Lucky Pearl Cafe — Restaurant in Crystal

My 1st visit was a Friday night 5pm. I didn't know you order at the register and then sit down, so instead I stood at the door for 5-10 min with no greeting. I figured it out after people came in after me, and ordered at the front. I would've sat down and waited but all the tables were dirty, full if plates and left over food. It wasn't even busy, and there were workers just walking around. The group that came in after me grabbed the cleanest table, brushed off some rice on the counter and sat down. The gal at the front went straight to preparing the last order without even acknowledging me. Since there were no clean tables and lack of customer service, I left. Maybe it was a bad night, whatever.

2nd visit, gave it another shot. Saturday at lunch time I showed up. Again...half the tables were dirty, no one cleaning it. Let's at least try the food. They had the typical hmong deli options on the menu. I ordered, found a semi clean table in which I grabbed some extra napkins and wiped it off myself. The food arrived in cheap plastic plates you buy at a dollar store when ure throwing a typical hmong party at your house. The food was nothing special. Tastes just like the stuff u get at any deli. But the service was soo bad and the atmosphere, cleanliness and cheap silverware didn't make this a pleasant experience. I barely finished my food, cleaned off my own table and I'm never coming back. Felt bad for the gal up front cause she tried to do her best, while a few workers around her just walked back and forth from the back to the front ignoring dirty tables. There are cleaner tables and better service at the Hmong Market and...

I've heard so many great things about this restaurant and knew I needed to give it a try. This restaurant is a serve yourself dine in experience. You basically order whatever food they have ready and then some will be made on demand. But you basically grab your own utensils, drinks, Napkins, and etc.

I didn't have the best impression on my first visit to this restaurant. There was nothing that really stood out to me about their food that was a "must try". So if I were to give this review solely based on my first time there, it wouldn't have been so great.

I thought that I'm going to try eating there again. Mainly because they were close to a relatives house and I was hungry. I'm so glad I decided to give them another try. This time around, their food was phenomenal and I finally understood the hype everyone had mentioned about their food. I was even nervous at first when I ordered the papaya salad and there was a younger lady making it. IYKYK. The papaya salad was sooo good. It had the perfect combination of sweet and sour for me. The papaya itself wasn't too soft or too hard. And the pork belly was "chefs kiss". It was cooked to perfection. The fat melted in your mouth and the actual meat wasn't tough or chewy. Now this is a must stop place for me if I'm in...

Update: My husband actually likes going here. We recently got pork belly laab and papaya. It was delicious!! They allow you to choose your pork belly which is nice. The papaya was very good. Pleasantly surprised that I loved the flavor compared to last time I went here back several months ago. Wish the papaya had thicker slices though. Can’t wait to come back again. :)

— Original: We’ve had the deli food a couple times now and the food is fine. It’s not life changing good but we like that its close by and convenient! I love that they include a lot in their papaya salad. Not just the papaya, sauce and few tomatoes. I think the last time we did take out, it was someone who made the papaya and it was more bitter and had more of a crab taste. It was just different from what we’ve had in the past. Ask for very spicy if you’re a fan of spicy food! Has a good kick. However, if you ask for just “spicy” then it is like mild spicy for some reason. I recommend their kaopoon! The pork belly is not that crispy as we would like but satisfies the craving! The staff members are friendly. :) Im hoping they add more to their menu in the future! Or switch it up...