Pearl East

One of my family’s go-​to restaurants. From the outside, you’d never guess how big and classy this restaurant really is until you step inside. Based on the «classy» vibe rather than trendy/​modern, this isn’t a place I would go with friends… I’d consider it a family-​get-​together kind of place. I’m a sucker for sushi so I always end up ordering the pink lady roll, but everyone always tells me (and the reviews seem to agree) their cooked dishes are the way to go. We ordered chicken with a combo of walnuts last time that I split with my sister since I (once again) ordered sushi– and really, really enjoyed it. The glazed ones were so good I would have eaten them even without the chicken– and I hate nuts! I also really liked their shrimp dumplings which we got as an appetizer. They gave a combo of ice cream for a birthday we celebrated, which was nice considering the whole table (with a difference in preferred flavors) could have a little taste (aka steal from the birthday boy). They do deliver, but be aware at times it takes awhile (~1 hour) — I’d recommend ordering on off-​peak times.

Four of us had an excellent meal at this high end Chinese restaurant located 20 minute away from JFK last week.
We stopped by this restaurant at noon, thinking this would be a perfect spot to park the car, enjoy a relaxing lunch and chat in a quiet, stress less setting before heading to JFK. However, our lunch turned into a lavish feast fit for royals! In the beginning, we were stunned by the incredible gourmet food. After coming to our senses, we were busy taking photos of the magnificent sight. Since each dish was in such an artistic style, we felt guilty for ruining it.
The taste of each dish was very refreshing and tasty. No heavy sauce masked the fresh nature flavor. I even ate a whole piece of sashimi voluntarily and loved it. How could I pass it, when they used the freshest material and the best quality ingredients, such as caviar and truffle.
Service was courteous and attentive. Cathy, the elegant lady owner, is a perfectionist with exquisite taste, which reflected in the décor of the setting and the food preparation and presentation. I will definitely go back to this restaurant, whenever I am in NYC. Highly Recommended!!!

Three of us for lunch mid week. I’m not from the area and was in Manhasset on business. Colleagues from LI suggested we meet here for lunch. As I waited in my car outside the restaurant for my work mates to arrive I was thinking that the place looked pretty shabby. It’s also located right next door to a small, dumpy «no tell» motel which didn’t help the curb appeal. I was having second thoughts and was seriously considering finding somewhere else for lunch. Well… they say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover and this most certainly applies to Pearl East. Very classy on the inside. Immaculate, cozy and inviting space. The food and service were exceptional. We ordered an assortment of dim sum to share as a starter and then split two entrees, crispy shredded beef and eggplant with garlic sauce between the three of us. Our waiters (three of them) portioned and plated everything table side. The food was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented as you can see in the many pictures here on Unilocal.A very enjoyable lunch indeed. I highly recommend Pearl East and will definitely be back the next time I am in the area.

Trying to give a fair review, this use to be one of my favorite chinese places, I would come here a few times a year, as I do not live close by. The food was usually descent, on food alone this place deserves 4+ stars, but the times I have dined in there, the service was really bad, even if very few people were in the restaurant. The straw that broke me was messing up my take out order (second time this has happened), my friend who ordered with me called and complained (as we were now home 30 minutes away), I think he spoke with the owner, and she really didn’t do anything or even offer anything to rectify the situation, so we just ended throwing away their mess up, and vowing to not go here again.

«A chinese feast fit for a king and queen– Pearl East»
Pending review
I have reviewed chinese, pan asian, japanese, thai, and korean restaurants in all the boroughs and in nyc. Yet, when it comes to choosing the best pan asian restaurant in nyc, I always choose Pearl East. Pearl East has Cathy, one of the most charming, elegant and lovely hosts. She is meticulous and has maintained a reputation for excellence in décor, ambiance, food and service. The restaurant within a small strip mall is deceptively spectacular. Once you enter the ornate wood and glass doors, you find yourself transported into a world of chinese elegance. Beautiful wall hangings with chinese artwork, a silk and gold ornamental robe is encased under glass and a menu that includes food sculptures, sushi, and special dishes that are unmatched in any other restaurant. Cathy is a perfectionist and does not spare any expense to please her clients.
Pearl East is also known for their fabulous catering menus which Cathy has served thousands of clients and generously donated to community charities.
I was pleased to nominate Pearl East and Cathy for membership in the elite Star Diamond Group. Pearl East was unanimously voted in and I had the pleasure of presenting Cathy and the restaurant with the Star Diamond Award. Since that time the food, service and ambiance has continued to maintain its mission of excellence.
Recently I was privileged to enjoy a Pearl East House special feast. The feast featured Chicken Soup Dumplings with Truffles, Beef Short Ribs and the most amazing Dim Sum sampler: Juicy shrimp ball, swan shaped shrimp dim sum, pan seared chicken dumpling, roast duck dumpling w/​snow cabbage. We also feasted on tea smoked flavor duck, Filet of Bass with silky tofu in a spicy bean sauce.
We relaxed had some wonderful tea and Pearl’s famous homemade ice cream.
Her food sculptures of birds, bees, trees and flowers are almost too beautiful to eat, but we found a way!
I can honestly say we love visiting Pearl East and taking in the exotic atmosphere and Cathy’s fabulous and welcoming hospitality.
Highly recommended, make reservations. A cuisine that is perfect for intimate dinners, superb business lunches, and wonderful parties and business meetings.
Hands down the best on long island.
P. S. cathy’s specially designed men’s room and ladies rooms are «drop dead» gorgeous and filled with wondrous aromas of exotic fragrances.

Very very tasty food, portions could be a bit larger, especially the soups
This place seems to have a lot of regulars
The owner appears to be very present and involved
If definitely come back

The Asian décor and white tablecloth service in this Resturant was truly amazing. I took my wife here our fifth anniversary and she was very impressed with the décor. The pineapple rice is totally devious. The shirt beef ribs were tender as was the chicken Thai dish. The waiter and the manager were very attentive on our special day. They even let me bring my own cake I had specially made and served it to the 2 of us. The atmosphere was very elegant at a very moderate price which was inexpensive for Manhasset Ny. A great place to celebrate a memorable day or impress a first date. Very classy joint!!! Can’t wait to go back. I can’t find a single complaint about the place. They helped me make my anniversary the most memorable to date.

I used to go here all the time as a kid. I’m glad to see that it’s much the same… while that’s sad in some regards — the clientele is aging fast; the décor looks outdated despite an obvious remodel — it’s nice in terms of cuisine.
The Peking Duck (now pleasantly geopolitically renamed the «Beijing Duck») is still the best of anywhere, thanks to perfectly crisped skin and really excellent buns, rather than flour crepes, for the duck meat (to say nothing of the expert, old-​school tableside service.)
It’s too bad they’ve had to add a little sushi to try to remain relevant — b/​c why eat sushi at what’s effectively a Chinese restaurant? — but it’s still good. I’m happy to go back.

The food was mostly good, but the service was so egregiously inhospitable this time that we will not spend our money here again.

Hard to believe this is the same restaurant we’ve been to quite a number of times over the years, and where wife and MIL have dined for decades.
We made a reservation for 7 pm for a birthday dinner group of 5, and had to wait till 7:30 while the Owner sat two other groups and greeted them by name. … and ignored us. Certainly restaurants play favorites — but there’s a way to do it with grace, without being rude. The other server said our table was being made ready, but it clearly wasn’t.
That was a little unexpected for my 87 year old mother in law and wife, who have eaten there for decades, and starving teenage son.
I guess this place overbooks … be warned! We weren’t the only ones. as the small entranceway was now packed with people also with reservations, with long waits.
When we finally got our table if was not properly made. The wait service was incredibly indifferent.
My wife — who has eaten there for decades — was horrified at how unwelcoming it was, and was ready to walk out, as the hospitality was so inviting. Waiters didn’t even ask us if we wanted to order a drink. Getting service was difficult.
Tamarind glazed crisp beef was excellent, the chicken with walnuts was fine. The seafood dim sum was stone cold. on a plate of otherwise hot dim sum. Vegetable dim sum was blah.
With five dishes ordered and 5 people, we got one small and stingy bowl of rice to share.
What a joke. Why such a formerly high class restaurant would force you into ordering extra rice is unimaginable. Otherwise prices are reasonable.
P. S. For such a large menu there were very few vegetarian offerings. If other options are possible as Noa B demonstrated in another review, it was not evident… and the wait staff were of no help. The vegetable dish my wife ordered she said was was very ordinary.
I would give more stars for the food, but the service made us never want to eat there again.

I live in California and visit my mother in New York every few months. Because she is 95 years old we order the food and it is delivered. The first time I had this food I couldn’t believe the bill considering the food wasn’t that good. Perhaps it’s just not a good idea to order take out from this place. That was a few months ago. My mother has ordered many times from this place because she likes the food and is willing to pay for overpriced food. However, recently we tried to order and gave her credit card number. They told us her card was declined. My mother doesn’t have another card. We called the credit card company and asked if there was a problem with the card — they said no. They said the restaurant had called in the wrong numbers and didn’t even give the security code. Actually this is the second time the restaurant has called in the wrong numbers.
Right after this, we ordered food from another restaurant with the same card and it went through. Obviously there was nothing wrong with the card. It is really kind of pathetic when restaurant staff behave in such an unhelpful, belligerent way. They could have attempted to run the card again if they had only considered for a minute that they had made a mistake.
Meanwhile my 95 year old mother was very upset and crying during this whole episode.
Thanks for nothing Pear East.

I went here for my birthday dinner because I went once before two years ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it. If you want to sit down and have the classiest Chinese food that exists this is your place. EVERYTHING is delicious and better than your local Chinese food place I promise. One star off because the service was a little slow.

I found the food to be bland and greasy. The hot and sour soup (my barometer for good Chinese) was not hot. It was good if you do not care about the heat. To me it ruined it.
The short rib spring roll was disgusting.
My son loved the spicy beef dish I have no idea why it was tasteless.
The scallops with bok choy looked good tasted bland.
The duck was the best thing. The steamed buns used to sandwich the duck were a little tough but it was tasty.
Service very good and the restaurant itself is very nice.
This place is over rated but not bad old school Chinese place.

Owner Cathy is absolutely amazing!
She always let me practice my Chinese and also made killer recommendations.
I can’t understand why there are negative reviews about this wonderful slice of China. Having studied Chinese and traveling to China multiple times, I can confirm that this food is authentic. Everyone can confirm that the food is amazing.

Don’t be put off by the ugly exterior or odd location, this is the best chinese restaurant on the island. I recommend making a reservation, it gets very busy and in my experience, tends to be a geriatric crowd if that makes any difference to you.
Service is excellent, always made to feel very welcome but the food is where they really shine.

The people who have posted mediocre reviews before me wouldn’t know good food if it jumped up and hit them in the face.
Best Chinese I’ve had, home cooked or restaurant. Extremely fresh, delicate and tasty!!! From appetizers to main course to dessert, everything is beyond your expectations.
The staff is also very friendly and attentive. It was packed out on a Monday night and they were kind enough to get us in an hour beforehand.

Pearl East has not only been great to dine with family friends but also to work with!
They have catered some of our cocktail parties and I must say, AMAZING! This place is an absolute hit and the food is always fresh.
The service is always professional and the manager is a total sweetheart!
One of my favorite restaurants on Long Island.

Came here for a dinner with family. Had a great time and great meal. We were well taken care of by the staff and Kathy. They took care of our big group. So much food given in the party menu. Second time being here and will continue to come back and recommend this business.

good for dim sum and cocktails. DONT ORDER SUSHI!
we came here because Zagat had only awesome things to say about this place and it’s edible food sculptures. this place is over rated. sorry Zagat! the dim sum was very good, the noodles satisfactory, all of out entrees were enjoyable but nothing special. specialty cocktails good, mixed drinks CRAZY strong. im talking straight vodka in my dad’s stoli/​tonic (not a bad thing) … however: the sashimi was terrible. i tried my 3 go-to’s: eel sushi (always tasty) salmon sashimi (hard to screw up) and fluke sashimi (an odd choice, but my favorite.
–the eel was alright but quite slime-​y/​gooey (not appetizing)
–the salmon wasnt terrible but it might be the worst i’ve ever had (albeit i often eat at amazing sushi places like nobu, aji 53 and kotobuki) and it was slightly fishyer than salmon should be (salmon usually isnt very fishy)
–the fluke, god awful. i had to spit it into my tea cup. fishy fishy fishy! the tell-​tale sign of low quality or unfresh sushi!
**also, the fluke and salmon sashimi came out as sushi… i hate sending food back, so i just picked the fish off of the rice, but i think this should still be noted.

Although I’ve never ate inside of Pearl East we have ordered delivery many times since it is my cousin’s go to place for Chinese take out (actually, pan-​asian).
They do offer Sushi on the menu and I’ve had it before, but I mainly order their cooked dishes. The won-​ton soup is very good, with small, thinly wrapped, meaty won-​tons they also put it thin slabs of pork in the delicious broth. The steamed vegetables are usually very good and not your typical steamed dishes. For example, the Steamed shrimp and broccoli is not just those two items they usually add fresh ginger and garlic to give the dish more flavor — they may coat the items with a little corn starch (?) to make the flavors stick. The shrimp are usually very large and fresh.
I’ve also tried the duck also very good served with moo-​shu pancakes (or another type of crêpe), julienne pieces of cucumber and scallion with hoisin sauce. General Tso’s and the Sesame chicken are very good and spicy — fresh white meat chicken used here.
We have had some delivery issues many times an order taking over hour to receive and on the last order they missed a couple of items so beware. These issues tend to happen more during prime dinner hours — They seem to get extremely busy, which is understandable because they serve very good food.

Really great and welcoming place. Have had some really great meals here.
They offer the American favorites, but more traditional side of menu and dim sum are where it’s at here.
Seafood soup is great. All dim sum I have had are wonderful. Especially juicy shrimp balls and soup dumplings. Rice cakes a and dried bean curd and pork also very good versions here.
Michael at bar is a stud and makes a mean Mai tai.
Look forward to returning often.