China Pearl Restaurant

This was a Thursday takeout lunch order as a treat for my birthday. Came recommended. Was warned when I called in the order they were cash only. Don't know if this was just a fluke, because their menu says they take CC. Order was ready when I arrived in 25 minutes (said they had just bagged it - and it was still hot) and service was friendly. Quantities are huge. However, I struggled with the taste of almost every single item we ordered, and I ordered a lot to be sure I could get a feel for their quality: sm egg drop soup, lg hot & sour soup, chicken lo mein (meal, not lunch special), app of crab rangoons and 2 lunch specials, both with egg rolls, one w white rice, one with the shrimp fried rice, one roasted pork with vegetables, one pepper steak. There is no description on the menu for most items.Crab rangoons: huge amounts of filling, but the filling...what was it? It was seasoned and was not like anything I've ever tasted. I'd almost venture to say it was a crabcake filling. It was definitely lacking in cream cheese. I ate 2 and had to trash the others.Egg drop soup: wrong texture, wrong taste. Most went down the drain.Hot & sour soup: gelatinous texture instead of smooth, brothy texture, and seasoning was off. Nothing about it was hot & sour. Most went down the drain.Lo Mein: OK, the to go menu I picked up while I was there said "made with thin egg noodles." Picture is below. Nothing like expected lo mein; more like a chicken dish over lots of angel hair. It actually had a good taste - for something other than lo mein. Took 2 bites; rest is being given to co-workers who might enjoy it.Egg rolls: large, well cooked. Tasty filling except for the fact they had shrimp in them. If I had known, I would not have ordered.Roasted pork: nice flavor, pork a bit dry on edges. Picked shrimp out of fried rice (expected to do this; did not expect to bite into shrimp in my egg roll) and rest of rice was nicely flavored.Pepper steak: lots and lots and lots of dark brown gravy with moderate flavor. Again, thick texture to gravy (like above soups). Beef was tender, peppers were cooked just right and white rice was nice texture.$65 before tip.So, if you want friendly service, large portions and are not hung up on flavors (I'm probably ruined by years of New York Chinese food), this might be your spot. It's just definitely not my spot.

Great food and the ladies who work there are very nice. Hot and Sour soup is great as well as crab Rangoon.

Friendly atmosphere. Consistency with dishes. Consistent recipes friendly, and fast service.. traditional Chinese down to the silverware.

Crab Rangoon.. that's all. That's the review. Lol can't speak for anything else but the crab Rangoon is the best ever and nowhere else can top it period

They are really good and not a long wait. The only thing is it is better to order a lunch selection vs a dinner. You get a full plate also and the prices are good.Dolché

I don't even know where to start or what to say, the reviews on this place cannot be genuine or are either made by people who have never had Chinese food. The portion sizes are laughable, especially for the price. If I hadn't been sick in bed and sent my boyfriend to pick this up it would have never come home. EVERYTHING has the taste of freezer and or can. The "wanton soup" has chunks of over cooked sad cabbage floating in it, a few tiny freezer burnt wantons in it. The hot and sour soup isn't hot and sour soup, it just not. I have eaten at Chinese places all over the country and never have I seen a hot and sour soup lack woodear mushrooms any, essence of spice, and it's clear. The Crab Rangoon's could have been the part the saved the day but sadly they did not. They also taste like a freezer, have been fried for not quite long enough, were most definitely a prepackaged item, and to add insult to injury they squished all 5 of them in a too small of box alongside some sort of clear bastardized sweet and sour sauce. My sister got their sweet and sour chicken, I'm terrified to even ask how that's going since I've already seen what they put on it.In short, don't. Unless your some weird racist that needs to see white people poorly running a sham Chinese restaurant It's really not necessary. We have a very diverse area around here that makes good food. This establishment isn't one of them.

Boneless chicken and egg foo young are my favs! Also the Chinese green soup. Their lunches are big so don't try everything at once.

When I want house special fried rice, I drive from Gretna to Marrero's China Pearl, they have the best!

Food is always great but the young employees taking orders and running the front need improvement. She was unsure about the dinners, having trouble adding my order up. Then when I pick up the food, not all was there. 3 orders of eggs rolls and she only put 2 sweet and sours. That's 6 eggs rolls. Not happy at all.

The combination lo mein is delicious for a reasonable price. It was also ready for pickup on time and the workers are always very welcoming.