Pink Pearl — Restaurant in Vancouver

Subject: Worst Experience Ever at Pink Pearl Restaurant

I swear to God and assure you that every word in this review is bloody true.

Our group of 11 friends, including a few visiting from Singapore for the Pride Event, visited Pink Pearl on a Sunday morning for Dim Sum. What started as a simple gathering quickly turned into an incredibly distressing experience.

As we began ordering, an elderly waitress approached one of my friends, accusing them of not paying for a meal from three months ago, back in April 2024. My friend was part of a group of four on that day, and after confirming with the others, they all distinctly remembered settling the bill. Despite this, the waitress persisted with the accusation.

Throughout the meal, two additional waitresses approached my friend, repeating the same issue. My friend’s partner calmly suggested that they allow us to finish our meal before discussing the matter further, especially since we had international guests visiting Vancouver for the first time. We also pointed out that had this been a business meeting, it could have caused significant disruption. Another member of our group reiterated that we would be more than willing to address the issue once the meal was concluded.

A short time later, the manager arrived and claimed to have footage showing the group from three months ago leaving the restaurant without paying, all while "laughing cheerfully." Are customers expected to cry after enjoying their meal? Annoyed, my friend’s partner requested that they show the footage, and if proven, they would gladly pay the outstanding bill.

Rather than resolving the matter peacefully, the situation escalated. Five minutes later, to our shock, the police were called to the restaurant. After all the interruptions that ruined our meal, this was the final straw. The police politely asked us to leave the restaurant, as per the owner's request. I was literally in the middle of chewing my food when an officer tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to leave.

After discussing the matter with the police, we were still required to pay both the previous bill and the one for our current meal, which amounted to nearly $500 in total. The cashier even had the audacity to ask if we could leave a tip.

Despite being long-time customers who have supported the business, we were treated like criminals accused of dining and dashing. Our group of 11 was well-dressed and conducted ourselves with respect throughout the ordeal. We never raised our voices, even as the restaurant staff repeatedly disrupted our meal with baseless accusations, without providing any evidence. In the end, they got their payment, but they lost 11 customers, including several regulars. This was, without a doubt, the worst service experience I have ever encountered. Even if my friend had forgotten to pay the bill three months ago, why couldn’t they simply wait until we finished our meal before addressing the issue?

This experience was not only unprofessional but deeply disappointing. Pink Pearl lost more than just payment that day; they lost the trust and loyalty of...

Pink pearl goes back to the days when Vancouver Chinatown was THE centre of the Chinese community and was quite successful because of its proximity to much of the Chinese citizens before the spectacular and rapid rise of Richmond for all things Chinese. They had lots of worthy competitors like Flamingo, Peninsula etc but managed to survive because of its proximity to China town, large size which accommodates the large Chinese weddings and banquets and its decent food. Well the food has NOT evolved like most other decent Chinese restaurants and remains just ….. huge proportioned. This dependence on size first - which was the way Chinese restaurants used to compete to attract the western clientele ( Hey, let’s save some money, let’s have good, cheap Chinese food tonight!!) is very apparent in their dim sums. Each dim sum morsel is huge and packed with as much stuff as they can manage to squeeze in them. So lots of their dim sums have thick skins and lots of carbs! Har gow, Siu Mai, in thick skin, low baak Ko (daikon cake ) at least twice as thick as what’s served elsewhere, rice rolls - (wow such a huge platter), beef balls also huge, but honestly, they were all very acceptable tasting even though the purist dim sum connoisseur will scoff at my quite plebeian taste! Shrimp toast? Yeah, greasy but it’s got so much shrimp on the toast, it was a bit of caloric treat! The same with the egg custard tart - which are NOT that big as I’d have expected from the size of the other dim sums - but sooo good and in a soft flaky shell. Then the piece d’resistance for me - beef offal! Yup, disgusting beef innards which I love, but which was so tasty! Never mind the cholesterol and Uric acid, I loved it and the bowl was filled to overflowing with all this goodness! Yup, the mark of Pink pearl - everything is huge. So best if you are going to go there, you pace yourself in your ordering as for sure you’re gonna over order like I did! Had to get 4 carry out containers - thank goodness they only charge a quarter each! But no such mercy for the XO sauce - $4.95 for a tiny saucer! Heck, I could get a whole bottle of cheap XO sauce at a grocer!! And that..😎is why I cut the one star off their rating. Hmmm… getting picky in my old...

OH PINK PEARL!! It's my favorite dimsum place of all time. I've been coming here since I was a kid. The service is great. Very attentive, especially since we've been long-time customers. They are so friendly with us and always treat us with kindness and like family.

My family and I ordered the durian mochi dessert, and it was delicious if you like durian. The stir-fried pea shoots with garlic, always a classic, and a perfect side of vegetables. The deep-fried taro dumpling, the crumbs of it are so tasty, and I always pick it off the plate. The taro and meat combo goes well, and it's a pretty big bite. The siu mai(steamed pork dumpling) and har gow(steamed shrimp dumpling), a classic. Always a must in ordering at dimsum. Delicious and you can never go wrong with it. Also big in portion. The XO daikon, it comes in little cubes. And I normally get the daikon in the big rectangle size, but decided to try their xo style. It's very tasty, but if you like spicy, you can ask for extra spice. Deep fried squid, my favorite dish since I was a kid. I haven't seen it anywhere else, and I'll always order 2 to share with the family.. but mostly for me! The deep fried tofu with shrimp, with some sweet chili sauce. It always comes out hot and burning, but once it cools, it's very soft to eat, and the sauce helps the tofu taste. Football dumpling!! Also, a favorite of mine. Greasy and has some meat inside. It's chewy, and every bite of that is perfection. The meat balls aren't bad ! I'm not a fan of too much greens, as it gets overwhelming for me. But the meat itself is good. Lastly, the spareribs, mmmhmm, always steaming hot and a must get as well.

Honestly, I love this place and highly recommend it. It always feels like home, and the food always hits the spot. I love you...