Pearl of the Orient

Stopped on by because I wanted to try their express lunch I’d seen advertised.
When I came in I did tell the gentleman that’s what I wanted, I ended up finding out he directed me to a different menu (did not notice it was more than twice as expensive as the express lunch).
My food arrives and here I realize the bait and switch. After some civil back and forth about it the man agrees to discount a little, but not to the express lunch price.
Onto the food, salad was light and tangy. The tempura had a nice crisp, but the shrimp inside had yet to be de-​turd ferguson’d. So that was kinda off putting. The teriyaki chicken pieces were tasty but lacked much sauce or zing.
Onto the sushi, it was pretty well done. They rolled them with a good amount of tobiko. All the ingredients tasted fresh, good helping of ginger pieces.
Overall I felt I had a neutral experience, just ok. The bait and switch was honestly off putting and some shortcuts on the food, but I’ll chuck it up to miscommunication. I’d try the place again.

I went for the first time tonight with my boyfriend. We walked in and were promptly seated and provided glasses of water. The hostess was very friendly. The atmosphere was nice, comfortable, and not too loud but not uncomfortably quiet, either. I had a hard time choosing what I wanted to order, because I really wanted sushi but I also wanted something I had never had before. After a lot of jumping back and forth, I ended up settling on the Mongolian Duck with brown rice, and also a Shanghai spring roll. We didn’t wait very long at all for our food, and our server was very nice and attentive. The spring roll was good. The Mongolian Duck, however, was… I don’t want to say it was bad, because it wasn’t. But it wasn’t great either. It was honestly just bland. I was also a bit disappointed by the amount of actual duck in the dish. It was mostly a heaping pile of sprouts with not very much duck at all, and lots of salty, kind of sweet sauce. This wasn’t a terribly disappointing thing as I do very much enjoy sprouts, but the sprouts weren’t what I had paid for this evening. I had also asked for mine to be spicy and it had barely any heat to it whatsoever. I do realize that spiciness can be different for everyone, and therefore the next time I go I shall ask for it to be «extra spicy» to see if that makes a difference.
My boyfriend however, was VERY satisfied with his dish (he ordered szechuan beef). And there was quite a bit of beef on his plate.
Otherwise, though, the food was hot, we didn’t wait very long for it, and the servers and hostesses were very nice. I’m going to go again and get something different next time.

The location and ambiance are great. The food is stuck in the 90s. People aren’t afraid of strong flavors and spices anymore.
Everything was pretty bland. The host was very accommodating and kept asking us how everything was. It was ok. We started with the pot stickers. They were bland and so was the dipping sauce. Friday’s has better pot stickers. My entrée was the saucy shrimp and chicken. It had a little pepper image next to it on the menu. It wasn’t spicy at all. I had the waiter bring some hot chili sauce, which he did, so that helped. These guys should go to Cuisine du Cambodge to find out where spice levels should be, or maybe they should just switch locations. I wish Cuisine du Cambodge was in this location and had a full bar.

I Went here for the first time on Saturday night and what an absolute total disappointment. My wife and I called in a take out order and used a gift card that was given to us. I ordered crunchy beef made spicy.. my wife ordered orange beef and we both ordered hot and sour soup. My crunchy beef should have been called soggy tasteless beef. There was absolutely no flavor at all in this dish.. Not even spicy.. Just soggy beef in a gelatinous goop with no flavor. My wife’s orange beef tasted the exact same way as mine. like nothing.. No flavor. … even the hot and sour soup was neither hit nor sour… another absolutely flavorless dish. I expected more from this restaurant I doubt we would ever go back.. better tasting food at the neighborhood Asian takeout for allot less money.

Ordered takout on a Saturday night for a change. First off, 2 entrees and 2 orders of Fresh bring rolls came in at almost $ 50 bucks after delivery charge through a third party and mandatory tip. We had the Thai Red Chicken Curry and the Veinamese Phở soup. Now, if you are going to claim that you can prepare dishes in a variety of asian styles when your menu is primarily American-​Chinese you have a tall order to fill. In this instance Pearl of the Orient failed. The «Red Chicken Curry» was literally Chicken with broccoli in some kind of watered down Chinese standard issue broth/​sauce. No RED chili, no Coconut Milk, not a curry at all. The Phở was some of the worst my wife and I have ever had. Weak broth, questionable beef balls and absolutely no sides, (limes, jalapeños, basil, etc) like you would normally receive with this dish. The Fresh spring rolls were descent, the only portion of the meal that we finished. If you like below average cuisine that is over priced, this place is for you. We ended up throwing most of this meal away which is a shame based on how much we spent. I recommend hitting up an authentic restaurant if you are interested in any cuisine style outside of Chinese from this restaurant.

Now that I’ve had a few menu items under my belt I can share some deets. The place is located in beachcliff market square in the heart of rocky river, super cute area. Sometimes parking can be a challenge, but it’s worth it.
The best experience I’ve had has been lunch with friends and ordering the Bento box (I uploaded a picture of it). It’s the perfect combination if you like to try a little of everything.
I’ve ordered take out a few times and here’s a few pointers. What you expect from the atypical Chinese sweet and sour chicken is not what you’ll get here. It’s more of a dish for a refined palette… Just in case you’re looking for greasy friend Chinese food! It was good nonetheless. I did enjoy the honey walnut chicken. My friend ordered the orange chicken spicy and it lacked in spice and flavor. Overall, the food is okay and I’ll come back. But, I think it is pricy as far as takeout goes and needs some oomph in flavor.

My Shrimp Rolls were not the best and everything else we had was mediocre. I love Asian food but not coming back here

I want to start by saying My husband and I love their sushi. However the other night we were hoping for tasty Chinese takeout and we were incredibly disappointed. We had orange chicken and an egg roll, not the most exotic dish. The egg roll was filled with grease so much so that I got sick right afterward. The chicken’s breading was soggy (I’m sure partly due to the fact that it was takeout) more so than usual. I’m sure we’ll eventually go back for sushi, but I’ll pass on the Chinese for now.

Very good presentation and the food was amazing!!! Sushi is to die for!!! Manger was very friendly.

Not feeling like cooking, and hankering for some Americanized-​Chinese food, I searched Unilocal for anything Chinese related. I came across the Pearl of the Orient, and since it was only a few blocks away, placed an order online for szechuan chicken. The online ordering process is actually fantastic and the website itself is very well made. I had no issues navigating around or trouble with any of the wording. You see the whole menu in front of you and you just click on the meal and quantity that you want. It asks how spicy/​hot you want your meal and what kind of rice you prefer, white or brown. I didn’t experiment much, but I imagine there are more choices than that. The checkout is simple. Input your card, address, and leave a phone number. It gives you the estimate for the time, and tells you they will hold the order for an hour after it is ready.
The place itself is impeccable. Although I only went in the lobby area, I could see that the restaurant was very well kept. It could have been that it was during a weekday, but I have a feeling that the owner keeps a tight reign on the cleanliness and organization of the establishment. The man at the front desk asked my name and gave me the to-​go order.
It’s a decent amount of food, but I felt a little put off by paying $ 11.50+ for it. The szechuan chicken left something to be desired. It tasted okay. I chose «hot» for the «spicy range» (Mild to Hot to Extra Hot), but I didn’t really taste any sort of pepper to make the meal spicy. There was one dried red chili. The szechuan was also a bit too soupy. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I had to drain the dish a bit because there was so much liquid in the bottom. The brown rice was cooked perfectly, and the fortune cookie is always appreciated.
I will probably be going back. I don’t like judging a place based on takeout.

I absolutely love this restaurant! There is a variety of types of food: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese. Everything tastes amazing, the staff is very friendly, the managers greet you at the door and owners are often on site. The prices are fair and the portions are huge!
Don’t forget to try one of their creative alcoholic beverages too!

Meh. I got three rolls to go (the rainbow, cucumber, and spicy crab). Honestly the rolls were warm rather than cold and they didn’t taste that good. The fish was sort of goopy and not that fresh looking. The miso salad was dull and the ginger dressing was sweet and clear looking. The miso soup was good and the only thing I finished. Not really impressed.

Somehow the sushi chef is never there right after lunch? Which means no sushi, no seaweed salad??? .
Owner is super sweet, staff leaves you alone but still attentive.
Food is ok.

DO NOT COME HERE. Please don’t be fooled by the pictures I’ve posted, Yes the sushi looks and tasted good. However, 2 words: FOOD POSIONING! I woke up in the middle of the night sick as a dog thanks to their sushi. Which I also have to mention is extremely over priced considering it was not fresh or properly kept. What an awful experience. I didn’t get any sleep because I was so sick. So much for a romantic night out with my boyfriend. I haven’t gotten sick from eating sushi EVER in my life so that tells you something.
Be wary of coming here. The service was also lacking and we waited for at least 5 – 10 minutes for our waitress to come back so we could get soy sauce for the sushi they had already brought out. I’m very disappointed overall. Be careful of what you order if you come here. I had the spicy tuna and shrimp tempura roll and you see how that turned out. :(
On top of everything, my boyfriend called to complain and explain what happened and the owner accused him of being a «scam artist» (his exact words). He told him we were making it up. That is total BS. It really pisses me off because I had to miss work the next day and was up all night. Horrible owner and restaurant!!!

Pearl of the Orient… More like Puke of the Orient. Both myself and my gf got food poisoning after eating sushi. Not one to complain but getting sick from obvious negligence is unacceptable. When i contacted the restaurant to explain my experience the owner accused me of trying to scam him after i asked for my money back. He said there’s no way he was at fault — laughable. That was enough motivation for me to inform others of such poor food and customer service. He ended the conversation by offering me a gift certificate. Free meals for life wouldn’t win me back to that fish flea market.

I went to this restaurant with friends and loved it! The décor is classy and pretty, and service was great. Best of all, however, was the food! Yummy wonton soup, pot stickers, and sweet and sour chicken. The menu is huge so you can always find something new and delicious!

Been here twice for lunch. I’ve had Orange chicken and Emperors chicken. Both were very good!
Service was kind and professional.

We enjoyed a sold dinner here this week. Tried some sushi and a chicken dinner. Enjoyed wonton soup and split a non– noteworthy egg roll.
Spicy tuna roll was delicious– lots of tuna and not overly mixed with spicy mayo or over-​rocked. Will definitely go back for it since there is NO sushi in this area unless you count Heinens!!!
The eel and cucumber was also delish. My hubs loves eel and he totally enjoyed this one.
We split the bourbon chicken– it was nice but not really something notable.
Overall I think this is a solid spot for sushi and I would give it another spin for sure. Service was great and the place was pretty busy on a weeknight.
I also took into account the fact that they do specials! Love that and makes it a nice option for a weeknight dinner.

Review for sushi only.
Apparently, Pearl of the Orient has been serving sushi for several years. I don’t eat much Chinese food (none, really) so I had no knowledge of this until my hair stylist mentioned it one day.
I went in on a Friday evening at 6pm-​ish and sat at the bar. I ordered 2 sushi rolls (rainbow roll and spicy tuna roll) and they were prepared and in front of me immediately as the sushi chef wasn’t busy. I devoured it like it was my last meal. I ordered a third roll (a Philly roll, I think) and it was in front of me in less than 2 minutes. The bartender, who was very attentive, suggested that it’s hit or miss as to whether the sushi chef is really busy or not and whether you get your sushi quickly.
I had zero complaints about the sushi. It wasn’t gigantic, which is neither here nor there for me. I don’t think giant pieces of sushi equals quality or deliciousness. My only comment was that the sushi seemed kind of warm and soft and fell apart somewhat easily (as opposed to cool and tightly packed, I guess).
Now that I’m writing about sushi, I want it, so I’m sure I’ll be returning soon. There aren’t many (any?) options for sushi in Lakewood/​Rocky River so I’ll certainly check it out again soon.

I’m shocked by anyone rating Pearl lower than a 4. It has such a diverse Asian menu from sushi to phu as well as all the traditional dishes you would expect to see, but all done with great, fresh ingredients. Our service was very attentive from the moment we walked through the door to the moment we left. I always like when owners of bars and restaurants greet their guests, it always makes me want to go to a business more when I like the owners and feel like they care about my experience.
We all got different types of meals and everything was great. We got a sushi roll as an appetizer and I look forward to going back for a full sushi meal, which is saying a lot because I’m a total CA sushi snob. The bowl of phu was enormous, literally enough for 4.
It’s a great little date place or for a small group and I look forward to going back again and again!