bag . Hot and sour soup threw it all away stuff tasted like reheated days over. And my bag to go bagdmgs had sauce leaked all over inside what a nightmare for 30.00 and had my dad pick it up . Will post picks i want my cash money back

Ugh. Ordered shrimp chow mein and they had no noodles. Egg rolls overdone and friend rice cooked to…read morehell. Just BAD

Little Panda

3.4

(150 reviews)

Great flavor to the food and good selection. The best Chinese food I've had in Elginread more

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Little Panda has really fallen off for us. We used to enjoy ordering from…read morehere, but the quality and service have noticeably declined while the prices have continued to climb. Our most recent order was the breaking point. The rice was hard and crunchy, and, much more concerning, we were served chicken that appeared undercooked. At that point, this went beyond simply being disappointed with the food. We called the restaurant to let them know what happened and give them an opportunity to address it. Instead of listening to the complaint or trying to make things right, the person we spoke with became rude and argumentative, raised their voice, accused us of lying, and ultimately told us not to come back. That was honestly more disappointing than the bad meal itself. Mistakes happen in restaurants, and we understand that. How you respond when a customer respectfully brings a legitimate concern to your attention says a lot. Between the declining food quality, higher prices, and especially the way our concern was handled, we won't be returning. After being explicitly told not to come back, I suppose that decision was made pretty easy for us.

China Cook

3.3

(111 reviews)

Before you read my tiny, short novel here, I will preface that this review is just for a soup :)…read more My husband and I have been on a hot and sour soup kick lately--I'm talking three weeks straight of craving it. It started with me, but now he's fully on board, and we're officially on the hunt for "the best hot and sour soup" in the suburbs. I might be a bit of an Asian soup snob, but when I go to an Asian restaurant, I can judge a lot about the authenticity of the cuisine based on their soups. Soups can be one of the simplest dishes to make, but they're also easy to overlook. To me, if a place puts care into their soups, they'll likely put that same care into their entrées. With Asian soups especially, the tiniest tweaks make a big difference in flavor. If you love Tom Yum or pho, you know exactly what I mean--it's all about the flavor profile. And the same goes for a good old hot and sour soup... and oh my--I think I found the one tonight. I could have easily finished the entire quart in one sitting (I showed some restraint... barely). My husband gave it a thumbs up, and my oldest loved the kick and went back for seconds. Safe to say--we'll be back for more on our next takeout night. Definitely worth the $7.73 (tax included). Where it hit all the right notes: * Fresh bamboo shoots, mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms (my favorite), eggs, carrots, and tofu * Perfect consistency (not too thick, not too watery) * Balanced flavor (not overly sour or flat) * Real chili peppers for heat (not just a heavy hand of black pepper) My favorite detail: The vegetables were actually cut into bite-sized pieces --not giant chunks--and everything was properly cooked and tender. I've been to places where the carrots are so crunchy, it feels like they came straight out of the ground! We've ordered takeout from here several times and haven't had a bad experience yet. I just haven't been intentional about remembering what I ordered--until now. This soup officially has me paying attention, and I'll definitely be back to try more of their entrées (and take notes this time!). I managed to get a picture of the remaining 30% of my soup where I had to tilt the carton just to get the photo. It was all eaten too fast before I could take a picture. Pickup was smooth and easy. I was able to pay with a credit card even for a small order (under $10). They also have a wall of gift items for sale, which looked interesting. There are a few tables and chairs if you want to sit while you wait (or maybe even eat there) but it definitely feels more like a takeout-focused spot. Based on the neon signage outside, it looks like they offer delivery as well. Tip: With small businesses like this one, they aren't married to their hours. When I called on a Wednesday to ask about their closing time, they told me it was 8:45 PM. However, when I arrived, the sign on the door listed their closing time as 9:00 PM. We picked up well ahead, but I've also seen Google reviews mentioning that they may close early, so just keep that in mind--especially if you're placing an order or calling close to closing time.

This is our go to Chinese restaurant for delivery. Food is always hot, tastes good and delivered…read morewithin a reasonable timeframe. Prices are fairly good. Like that they offer half/small size portions of many menu items.

Golden Bowl

3.0

(75 reviews)

Basic looking Chinese restaurant in Bartlett. Golden Bowl is one of the many Chinese restaurants…read morearound here and has basic items compared to other places. It happens to be one of those which is only takeout. Gets customers in and out and who would stay here. The prices are too high for portions and quality. Coming in here it wasn't crowded. It's better than it looks. This thankfully wasn't a sign. A pretty big menu with lots of choices. It's about $13 for an entree. There's limited choices to get for vegetarians. About one choice. I got the Tofu With Vegetables. Comes in a wimpy sauce that isn't hot. There's also baby corn, bok choy, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and onions. For sure it's not that great but of course maybe others can like it. It's closed Mondays. There's a few things for vegetarians.

Great food & friendly staff. Food was ready when I arrived…read more Quick easy & fairly priced.

Chopsticks

3.5

(96 reviews)

I've been looking for a good Chinese restaurant in this area for a while. This is the best takeout…read moreChinese food in this area. I only got the shrimp fried rice and shrimp egg foo young. I will say that the gravy is pretty salty but that just means you need to use a little on your food. The flavor overall is really good and it doesn't have any MSG, for my understanding. So that's a big deal for me.

Beef fried rice was gummy like beef had been dredged in flour and rice was overcooked/mushy…read more Chicken low mein had no vegetables except onions and I paid the upcharge for vegetables which with most Chinese cuisine includes broccoli and carrots. The Singapore noodles looked discolored and dry.

Gilbert's Kitchen

3.2

(105 reviews)