Pearl Court Restaurant

For dim sum, on 2^nd floor:
Old school dim sum with carts coming out of the kitchen, and some dumplings fried to order (you can see them near the door). Good for the area and decent selection; more variety comes out closer to peak times. A fair choice if you don’t want to travel far or are in the neighborhood with a big group.
Some dishes are more on point than others. Was disappointed with the hagow (too much msg) but really like the gauchoygow (shrimp with gauchoy). The wohteep (pan fried dumpling) is house made, large and very meaty; personally prefer more gauchoy in that one too. Decent were the fried taro dumplings (wu gok), hamsuigok (deep fried glutinous rice dumpling), fujookguun (bean curd meat roll), and egg tart (flakey crust!). Didn’t see any ‘phoenix claw’ (chicken feet). Calamari looked overly breaded.
All in all wouldn’t mind returning to try other dishes.

I love this cheap and cheerful dim sum spot. It’s a great place to go with one friend or a large group. The selection is pretty good but sometimes they run out of my favourites by noon. The options are always a bit different. You can expect har gow, siu mai, sticky rice, rice flour rolls, a variety of sesame balls, fantastic taro dumplings, and all kinds of steamed and pan fried dumplings. I have never tried the deep fried selection or the dessert cart but there are many options there. Sometimes there are special treats like pumpkin and pear dumplings made to look like tiny pumpkins or pears — cute and amazingly delicious! The barbecue pork buns are good but not always present. Expect a short wait if you come after noon. Service is via traditional dim sum trolleys. There are always plenty of extra workers to ask for tea, your cheque, or a takeout container. It’s not the freaking ritz of dim sum but I’ve had a lot of dim sum, and this is good food.

I really gave up on pearl court years ago. But today I didn’t feel like driving too far from home. We had low expectations going in. But it was wonderful.
It’s dim sum upstairs at noon when we arrived and said we wanted menu items, they sit u downstairs for that.
Seafood tofu hot pot $ 11.95. It was huge. Has so much of everything. Shrimps, scallops (big ones) calamari (a bit chewy, if u have kids cut those in small pieces. They don’t take vein out, easy for a little one to be choked on, honestly I would avoid serving the calamari to anyone teeth challenged) tofu braised and broccoli. The taste of the sauce was so ginger and onions. 8 out of 10
Beef with onions and crispy rice noodle in black bean sauce $ 9.95. Oh those noodles; the dish actually was egg noodle on menu but we asked to substitute., they did no problem and no extra cost, sooo tasty and crispy, like Cantonese chow mein noodle, 9 out of 10. Not greasy
2 pots of tea, one Budweiser. $ 31 plus $ 5 tip. (Beer is a rip off $ 5.50.).
Will return when not feeling a drive to Markham, scarbs or spadina

I have eaten here many times over the years but my last visit was two days ago and it was one of the worst dim sum meals I have ever had. The rice in the soft rice noodles with bbq pork had turned. The turnip cake was not too far behind. The siu mai was horrendously over-​salted. The tasteless pork and veg dumplings felt like they had come out of a bag of frozen dumplings — and as if to prove that point, I found a thin snipping of plastic bag with mine. The char siu pau, sticky rice and pai gwat were passable — which was a great relief. They brought our egg tart dessert order to the table before any food arrived and then they forgot about our mango pudding order when we were done, all while the staff were having a jolly chat in the backroom. The hygiene seems to have taken a nose dive too and the table covers were grimy. I am sorry to say that I will not be going back. Pearl Court appeared to me to be depressingly like a restaurant that has sentenced itself to a slow death.

I give them only 1 star because of my family’s experience there. Went here for a family dinner (big table of 10 of us). We are Asian and very familiar with Cantonese cuisine. We found the food pretty decent this time (sometimes it is hit or miss). However, a big issue we had was the service. There were a lot of white customers that day and it was not full, but staff seemed busy since nobody served us. We waited over an hour for our food which is completely ridiculous at any place, and even more so at a Chinese restaurant where service is usually fast. We also noticed that tables of white people were getting served before us, even if they came in after us. When we tried to flag the man whom I think may have been a manager or something as I always see him here (or maybe he was just a waiter too), he made a face, turned away and brushed us off rudely when we told him we’d been waiting an hour, rather than apologize, explain and look into it. White people continued to get served, and finally we did (after more than an hour). I smell racial discrimination, which is sad when it comes from your own people (some Chinese people feel that white people should get better service — this is sadly not uncommon). We don’t plan to return ever again. We would have walked out but we were a big group, had already ordered, had already been waiting forever, and were starving!

I’ve heard great things about the dim sum here. Unfortunately I was unable to try it as, despite there being many empty tables on both floors of the restaurant, they refused to seat my party of 4 because they were «too busy». I’ve never been flat-​out refused service at a restaurant before. So if you do decide to go check out the apparently legendary dim-​sum here, perhaps call first and see if they’re in the mood? :(

Some rice hard like rock, some of them soft like the congee.

I come here intoxicated a lot. More so when I was younger. The food is great and the service is good. Try the fish.

This place is very hit or miss. Some dishes like their Singapore fried noodles are awesome, but others like their chow mein are a soggy, metallic tasting mess.
They have a fantastic location with very nice décor and ambience. If you ever get a chance to go for their lunch Dim Sum you won’t regret it. They have staff pushing carts around with fresh orders, and asking what you would like next.
Be very careful if you have allergies. Once when ordering a delivery, I made very specific and clear instructions to not include shrimp in my girlfriend’s dish, as she has a severe life threatening shrimp allergy. When we opened the delivery, we noticed that they forgot to omit the shrimp. When we called back, they offered to remedy the issue by sending us another dish for free (without the shrimp this time). When we opened the second delivery, guess what? We had shrimp once again! I called them back and was confronted with a dismissive and rude reaction to my complaint. The phone was hung up on me, so I had no choice to call back the next day and speak to a manager, who ended up refunding my money. I just hoped they learned to be more careful with people’s allergies.

Good food at average prices for chinese. Great portions and food comes to the table quickly. The staff are the average chinese food experience with not the friendliest demeanor but attentive and efficient. Love the fried rice. Noticeable pieces of real chicken not the questionable processed chicken other places serve that’s rubbery abd chewy.

Good Olde fashion dim sum with cart service. Brings back the memories. Cleaner than most Chinese restaurants in Toronto. Cart women were friendly and quick. Food was good but I was famished and craving dim sum so it could’ve been a 3 star on another day. Pretty pricey but I do eat like a pig and was extremely full after.

Delicious. Recommended Custard Bun. The place is much better than Rol San at Spadina, don’t mind drive a bit, it’s worth. Not overcrowded.

We were in the area and decided to come here for dim sum. The restaurant is a fair size but a bit outdated décor. They have push carts for dim sum, but it always seemed to be the same food coming around. The food was fine but not excellent. The price for the food was similar to other places, but they charged 1 $ per person for tea. Not sure if I will return.

I don’t really eat Chinese food or dim sum after some bad experiences years ago but my friend suggested we come here late one night after some social drinks. I’m glad I agreed to it because everything I put in my mouth was delicious. My friend did the ordering because I know nothing about the food. I ended up eating a crab claw (a tiny bit of crab surrounded by some fish/​shrimp paste sort of stuff battered and deep fried) that was like a seafood chicken ball. Very good. I had oysters that were served on the shell with some kind of savoury broth. The highlight for me was the soft shell crab which I’d never eaten before. It was spicy and juicy and exactly what I needed in my life after a night out. Other people have rated this place in a sort of crappy way, I don’t if there is better stuff out there somewhere I haven’t tried or if I just lucked into the right dishes, but given my limited experiences of Chinese cuisine I have to say I was fully satisfied and will definitely return.

My family used to come here all the time as a kid, for birthdays, anniversaries, well basically any special occasion that happened was celebrated here. That’s probably the one reason I’m giving them 1 star, because I’ve had some fond memories here.
The restaurant used to look nice for standards for the 90’s, but now it looks completely old and falling apart. The place still has the horrible pink and green colours across the walls and exterior and they haven’t had a chance to update the furniture in ages.
When it comes to the food, the quality has dipped beyond recognition. Like an old friend you knew in high school that was the captain of the hockey team, who now has a pot belly and works at Canadian Tire. The food is bad, super greasy and packed full of MSG. On top of this on 2 occasions I have had insects in my food. The first time, we decided to forgive them as they said it was part of the vegetables. The second time however, shocked me. We ordered a pot of steamed fish which we always get and when the lid was lifted a hoard of ants came crawling out! I couldn’t have made that up from a horror novel! To add insult to injury they only offered us 10% off our meal for that disgusting ordeal!
Needless to say my family and I will never be coming back here again. It’s sad I know, we tried to like it. We even tried to deal with all the excuses they had for years, but when it’s time to say goodbye you just have to keep going and not look back. Look back at that boiling pot of fish with ants crawling all over it…

Ordered four things for delivery, only received two and a half. The half is because we ordered Red Thai Curry with Rice. I didnèt get the rice, just a big tub of curry chicken. When we called back they said they would get us the friend rice. When asked about a side of rice, they said it doesn’t come with rice. When I initially made my pick, I chose it because it was under the subheading «Rice» how are you going to tell me something doesn’t come with rice when it was UNDER THAT CATEGORY?!
They said they would give me a side of rice. However I wanted them to acknowledge that their meal comes with rice, and they weren’t just being «nice».
Also forks an spoons + napkins should always be something that’s provided… not necessarily asked for.

All day dim sum =)
PRICE
Fair at $ 2.7 per dish.
LOCATION
Close to Chinatown
SERVICE
Good
FOOD
Standard good quality dim sum
OVERALL
Returning soon to fulfill my dim sum craving

It’s hard to review this place without being bias because it’s nostalgic when I go. It reminds me of traditional Chinese dim sum back when I was a child. I enjoy the old fashion décor and the serving plate sets. The food, which is average, always satisfies the inner child in me.

Delivery was faster than expected, kind of the only big plus. Fried tofu with coriander was good, broccoli with snow peas.. .. Was fresh and tasty but man for $ 9 I expected more!
We ate here years ago and decided to get delivery after a long days work.. .. Hoping that nothing had changed. It’s either changed or thier delivery customers don’t get the same food.
Either way, we’ll likely try elsewhere next time.
Oh! Also beware the surprise $ 2.50 fuel surcharge when adding your tip ;)

All the Chinese restaurants in East Chinatown are in my opinion disgusting, even by generous Asian working-​class standards, and I avoid them like the plague. Pearl Court, practically the only Dim Sum left on the block now, isn’t the absolute worst I’ve seen, but it is right up there in the terrible experiences department.
The front window and vestibule is plastered with framed restaurant reviews and awards from the 1980s and 1990s. Maybe this place was the shit back in its heydays, enough to earn a Zagat recommendation. But the Pearl Court of today is a skeleton of what it supposedly once was.
I am guessing the ancient reputation was why Pearl Court was my family’s go-​to restaurant whenever we have guests and want to take them out for dinner. That is, until the time when we showed up as a group of ten. We were completely ignored, all standing at the front waiting for somebody to accommodate us. Fuck that shit; we left after five minutes of getting no attention. (Since then, we go to a nearby Viet joint. Lest I digress.)
But let’s assume you managed to snag a table. You will find that there are two floors of operating dining space (who knows what the third floor leads to), and I often find the non-​Asians are seated together on one floor. The décor is dated, dim and dirty, heightened by the grimy chairs and tables. If you think the service is bad and unapologetic, wait until you try the shit food. A lot of it is bland, too oily or cold when it shouldn’t be. I have tasted frozen jacked-​up-​on-​MSG grocery dim sum that taste better than Pearl Court! So much for quality; I think I have even gotten sick from it once.
The one star rating is earned for that one time they had a server named Justy. That’s what his name tag said, and that’s what I remember best after all these years.