Pearl Liang

After reading several reviews about this restaurant, we went today for what we thought would be a lovely meal.

The restaurant looks lovely and the prices match the pretentious surroundings but both the food and service came way too short of expectations.

The staff just do not understand what friendly service is. Maybe cause their English isnt brilliant. Sorry but its England and in a posh restaurant. its expected right?

The food was very salty and oily to an extent that you need to constantly wipe your fingers dry.

I did manage to flag it up to the manager after starters and hoped the mains would be better but it was stil terrible food. The manager never came back ONCE to check on us despite me telling him about the poor starters.

The food was very average and over rated.

On leaving. I made it a point to tell the manager that it was terrible food. He seemed rather defensive leave alone an apology.

what a rip off for AWFUL food and service!
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Sharad Kumar
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, August 01, 2010

Went with my gf and food is not bad but please please make sure they don't insert unordered items in the bill. Many customers don't notice it as they are pretty satiated and only look at the total but these cunning chaps add on *stuff* to up the bill a little. So once again be careful of the bill.
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Jay
4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Monday, April 12, 2010

After a 3 hour seminar on breastfeeding, my lovely wife and I were somewhat peckish. As it was about 5:30 we wwere unsure where to go as many places wouldn't have opened yet or would be changing over shifts. We thought some Queensway chinese would be good but since the neverending roadworks it is impossible to park near there. I then remembered Pearl Liang up at the Paddington basin and we drove up there. We parked pretty nearby but the walk to the restaurant was horrendous, it was freezing last night especially at the top of the railway bridge. My wife was less than impressed by the lack of lift to take you down to the restaurant. It did look rather desolate when we arrived and it was unclear if they were open as it appeared the staff were having dinner at the bar. However it appeared they were indeed open and in we strode.

The deco inside can be best described as rich and opulent. they have been clever to avoid the dubious attractions of windows with views out onto the West Way in favour of a large contained dining room with a couple of private rooms. We were shown to a nice table for two. Service was obviously swapping over for the day but we were taken care of pretty promptly. We decided to go for standard starters (seaweed , spring rolls) along with a few bits of dim sum (sesame prawn rolls, pork puffs) and a truly excellent ribs in plum sauce. The food took a little while to arrive but we were happy sipping our tea and chattinfg. The food was worth the wait the dim sum was very nice. the pork puffs in particular were excellent. The portions on the other starters were huge but reflected in the price.

We followed this with some crispy shredded beef, sweet and sour chicken, pak choi and ginger, fried rice and singapore noodles. Again huge portions and pretty good. We did send the beef back as it wasn't warn enough but it was soon replaced. When it did come back it was very nice, crispy rather than sticky. The sweet and sour chicken was really good as well bursting with flavour but made with soft tender chicken. I felt the singapore noofdles needed a touch more heat and the rice was a bit non descript. The veg was very good I wish I could cook my pak choi at home like this. Unsuprisingly we had loads left over so the boxed it up for us.

We were really too full for desert but I saw they had chilled mango pudding and my wife spotted the banana friters. We felt that with the prospect of impending parenthood we should treat ourselves. The mango pudding was lovely, perfectly set and sprinkled with little pieces of mango. My wife enjoyed her fritters which weren't over sickly. again she didn't finish the portion and we took the rest home. All through the meal the service had been really friendly as well as efficient. It was certainly more "Mandarin kitchen" than "Royal China" in that respect. Perhaps a couple of things could have been improved like using warm plates, a cover for the rice and noodles so they don't lose heat at the table but overall I felt the staff cared and were learning on the job.

The meal for two came to a £100 which was expensive but then we did overorder and portions were huge. Certain dishes are better value than others. Some of the starters cost the same as the mains. However the food looked and tasted good. The big question though is how it compares to the Royal China. Well I would see it is close on most of the dishes and some like the pork puffs are better here. To really compare I would need to come back for a proper Dim Sum lunch. One big plus is that they do do Dim Sum in the evening which is nice. One the way out I noticed they did a very good lunch deal which must be a good draw for those working in the basin. I think it would be fairest to compare it to the Royal China at Canary Wharf and Pearl Liang offers more. I will definetly come back but on a warmer evening the walk back to the car was bitter!
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, March 08, 2010

Having had such a good experience the last time, we returned to the Pearl Liang to impress my daughter's boyfriend. I have to say that something was missing this time and that the food, although good, was nothing like as special as on our first visit.

We had almost the same dishes, except as an experiment we substituted Sweet and Sour King Prawns with Pomegranate for the Ma Po Tofu which we had last time. This was not a success - it had the same sickly sweet taste and unpleasant texture that you find in bad takeaways. Otherwise, the dishes (Tung Po Lo, Emperor Chicken, Tao Mui and steamed sea bass) were acceptable but not outstanding.

The service was also slow as there seemed to be not enough staff. It was difficult to find someone to take our order.

I had suspected that our wonderful experience on our first visit was due to the fact that I was seen taking notes of our order and prices and that perhaps the staff thought I was a restaurant critic. I did the same thing this time but it didn't have the same effect!

However, I would definitely suggest that anyone who visits this restaurant makes a note of what is ordered and the menu price. I checked the bill and found that we had been charged £16 for bottled water, which we hadn't ordered. This was explained as a mistake and it should have been 4 bottles of beer which costs £4 less.
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Margaret H
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, March 06, 2010

Ate here on Saturday as our "valentine" night out. Restaurant was packed with huge tables as it was also chinese new year.

We went for a set menu as we were rushed to order. Waiting for over an hour between courses was poor and couldn't get the attention of any waiting staff to find out what was going on. The mains were pretty average when they did arrive.

When it came to settling the bill they had automatically added 12.5% on for service which I was not going to pay for something we didn't get.

I have eaten better food at Wonkys, and that is no slight on Wonkys - at least there you expect to get poor service, that is part of its charm and appeal.

I will never return to Pearl Liang, and deff not recommend it to anyone.
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Bucks - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, February 14, 2010

We just ate dimsum at Pearl Liang this saturday. It was impossible to find but when we finally did we were pleased with the nice decor and a buzzing atmosphere (it was packed the whole time we were there). The dim sum selection and the quality of the food was good but no different from some of the other better places that we have been to. I was a little disappointed as I had read such great reviews of the food and was expecting something exceptional. Value for money was great though, the 3 of us ate a lot and it came to £36.

The worst part was the service - it was impossible getting anyone's attention. And when ever our tea needed refilling it took ages before anyone noticed. We were also asked whether we were finished when there was still lots of food on the table and we obviously wasn't. Chinese restaurants get very busy on the weekends during dimsum and this is not new to us so we are not expecting very attentive service - but some efficiency would have been nice.

All in all if I lived nearby I would return as the food is good and decor is nice. But it was such a trek for us I think we will try somewhere else a bit easier to get to.
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- View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 13, 2010

I ate at Pearl Liang on a Friday evening. The place was surprisingly crowded by 8pm. It was different to hold a conversation with the level of noise in the restaurant.

Food wise, it was decent but overpriced. A portion of rice cost £2.50. We mainly had seafood dishes and portions were reasonable.

However, the level of service was appalling, comparable to Wong Kei in Chinatown except that at Pearl Liang, a service charge of 12.5% is automatically added the the bill. Service was slow (it took the waiters 15 minutes to bring the bill and another 10 minutes to bring the card machine).

This place is not for you if you are with a big crowd or expect decent level of service.
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Luke
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Saturday, January 30, 2010

The food was outstandingly good. We had steamed fish (the most expensive item at £27), Ma Po Tofu (£7.20), Tung Po Lo (£7.80), Tao Mui (£8.20), Emperor Chicken (£15.00). The rice cost £17.50 in total at £2.50 a portion, which is a bit expensive).

Having read the last review about car parking charges, I was anxious not to be overcharged or cheated, so I made a note of everything we ordered and of the menu price. The waiter obviously saw what I was doing and, maybe because of that, the bill was completely accurate and the whole meal for 5 people cost £113.30, including 12 and a half percent service charge. I should add that we also had 5 beers and 2 soft drinks but no wine.

Given the quality of the food, I'd say that this represented excellent value. I have paid the same or more for a good meal but this meal was exceptionally good. I would recommend the Pearl Liang highly,
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Margaret H
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Sunday, January 17, 2010