Pearl Villa Seafood Restaurant

A good Chinese place to go. Pricy than the others but cleaner to me. I had chicken, lobster and vegi. They all come out quick and delicious.

I came to eat lunch at Pearl Villa today with some coworkers. I’ve been meaning to eat here after seeing their giant sign that says «$ 4.50 Lunch Menu» when I was eating at Jade Garden. These two places are right across from each other and their lunch menus are pretty similar. Not sure if they’re competition or just have the same owner.
The atmosphere was much dimmer and more quiet than Jade Garden, where it’s always packed full during lunch time. However, today was a bit rainy, so I’m not sure if that was the real reason behind the emptiness at Pearl Villa. We got there around 12:30 and were literally the only ones there for a bit. The restaurant is also oddly shaped with two «sides» divided by a long wall.
Anyway, on to the food! I ordered Satay Chicken with Flat Rice Noodles. Pretty good! The chicken was really tender and the sauce was yummy. My only complaint was that the pineapples in the dish tasted a bit funny and I could do without it. We also ordered a Beef Chow Foon, the dry stir fry one. It was good, but the one from Jade Garden was much more flavorful and tasted less like wok. Some people like the wok taste, but Pearl Villa came off a bit bland.
Will I come back? I think I’ll probably stick with Jade Garden if I want my regular staples. But Pearl Villa does have a slightly larger menu and offers things that Jade Garden doesn’t. I’ve uploaded the menu in the photos for your convenience! It might be a difficult to read/​see though due to Unilocal’s limited resolution. Sorry :|

It’s greatest characteristic is that it’s open super super late. At that point options start getting slimmer and even meh wonton soup is real nice. My gf is vegetarian and said their mushroom fake pork tofu thing was particularly good too.

I went here with Clara L. and as you can see from her review, we both thought it was kind of meh. Granted, we didn’t order the most dazzling dishes to try (the table across from us had ginger-​scallion lobster, crab hot pot, the whole shebang) but a brilliant restaurant will shine through even in its simplest dishes.
My oyster pancake was at least big for the $ 12 it cost and very tasty, though a tad too much soy sauce for me after a while. I got it mainly because oyster pancakes (technically an omelet as it’s made of egg) are a Taiwanese staple and I was curious to see a Cantonese restaurant take it on. It was good for what it was but would probably horrify purists like my Taiwanese mother. The restaurant excels best at Cantonese staples like my friend’s congee. Hot, thick and savory, perfect for a chilly late autumn day.
I wouldn’t rush to come back anytime soon (if I want good Cantonese seafood, I’ll head to New Jumbo) but I wouldn’t necessarily dissuade people from coming here either, depending on what they want.

This place is alright. Went with my Unilocal friend for dinner to try this place out. When you first walk in, it seems tiny with only about 4 tables, but around the corner there are about another 6 tables, with 3 of them larger and able to hold groups. We ordered an oyster pancake, beef chow fun, and preserved duck and pork congee. The food was not fabulous, but it was solid. We were given bowls of sweet tapioca soup at the end, which alot of restaurants in Chinatown don’t do. Prices were on the slightly cheaper end of the spectrum.

A great Chinese restaurant. As authentic as it can get. My brother in law confirms it. Our family’s favorite, steamed fish done two ways, plum ribs, stir fried vegetables with beef, pineapple shrimp on fried taro mold, spicy salt calamari, steamed fresh scallops, ginger scallion lobsters and others.
Special mention to their lunch specials. Great value for money!

I walk into a DEAD restaurant but my table is seated in a hidden section where there are two other tables. There is no music and I just get a feeling that this place is not the GO TO Chinatown restaurant. The food takes a while to come out but surprisingly the dishes are very big and pretty good. I definitely had better of the same dishes somewhere else though. The clams in black bean sauce was pretty good and they didn’t juts give you shells. The Beef Chow Foon was good. The seafood soup was okay but very thick. The «to mu» or veggie plate was good. But I was very disappointed with how they had a huge smoothie menu but ONLY had pineapple available. That was a bummer.
If you go here with no expectations then I guess it would be good but I would not recommend it.

I normally don’t rate Chinese places on Unilocal despite visiting a lot, mostly because I don’t know how to explain the dishes we got (in typed out Canto? in the awkward literal English names?), but I really feel that this place merited a review.
Since we were staying next to Chinatown, my mom suggested that we try some East Coast Chinese seafood, seeing that the variety of fish and the like are different.
This restaurant was very clean – perhaps different from the Chinese restaurants in SF Chinatown – very attentive service. The manager suggested some good dishes and seafood to us, and everything came out promptly. The food was definitely above par and prices were more than reasonable. I recommend coming here for some authentic Chinese food – though if you’re looking for American Chinese dishes (e.g. orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, etc.), they have them too. They won’t disappoint.

Went to this really good but small Chinese restaurant with a party of 11 people including myself. Here is what we had ordered:
Teng Jai Juk — Literally means Small Boat/​Sampan Congee in Cantonese Chinese, this is a gigantic bowl of rice congee mixed with scallions, peanuts, meat and seafood. This is number RC2. Price is $ 4.95 according to the menu, but we ordered a giant bowl, making it the equivalent of two orders, making the price actually $ 9.90.
Ju Yim Pai Gwat — This is the Spicy Salted Pork Chop, and this is number PK1. $ 9.50 for a plate.
Hoi Sin Ng Dong Mian — This is the Seafood Dry Fried Udon noodles with some vegetables, shrimp, tiny scallops and calamari. This is number RS12. Price is $ 9.95 for a plate.
Haam Yu Jing Youk Beng — Haam Yu means «salted fish» in Cantonese Chinese, Jing means to steam, Youk means meat, and Beng can be used as a term for a cake, pie or even a biscuit. This is number PK6: The Steamed Minced Pork with Salty Fish and Lotus Root. This is a large, flat and wide cake made of minced pork, doused in some sort of a salty fish oil and with Lotus roots mixed in the ingredients, and doused with some pieces of scallions on the top. $ 11.95 a plate.
Yiu Chu Laap Cheung Chao Fan — This is the Dry Scallop, Chinese Sausage Fried Rice. This is number FR5. I think the name speaks for itself. $ 9.95 a plate.
Suen Yong Dau Miu — Suen Yong literally means «crushed garlic». Dau Miu literally means pea sprouts or pea pod stems. This was not on the menu, but we took the Pea Pod Stems from V10 (Sauteed Pea Pod Stems with Black Mushroom) and the Garlic Sauce from V11 (Chinese Veggie with Garlic Sauce), and ta-​da! We got our own custom dish, thanks to the restaurant, which is Suen Yong Dau Miu. I’ll call it Pea Pod Stems in Stir Fried in Garlic Sauce in English.
Ban Nam Dau Fu Bo — This is the Deep Fried Fish Fillet with Tofu. This is number IP3. Consists of fried fish, tofu, and some vegetables served in an iron pot, like a casserole. This is the closest thing to one of my favorite Chinese dishes, Hong Siu Ban Nam Bo, a dish that I have enjoyed at other restaurants in Chinatown. $ 11.95 a bowl.
Total bill came out to be $ 83.70 (including tax but not tip) and we each paid $ 9.
The Sampan Congee was served in a really giant bowl and it was pretty good, it was not too watery, and I liked the richness of the congee thanks to the meats and seafood. As for the Spicy Salted Pork Chops, although I did not taste any spice, it was crisp on the outside, and tender on the inside. It was not too salty as well, so overall it was tasty. The Seafood Dry Fried Udon Noodles were decent, the calamari was thick and meaty, and not tough and dry, so that was a good thing, and that’s how I would want my calamari to be cooked. The noodles and the other seafood tasted all right.
As for The Steamed Minced Pork with Salty Fish and Lotus Root, the dish emitted a fish odor that may be a tiny bit foul for your nose. However, it was also tasty. The best part is that I remember my grandma cooking that dish, and the smell and taste of the dish was the closest thing that a restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown has brought me the memories of my grandma’s cooking. The Dry Scallop and Chinese Sausage Fried Rice was okay. The scallops were tender and somewhat flavorful, and the Chinese Sausage was a little rough to chew. Overall, it is not a bad dish, but it was not spectacular fried rice.
The Pea Pod Stems stir fried in Garlic Sauce were decently tasty, although it was saucy. As for the Deep Fried Fish Fillet with Tofu, it tasted great. Although it was served in a smaller bowl compared to the other Hong Siu Ban Nam Bo dishes at other restaurants, it was definitely less saucy. The fish was a tad bit dry, but still really tasty thanks to the sauce, and the tofu was really good. With a bowl of freshly cooked white rice, the Deep Fried Fish Fillet with Tofu would make an awesome meal.
I would call this place another hidden gem of Chinatown. We had a good lunch, we got our stomachs full, and we paid a decent price. I would maybe come back for the Seafood Dry Fried Udon Noodles but I would definitely come back for the Sampan Congee, and for my favorite dish, which is of course, the Deep Fried Fish Fillet with Tofu.

A must-​go if you are a chow foon/​chow fun/​flat rice noodle aficionado! My roommate and I dropped by here after a long day of cravings, and this just hit the spot. I appreciated the Malaysian influence in the Shrimp Paste and Pork Chow Foon — I could chew on pieces of the savoury, slightly-​crispy pork bits all day long! The second plate we got was the Beef Satay Sauce Chow Foon. This dish was also delicious, not horribly grease-​laden (relatively speaking), and had plenty of green peppers in it, which clearly is a significant nutritional redemption of our Chinese food binge.
The service was definitely amusing. The waitress’ idea of good service was standing behind my roommate, and staring at us eating food. Also, the waitress didn’t speak any English, forcing me to scrounge up a few phrases in my god-​awful Mandarin. She also disappeared after clearing our tables. She did reappear only when we were about to sign the credit card slips at the front of the restaurant, and STARED as we wrote down our tips. She seemed to be pretty pleased with our tip, since she yelled «THANK YOU! THANK YOU! COME AGAIN!» as we went out.
I think I definitely will… weirdo!

(review dated ⁴⁄₀₈):
great place for cheap eats, group eats, or family eat-​out nights. authentic and quality chinese food, if a bit on the oily side. the place feels a bit cramped, though. tables and chairs way too close to one another.
:)

Was visiting family in Boston and they took us here for dinner. A simple no «frills» very close to a «hole in the wall» Chinese restaurant that is so typical. As with many Chinese restaurant, I’m there for the food, not the ambiance. This place is also as authentic as you can get.
My family from Boston did the ordering and they ordered up some good food. I was most impressed by the ‘Claypot Rice” or «bo jai phan.» They served it in the largest claypot I have ever seen! Our family loves the hard crusted rice than you literally have to scrap the bottom of the pot to get. They will even reheat the pot and add hot water to help break up the hardened rice if you ask.
Had the twin lobster and this was our first Boston lobster experience. Not bad at all. Who would have known that you can get a decent lobster meal from a Chinese restaurant?
Service was not bad at all, but I think that had to do with my Boston relatives knowing the staff since they eat there all the time.
Their onion pancakes are yum too. We had a whole assortment of other dishes, that were simply average.

I went here for a late night meal last night.
The Scallion pancakes all right, but there are so places in Chinatown that do it a lot better.
The crab rangoons were pretty good, but please drunk people with crab rangoons is like shooting fish in a barrel.
The $ 16 twin lobster special was ok, but I’ve certainly had better. We got it Cantonese style with ginger and scallions, which is a dish that’s very hard to mess up. It looked like we got well under 2 lobsters, and the meat was not very tender. They seemed to have over cooked the lobster and undercooked the scallions, and also the sauce could’ve used more flavor.
The Beef w/​eggplant in Iron pot was good, however I did not have the urge to write home to my mother about it.
We also got Pan fried noodles with conch, which was not good. They completely overcooked the conch leaving it very rubbery and tough.
When the bill came, it came in Chinese despite the fact that we spoke English to them, and I’m pretty sure they over charged us. We also got cold tea, which I’m sure was an inflated price as well. Anyway, the final kicker was we tried to pay with credit card, but they said they don’t take credit card after 2am. Obviously only 3 letters can describe this policy, it begins with a W, ends with an F and has a T in the middle. Also be sure to follow that with about 13 questions marks.
I’ve also been here for lunch a few times, and each time I am not very impressed. They charge over a dollar more than Peach farm/​New golden gate, and give you a hot and sour soup full of msg and corn starch. Also the rice sometimes has crunchy and over cooked grains of rice in there. If you’re a Chinese restaurant and can’t get white rice straight, it might be time to look into a different profession.

Almost desolate restaurant and dingy evironment. That’s a star.
Decieving lunch menu. (claimed dishes were 550 before 3 on Saturdays and was still charged $ 2 more) That’s a star.
Congealed beef soup. That’s a star.
Friend’s dish didn’t come for 30 minutes after I got mine and he didn’t get the soup that came with it. That’s a star.
Asked for water 5 times and didn’t get of until right before the bill came. That’s a star.
Welp, I seem to be out of stars! Whoopsie Daisy! I wanted to be more forgiving since the waitress was new but even the manager who stepped in for her was screwing up. And it doesn’t excuse the mediocre food.

Got the $ 15.95 twin lobster special, but you HAVE to order two other dishes to get that price. The lobster was excellent — it was incredibly easy to get the meat out, and it was very, very tender. I really liked the Malaysian beef curry, too, and I was surprised that 2 people finished both those dishes and a Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce dish as well. Very satisfying, spent about $ 50 for 2 people including tax & tip, which, considering the lobster, wasn’t bad at all.
I like Boston’s Chinatown. Quite a few good-​quality restaurants all close to each other. Pearl Villa’s probably my favorite there.
By the way, I found it on Unilocal!Thank you Unilocalers!

Ambiance: PV is located to a giant parking lot ($ 22 all day ack!!). Go up a shady looking flight of stairs (ok, maybe 7 stairs or something total) but it is shady looking.
Food: Refer to Rob Y.‘s detailed reviews. The food for the first 2 times was amazing, but there weren’t many people. And I think part of it was that we were all trying different dishes. Maybe I’m more used to the food, but the more I eat, the less impressed I get.
Service: Part of the reason that I’m writing this is because I’m pissed at the service. Sometimes, the service is okay but when they are busy, the service is terrible (again, refer to Rob Y’s updated review). Tonight, two of us went to dinner and the service wasn’t great. But they decided to prematurely add 20% to my bill. Now, for a great service, paying 20% is perfectly fine. But there was no service. I guess they filled our teapot once. And then, when I asked for the bill, they didn’t even give us the dessert soup. They gave it to all the other people. So, of course, I asked for the dessert and they did eventually give it to me. But I just don’t think you are entitled to tip yourself 20% for doing nothing but giving me my dishes. I suppose I should be thankful that they did manage to give us 2 bowls for our congee… Eh…
I know Rob Y. says that food trumps all. But if your service sucks, it affects my dining experience. Hence, 5 stars to a 4.
Oh yeah. This restaurant is also on
for MIT (at least). They charge $ 4 for delivery, which is reasonable, but the price for all the food items is at least $ 2 – 3 higher on the campusfood menu than their regular menu. Also, if you want to the $ 15.95 twin lobster special, you have to order at least 2 other dishes.

Service (6.5/10)=I’m dropping my score for PV’s service by 1.0 points. During my last visit (a farewell dinner since I was moving out of Boston), the service was really slow. PV had a full house that night (Monday night, 7÷21÷2008) so it’s understandable that it was going to be slow. However, it’s a bit ridiculous if you have to ask for bowls at least five times to two different waiters, and after the fifth time, you still only get four bowls for a party of seven people. In order to get the remaining three bowls, a person of our party got up, marched over to the doors of the kitchen, and asked for bowls again to one of the waiters (who we had asked several times already) inside. The reason why we wanted bowls was because we ordered Congee that night, and wanted to divide it up. Luckily the Congee was still hot enough by the time we got all our bowls,…which was approximately 25 minutes after it came to our table.
The point of this update: Expect bad service if it’s a full house at PV.
The reason I’m not dropping the number of Unilocal stars I’ve previously awarded PV on 7÷16÷2008 is because I believe food is the most important element of a restaurant. If the food fails, everything else fails. Luckily the food was still good.

Every visit here I try something different and the hits just keep coming.
Currently this is my favorite restaurant in Boston, not my fav Chinese, my número uno, period. It’s summer, try the lobsta (*) here! Definitely try the iron pot casseroles/​stews. If you crave authentic Chinese and seafood in particular, this is the place.
* $ 15.95 for twins special

Only complaint I have about this place is its size of the room. There are too many tables for small space. Otherwise, foods are fantastic. I didn’t realize that there are many Chinese restaurants in China town that are specialized in seafood. And Pearl Villa is one of them.
I have walked on Tyler st many times as I often go to Shabuzen that is also on the same street. I never noticed the existence of this restaurant.
I recommend to go to this place with at least 5 people who are food adventurous. You don’t want to go there by yourself and order one dish. It is fun to blindly pick multiple dishes and try them all out with friends. In fact, my co-​worker ordered them all and I just ate whatever that came to our table. And it was fun and delicious. My favorite is soft shell crabs.
Also, this is the perfect place to kill time after 2AM after night out. Not very many people flock into this place, so you can get a table in no time.
They close around 3:30am. By then, it’d be a lot easier to catch a cab.

Swoon… authentic chinese food, how I love thee…
A fellow Unilocaler brought me here, in search of some satisfying authentic chinese cuisine. As you walk in, you think… how does this place stay open? there are only… 3 tables? But there’s another (slightly larger) dining room to the side. Why the place is so strangely shaped, I’m not sure, but when the food is tastey, the prices cheap, I’m not going to be asking any questions.
Promising sign #1: Décor is ok, but nothing special. Most asian restaurants with shi-​shi décor are Americanized and blah.
Promising sign #2: The clientele were mostly (90%+) asian. Eating in large groups, family style, with lazy susans.
We ordered 2 plates of pan fried noodles, and 2 appetizers (the scallion pancake and the salt and pepper squid). The bill? Under $ 30. Both of us had a large box of take out at the end.
Would come back in a hot minute.