Pearl's Korean BBQ — Restaurant in Maui

Come to find out, Pearl's is owned by Peter Kim, who also owns the Yummy Korean BBQ chain. Not sure why the name changed years ago at this location as the Yummy name still exists on Oahu. Oh well, as long as the food is still the same! He also owns Liliha Bakery and Lahaina Chicken Company.

While Pearl's serves some everyday local dishes that are widely available elsewhere such as hamburger steak and chicken katsu, I choose to come here due to their delicious banchan (side dishes) selections. Why settle for just a scoop mac salad at L&L when you can get 3 more choices here? And the portions are almost twice as big. Hell yeah!

ATMOSPHERE: Located in the QKC food court, seating is indoor/outdoor communal.

MY FAVORITES: BBQ Pork The insanely tender, marinated and lightly barbecued slices of boneless pork just melts in your mouth. The takeout tray is lined with steamed rice, then the grill-hot pork is laid out on top with all of its drippings soaking into the rice. Ahhhh! Then there's the 4 banchans you add to the dish. My favorites are the macaroni salad, bean sprouts, and potato mayonnaise. Huge portion!

BBQ Chicken This has gotten better over the years as it's not as overcooked as before.

Chicken Katsu Geezuz, this is probably the biggest plate lunch in the state! 2 to 3 huge pieces of breaded chicken were perfectly deep-fried and sat on a bed of rice with my usual 4 banchans surrounding it. I have a good appetite, but this turned out into 2 separate meals for me. That's how I like it as I hate small portions! As for the katsu sauce, I always use the Kagome brand bottled sauce as NO ONE does katsu sauce like them. Pearl's version is too tangy for me.

Hamburger Steak This one sorta doesn't belong under "my favorites" as my biggest complaint is that the onions that top the dish are raw. Yuck. I'm sure if I ask they can at least grill them a little. The rubbery patties I can deal with especially since I can get 4 choices of banchan, lol!

Fried Chicken Compared to their other dishes, this one was pretty small in portion size with just 8 pieces of chicken wings (4 wingettes and 4 drummettes.) They're not battered or floured yet were fried perfect and had a nice subtle & savory flavor.

SERVICE: The staff are always friendly and welcoming. The food is fresh, so there will be a wait. I always call in my order and it's ready in 10 minutes.

TIP: Half portion sizes and combos are available.

OVERALL: A little pricey, big portions, delicious food, and that damn banchan bar...

I would give no stars if it weren't for the food. Just witnessed some rude service here at Pearls BBQ Kaahumanu location. It was with an elderly couple. The counter people tried rushing this old couple, yelled at them, and then spoke in another language with other co-workers as if I didn't understand. The elderly couple didn't understand but I did. They were not busy and did not have to rush the elderly couple that had a wheelchair by the way. Of course no manager to speak to, and no comment cards. So here's a review. Have some respect Pearl's...

My favorite place to eat at the mall! Meat junk is good. It I always order the veggie plate because I love the sides. I am docking one star because of the poor attitude of some employees (not all). I was offended when I ordered and they didn't even ask if I wanted chopsticks or fork-- just said "fork, right?" and put it on my tray. One would think that people in the service industry would recognize you can't judge someone by the...