The Boarding House and The Pearl were sold by the Raynors to Blue Flag Partners in 2019, and after the pandemic and some remodeling, they re-opened this spring. The Boarding House does not have any on-line presence, because they no longer take reservations. You just show up at or after 5:30 to have dinner with them.
The new version of The Pearl is less formal than its predecessor (no tablecloths) and very friendly, as evidenced by the substantial crowd dining there on Thursday. While the menu has some similarities to the old Pearl (our 2013 review is linked here), the menu is definitely the creation of the new management. They do not mention their chef’s name in their publicity, however.
The menu has some similarities in style to the old Pearl, including the Salt and Pepper Wok Fried Lobster, now with a Market Price of $80, and the 60-second steak and eggs ($33) share plate. And the menu is divided as before in 5 Snacks, 8 Shares, and 6 Entrees, but it is rather briefer than its predecessor.
What is very different is the style of the new Pearl. The staff are warm and friendly, and the diners all seem to be having a good time. The austere blue décor has been replaced with tan composition table tops, with napkin settings including both silverware and chopsticks, emphasizing the style of the new Pearl as Asian Fusion.
For our visit last Thursday, we selected two snacks: Lobster Rangoons ($27) and Heritage Pork Dumplings ($25). We did ask how much the Wok Fried Lobster was, and it turned out to be $80, but our waitress told us we would be happier with the Swordfish Katsu ($49) instead.
We also asked her whether, with these two starters, we would still need to order two entrees, and she said no, suggesting we could always add in another Share such as the Spring Pea Fried Rice ($25). So, we ordered that too.
We got the Lobster Rangoons first, and –a word of warning—these come right out of the fryer and onto your plate, and are full of hot steam. Don’t bite them directly: cut them open first. They are excellent.
Our Heritage Pork dumplings came second, and considering how dark the sauce was, it seemed more likely to contain black bean sauce than the specified red chili oil. But again, they were very good.
The Swordfish Katzu is a very interesting idea. It is basically swordfish breaded with Panko crumbs and deep fried. It doesn’t specify any sauces in the preparation. However, by deep frying the swordfish, they have solved the problem of dried out swordfish, which is all too common in other preparations. The swordfish was tender and juicy unlike any other version we’ve had. It was served with green goddess curry, spring peas, and mint.
Unfortunately for variety, the spring pea fried rice was rather similar, so we probably should have picked a different side dish. It came with chorizo and mushrooms, cured egg, crispy garlic and mint, but the peas and rice predominated. We show the two items plated below:
Finally, we chose two desserts, Cooper’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies, with sea salt and almodn milk to dip them in ($10) and Miso Caramel Budino ($12) with coffee syrup, milk chocolate crunch, candied ginger and crème fraiche.
The Budino was outstanding! Our bill was right around $200 including tax and $5.16 “kitchen appreciation.” Definitely a good deal for the evening.