4707 Year of the Ox @ Oriental Pearl

January 26th, 2009 · No Comments

Oriental Pearl (Chinese New Year 2008/4707)

current President of the Chinese community — a GaTech graduate

Happy New Year!!! My family has close ties with the Chinese/Asian community here in Atlanta (my dad has close business ties with the region). As such, I had to tag along to the yearly Chinese lunar new year celebration dinner held the Saturday before the lunar New Year. This year, it was held at Oriental Pearl. This year marks the 4707th year of the lunar new year. This year’s event is the biggest so far with 38% more in attendance: a total of 180 people. A surprisingly low number considering there are hundreds of thousands of Chinese here in Georgia.

The evening began with some speeches from the notable officers of the organization. Dinner was supposed to start at 6:30pm but we didn’t get served until close to 7:30. I’m used to it so I was smart enough to eat a snack prior to arriving. Good move on my part.

The 10-course dinner started with the Crab Meat Fish Maw soup. The soup was so bland I had to “re-cook” it myself — dousing it heavily with red vinegar, copious amounts of salt, and about 2 teaspoons of pepper. Still no taste. After 2 spoonfuls, I conceded defeat and abandoned it altogether.

Next, came the beef and Chinese broccoli. The beef was tender and the broccoli was crispy yet the dish didn’t really jump at me and make a lasting impression. Passable, if at all.

The Shrimp with Roasted Walnut was probably the one and only winner of the evening. The shrimp were plump and fresh with just the right amount and consistency of the mayo-based sauce. The roasted walnuts added texture and slight sweetness to the overall taste. Delicious.

Dinner service is interrupted as a young lady performs a Chinese fan dance on stage. A good way to pacify hungry people who are waiting for the slow kitchen that is so slammed at this point. The performance ends and still the kitchen isn’t ready. More performances. This time, from two teen-aged boys who wows us with their prowess of hip-hop and break dancing. More speech from the emcee and dinner resumes.

The Baby Chinese Vegetables was actually quite good. It had baby bokchoy in a chicken broth garnished with dried shrimp. The saltiness of the shrimp gave flavor and contrast to the bland broth and vegetables. I liked it.

The Spareribs with Peking sauce was actually Porkchops which was even better. Tender porkchops were battered, crispy deep-fried, then topped with a Malaysian-flavored sweet and sour Peking sauce. Good, but the porkchops had way too much batter.

The Grouper Fillet with Special Bean Sauce came next. The fried and battered fish was so chewy our entire table thought they were squid at first. It was also tasteless and the fish didn’t seem very fresh.

The Steamed Chicken looked so appetizing. It was a whole chicken sliced beautifully then topped with white sauce then garnished with Chinese broccoli. One thing I hate about steamed chicken is that some places can’t get it right. Tonight, they didn’t. Though the chicken was tender, it was also flavorless. Worse, the leg and thighs were so undercooked. Gross.

The most abominable dish of the evening came in the form of the House Special Fried Rice. This fried rice was so awful. First, the rice is so undercooked, you can taste the raw rice. Second, there just wasn’t any flavor. Like the chef forgot to season it. Now if a Chinese restaurant can’t get its fried rice right, then they have no business being a Chinese restaurant. I can still taste its awfulness in my mouth.

At this point, I’m thinking that everything just didn’t have any taste at all. I was right. The Black Mushroom with Prosperity Delicacy (baby cabbage) was a gooey mess of black mushrooms with some tentacle-looking things on a bed of baby cabbage in a thick chicken-broth-based sauce. No taste. Soft and chewy.

The last dish served, supposedly the best for last, was the Double Lobster with Ginger and Scallion. Now, would it be too much to ask that a dish be seasoned before being served. This is another bland dish. Too bad, the lobster was fresh out of the tank.

I have never liked Oriental Pearl. Back in the late 80s, my parents used to take us here for dimsum when we were kids. Back then, they served good authentic food. Really good food. But back then, the owners were different. It has changed owners and names several times since then. Now, it’s gone down hill. We haven’t been back in a while and we don’t intend to come back. None of the attendees that evening liked the food especially the respectable elders. In fact, none of the people there ever go to Oriental Pearl to eat. It’s probably the reason for the low turnout. But the organizers got a good deal so it was held there.

Still, the camaraderie among everyone more than made up for the awful food. And the event was very well organized. There were prize giveaways and a raffle. I even won a lucky envelope filled with a lucky coin. Best of all, it was fun. I had fun. It’s nice to see how other cultures celebrate.

The scoop:
5399 New Peachtree Rd
Chamblee, GA 30341
(770) 986-9866