If you're looking for Cantonese food and dim sum in Duluth, Georgia, East Pearl Seafood Restaurant is one of my favorite places to go.
East Pearl is also a little sentimental for me. My grandpa was Cantonese, and when he was alive, this was his favorite Cantonese restaurant. He lived to be 99! So beyond just loving the food here myself, I have a lot of good memories tied to this place and eating Cantonese food with my family.
I've been coming here for years for everything from dim sum lunches to family-style dinners, and there are certain dishes I find myself ordering over and over again. They have a huge menu with dim sum, seafood, noodles, stir fries, clay pot dishes, and plenty of traditional Cantonese options.
One thing I especially like about East Pearl is that it works for a lot of different occasions. You can come in for dim sum and order a table full of little dishes to share, grab one of their very affordable lunch specials, or come for dinner and order several dishes family-style.
Here are some of my favorite things to order!
A quick note on the photos: I've eaten at East Pearl many times over the years, both dining in and ordering delivery, so some of the dishes pictured are served at the restaurant while others are shown in their takeout containers. The presentation may look a little different, but they're all dishes I've actually ordered from East Pearl.
Dim Sum at East Pearl
Dim sum is definitely one of the reasons I keep coming back to East Pearl.
If you haven't had dim sum before, it's basically a meal made up of lots of smaller dishes meant to be shared, so it's even more fun when you go with several people and can order a little bit of everything.
These are some of the dishes I've ordered and recommend:
Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow / 虾饺)
Har gow is always one of my must-orders at dim sum. These are the translucent steamed dumplings filled with shrimp, and I pretty much expect them to appear on our table every time.
Pork Shumai / 猪肉烧卖
Another dim sum classic! Shumai are open-topped steamed dumplings with a savory pork filling. If someone is trying dim sum for the first time, har gow and shumai are usually two of the dishes I tell them to start with.
Shrimp Rice Noodle / 鲜虾肠粉
This is the rolled rice noodle dish you'll often see called cheung fun. Soft, silky sheets of rice noodle are wrapped around shrimp and served with a savory soy-based sauce. This is another one of my favorites.
Pork Bun / 叉烧包
Soft steamed buns filled with sweet and savory char siu pork. These are filling, fluffy, and especially good if you like that slightly sweet Cantonese barbecue flavor.
Mix Beef Tripe / 牛杂
If you like tripe and other braised beef offal, this is a great one to try. It's tender, savory, and has that rich, deeply flavored braised taste you get from traditional Cantonese dim sum dishes.
Pork Ribs / 豉汁排骨
These steamed pork ribs are cooked with black bean sauce, which gives them a salty, savory, slightly funky flavor. They're super tender and one of those classic dim sum dishes I always think is worth ordering.
Chives Dumplings / 韭菜虾饺
These dumplings are filled with shrimp and Chinese chives, so you get that fresh, garlicky chive flavor with sweet shrimp inside. I really like these when I want something a little different from regular har gow.
Radish Cake / 萝卜糕
Radish cake is made with daikon radish and rice flour, then pan-fried so the outside gets browned and slightly crisp while the inside stays soft. It's savory, comforting, and especially good with a little chili sauce.
Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice / 糯米鸡
Sticky rice is wrapped in a lotus leaf and steamed with savory fillings inside. The rice absorbs the aroma from the leaf as it cooks, and the whole thing is warm, hearty, and very satisfying.
Tofu Skin Wrap / 腐皮卷
These are wrapped in tofu skin, which has a chewy, slightly springy texture, with a savory filling inside. The tofu skin soaks up the sauce really well, so this one has a lot of flavor.
Eggplant Shrimp / 釀茄子
This is another favorite if you like eggplant. Pieces of eggplant are stuffed with shrimp paste and cooked until tender, so you get soft eggplant with a bouncy, savory shrimp filling.
Sugarcane Shrimp / 蔗虾球
This one is especially fun. Seasoned shrimp paste is formed around a piece of sugarcane and cooked until golden. The shrimp is savory and springy, and the sugarcane adds a subtle sweetness and aroma.
Don't Skip the Lunch Menu
East Pearl is also one of my favorite places for an inexpensive sit-down lunch.
Their lunch menu basically gives you two different directions you can go in. There are familiar Chinese-American takeout-style dishes, but there's also a section with more traditional Chinese dishes.
I almost always gravitate toward the latter.
On our most recent visit, we ordered Chinese Eggplant in Garlic Sauce and Salt and Pepper Squid.
Chinese Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
If you know me, you probably already know that I love Chinese eggplant.
The eggplant is tender and coated in a savory garlic sauce that is SO good with steamed rice. It's one of those dishes where the eggplant absorbs all of the flavor from the sauce, which is exactly what I want.
If you're an eggplant fan, I definitely recommend this one.
Salt and Pepper Squid
We also got the salt and pepper squid, another one of my favorite types of Cantonese dishes. This is my husband Chris's favorite!
The squid is fried and seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and aromatics, so it's crispy and savory without being covered in a heavy sauce.
It's great alongside something saucier like the eggplant because the two dishes are completely different but work really well together.
The lunch entrees also come with rice and soup, which makes them an especially good option when you want an easy sit-down lunch without spending a ton.
What I Order for Dinner
While dim sum gets a lot of attention here, I wouldn't limit East Pearl to dim sum.
Their regular Cantonese menu is HUGE, and one section I particularly like is the clay pot dishes. Their current menu includes a long list of clay pots with combinations of seafood, beef, pork, chicken, tofu, vegetables and more.
My favorite of ALL times is is the:
Aged Fish with Chicken / 咸鱼鸡粒茄子煲
This is the dish I especially recommend if you're going for dinner.
Despite the English menu name Aged Fish with Chicken, 咸鱼雞粒茄子煲 is essentially an eggplant clay pot with pieces of chicken and salted fish.
The salted fish gives the whole dish this intense savory, umami flavor that works SO well with the tender eggplant. It's rich, salty, fragrant, and exactly the kind of dish you want spooned over hot rice.
It's one of those dishes that I don't see people talk about nearly as often as dim sum, but it's probably my personal favorite thing at East Pearl.
I'm sorry I don't have a picture for this! I know I have one somewhere but I can't find it but trust me it is SO good.
Another tasty dish:
Pan Fried Beef Chow Fun / 干炒牛河
Another dinner favorite is the Pan Fried Beef Chow Fun / 干炒牛河. This is a classic Cantonese noodle dish made with wide rice noodles, tender beef, bean sprouts, and green onions, all stir-fried together until everything picks up that savory wok-fried flavor.
I love ordering this when we're getting several dishes to share because it adds a really satisfying noodle dish to the table. The noodles are soft and chewy, the beef is tender, and it goes really well alongside seafood, vegetables, and clay pot dishes.
What Should You Order at East Pearl?
If it were your first visit and you asked me to pick the meal, I'd probably get a mix so you can try a little of everything.
For dim sum, I'd start with har gow, pork shumai, shrimp rice noodle, char siu bao, and radish cake.
If you're ordering from the lunch menu, I highly recommend the Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce and salt and pepper squid.
And if you're going for dinner, get a few dishes to share and add a clay pot - especially the Aged Fish with Chicken / 咸鱼雞粒茄子煲 if you like eggplant and salted fish.
Is East Pearl Worth Visiting?
For me, definitely.
East Pearl has been one of my go-to Cantonese restaurants in the Duluth area for years. I love that I can go there for traditional dim sum, stop in for an inexpensive lunch, or bring people for a bigger Cantonese dinner and order everything family-style.
The restaurant isn't just a dim sum spot, either. That's probably the biggest thing I'd tell someone going for the first time. Explore the regular menu too.
There are so many Cantonese dishes beyond the dumplings and buns, and some of my favorite things I've eaten there - especially the clay pots - aren't dim sum at all.
If you're looking for Cantonese food or dim sum around Duluth and Atlanta, East Pearl is absolutely one of the restaurants I'd put on your list.
Got questions or comments? Drop them below!