High Pearl

For my brother’s recent birthday, we went to High Pearl.  High Pearl, which I may or may not have mentioned before, is the place my family goes to consistently.  I mean, since the time I was 10 or younger.  I’ve eaten here so many times over the years, but I can honestly say I haven’t eaten the entire menu because we usually don’t switch up our order too much.  (I did, however, come here with friends a few times, and my friends order such totally, completely different dishes, it was really amazing.) 

Shark’s Fin soup.  Please don’t tell me about animal cruelty.  I don’t want to hear it.  I like this soup just fine, though BF will always tell me that he doesn’t understand what’s the big deal, since it doesn’t add much flavor, and it’s little glass-noodle-looking shreds that don’t taste like much on their own.  I don’t know what the big deal is either, but it tastes good, and the rule is, if it tastes good, I’ll eat it.  So I eat it.  With a splash of red vinegar 🙂

Fried tofu stuffed with shrimp (well one small shrimp).  I never liked tofu growing up; it’s something I only tolerate now that I’m older and understand the health benefits to eating it occasionally.  However, I have grown to like this dish just fine, and it’s one of my brother’s favorites.  At High Pearl, it comes with a spicy-ish dipping sauce my brother drowns his in, while my mom just dips lightly in, and I alternate.  Crisp exterior on tofu, pillowy soft tofu insides… good stuff. 

(Honey) walnut shrimp.  I don’t think they put honey on the shrimp anymore.  This stuff is addictive; well, my brother tells me he only orders this dish for my sake, since I adore it.  I love broccoli, for one (tender crisp, dammit).  And for another, I love mayo.  What?  You don’t see the mayo?  Yeah, a lot of places glaze the fried butterflied shrimp with a honey-mayo coating, but this place gives you an entire bowl of honey-mayo-condensed-milk ladled over shredded lettuce.  And this girl?  Well, I’ll take a picture of it next time, but that’s basically “TIWYF” – this is why you’re fat – I spoon that sh*t over my rice and eat it like that.  What?  WHAT?  Don’t you judge me!!!  It tastes good.

(Much like the Frank’s Red Hot commercial, “I put that sh*t on everything!” could be my motto.  But then I’d REALLY be fat…)

I think High Pearl does an excellent job with the shrimp – of course they are fresh and not stinky at all, and keeping the sauce separate ensures the shrimp was still crispy and crunchy (and helps the mayo-averse eat this with peace of mind)… and I dip the broccoli in the sauce too.  (BTW, I’ve actually all but given up eating shrimp, unless it’s mixed into something I’m already eating, so it speaks volumes that I still eat this shrimp dish.  And it isn’t for health reasons or anything like that, I just don’t tend to like the way shrimp tastes.) 

Of course you have to have veggies, and this is Chinese broccoli sauteed with garlic.  Good stuff.  They always do a good job with the veggies – crunchy, crisp, cooked enough not to be bitter, but delicious… I love their sauteed veggies, I’ve probably eaten every single choice from that section of the menu. 

Red style beef.  Or something.  I never know the name of this dish, but it’s really good.  A slightly sweet sauce, tons of near-raw onions (which I love the crunch… mmm), the tomato, the pineapple, I love this dish.  Cut into a tender piece of steak and eat it with rice… drizzle a little sauce over your rice (unless you’ve drowned it in mayo, then you might want to refrain, though I have mixed both before… hahaha), and you’re good.  Delicious. 

This time around, we tried a new fish dish.  I liked it fine enough, but I don’t remember the name of the fish, and I like the other kind we usually have (black sea bass, simply steamed) much more, but that’s personal preference. 

Salt & pepper pork chops.  Solidly delicious once again.  Dusted with flour then deep fried pork chops… sooo good!  Seems plain and simple, and it is, a bit, but delicious.  And see those little green chiles on the bottom of the plate?  You can take that and eat them with bites of the pork.  If you like that sort of thing, of course.  🙂

Last but not least, clay pot filled with bubbling liquid… tofu pieces, fish pieces, and lots of veggies.  This has to be one of my brother’s favorite dishes because he nearly always orders it.  I usually pick at parts of it but forget to eat it because it’s always too hot in the beginning – the dish arrives literally boiling as it sits there – and by the time I remember, it’s all but gone.  Good stuff though, generally fresh and very tasty. 

As you can see, we were aiming for 8 dishes as a good luck sign for his birthday.  This was a meal with 4 people in attendance.  You know what that means, right? 

A lot of leftovers for lunch…

Yvo says: I’ve been here so many times over the years, and taken a lot of pictures (these are the ones that came out the best, honestly)… I’ve never written about the place for a few reasons, one of them being I don’t really want to share it with anyone else.  They get plenty of business as is and I don’t need to share this place with the foodies of the world.  Nyah.  But also because I’m always there, and you’re likely to find me there on any given night, stuffing my face; who needs to see that???  And now I’m being nice and sharing, but please don’t take my table, because I will be very unhappy…
highly recommended for Cantonese cuisine