The Red Pearl

LOVE all the mock meat options. For some reason veggie hunan chicken isn’t on the menu (at least online menu) but it is available and it is great!!! Love the cream cheese crab app too.

Ordered online and then came in to get our food… it took over an hour. Everyone who came in after us and ordered got their food. Meanwhile we are still waiting.

Filthy. Clean the restaurant and lower your prices, and then I’ll consider writing you a real review. Truth.

Excellent. Simply excellent. Soon to be a regular!!! :)
Veggie «chicken,» soup, and egg rolls. Yum!

I’m glad that they’re here and the owners are super nice. They also have gluten-​free options which my kids enjoy. This is definitely «American» Chinese. You’re not going to get any authentic regional flavors here. It’s tasty but just so-​so. A guilty, reliable pleasure. No tableside service, but they have a reasonably clean bathroom and decent dining space. Jenny always gives you freebies. So sweet. A lot of the draw here is her personality.
Anyway, objectively, I’ll say the dim sum items aren’t the freshest tasting. Char Siu Bao is dry, and well there’s not much more as far as dim sum is concerned. I generally steer away from the stuff because I hate wasting food.
Vegetables taste fresh, and sauces are fine. If you’re craving American Chinese, this will satisfy your urge.

The wife and I find this place very well priced and offers meals that fill us both up. I would say try the foil wrapped chicken, mapo tofu, and sticky red bean buns.

I really like Chinese food, so based on the rave reviews, I recommended this as a place to meet an old acquaintance.
Bummer! I didn’t think Chinese food could be so bland. The tiny dining area was noisy, cold, and not charming, despite its location.
(With one other exception, every Chinese restaurant I’ve ever been to would get 4 or 5 stars from me.)

I amend my last review! We must have hit them on a bad day, that said, I would just order take out, as it’s not a very pleasant dine in experience.
The food is mostly good and the owner is very nice.

I had my hole in the wall hopes up for this joint. The cashier was friendly, and they do cook fast like most Chinese restaurants. Sadly the food did not measure up to the reviews. Like a few other reviewers, I found it over salty. Wontons were a bit blah as well. We picked at our lunch for a while, and then left. Definitely a Chinese Dive, not much of a restaurant. Anyway back to Santa Cruz for eating food.

Boulder Creek is a bit of a drive for us and even though we have four Chinese options very near us, the Red Pearl did not disappoint. From previous reviews we were prepared for the paper plates and no waiter service but the cashier was friendly, patient and helpful for us first timers. Unilocalers are right. The Orange Chicken and Walnut Prawns are excellent. Very fresh tasting, crispy prawns and delicious. We were also impressed with the cleanliness of the tables and floor. Nice place, not posh but we’ll be back again.

Finally really good Chinese food in the mountains! The orange chicken was by far the best I ever had !!

The Red Pearl has consistently served me top shelf Chinese food for the last decade or so. The owner and cashier Jenny is one of the kindest business owners I have ever met; not that it matters because she could be the biggest snot in the world and I would STILL eat here! The chow-​mein is always served with ample amounts of huge chunks of seasoned beef and vegetables. The mopo tofu is made in house with a sweet and spicy sauce that tricks people into forgetting that they’re eating tofu. The wait times can be longish, which is fine because all their dishes are made to order as opposed pre made. Eat here often!

Hard to find Chinese food out in the mountains, but the Red Pearl doesn’t disappoint!
Ownership is great, and the combination fried rice is fantastic!

Absolutely love the food and the staff!!! This is exactly the kind of small town experience one hopes for when dining out. Love the walnut prawns and broccoli beef!!!

The food is ‘ok’. I had the kung POW! Chicken — a fav dish of mine for years! However, this was so hot, I literally couldn’t eat it. fortunately, the owner asked me how everything was and I told him my problem. His wife cooked up something right away for me that was kunf pao without the POW. Never the less, the food is mediocre. sorry Red Pearl fans. I call it as I taste it.
That being said!!!
The owners are AWESOME! and the little town of Boulder Creek in the ‘mountains LOL of Santa Cruz are wonderful people.
So
even though the food isn’t FANTASTIC, the owners are and I definitely recommend grabbing a bite here before you head up to Big Basin!

Come here pretty often. The food is legit, and the free soup/​tea is amazing. There’s a tv, but considering the old, old, OLD, chinese movies playing, it’s probably just for entertainment value (kung fu-​vollyball master IV?!?).
The service is… a little… um… If you call to place an order, you’re likely to be hung up on as soon as you’re done. And there isnt a huge amount of small talk. But the lady who (seems to) run the place is totally awesome. I see the same behavior in all of my old chinese relatives. It’s not rude to be no-​nonsense in chinese like it is in english.

We had 6 different dishes, they were all very good
Dining area is very simple, no restrooms.

Enjoyed the food. Had the best reviews in Boulder, so decided to try it since we just moved here from San Jose. Walked in and they were playing Kung Fu Hussle on a big screen TV. The nice lady at the counter hooked it up with free wontons and hot and sour soup. Highly recommend the orange chicken and fried rice!

I’ve never stayed and eaten a meal in this place. But have ordered take-​out. The ambiance and paper plates with plastic utensils will keep me ordering take-​out, but the quality of the food will keep me coming back.
Fresh ingredients, prepared well. Special orders are accommodated happily. The prices are more than reasonable and freebies are added to large orders. The staff is very friendly as well. Overall an excellent place to order some food and take elsewhere to enjoy.

I must start out by saying I am a big Chinese food snob coming from San Francisco, so I wasn’t expecting much from this place. however, it completely went above and beyond!
The man who took our order was extremely kind, patient, and helpful. He also hooked it up with free egg rolls & won tons (which were delicious)! We ordered garlic green beans, veggie chow mein, sweet & sour pork. (and crab rangoons– not my thing but my boyfriend liked them). Everything was extremely delicious– as good as if not better than a lot of SF places. The service was the fastest I think I have ever received for to-​go, anywhere. Who cares if they use paper plates people?! They rock. Thank you Red Pearl for finally giving me a new BC spot to be a regular at! I will definitely be back!