Reviews for Thai Pearl Restaurant in Asheville, NC
Good food. I got the chef's special spicy stir fry on a level 3 (of 5) but it wasn't spicy enough for me. Would try a 4 next... time if you like spicy. It had great flavor though. The calamari was fried perfectly. Read more
Fantastic food the chef Sui is incredible .She knows how to win the heart of a man, she's very nice, and very generous. it's one... of the best Thai food I can eat outside of Thailand and I know what I'm talking about. I used to live in Thailand in the '80swhere it was great and genuine authentic food. Great soup tom kha, and pink soup. The currys from Penang I had with crispy tofu,squid, it was very good, full of flavor. I don't understand, some customer, wrote terrible reviews. I'm sorry for them they hadthat bad experience. All in all I did not expect to find this quality of food in Asheville outside of Thailand or New YorkCity. Keep up the good work. ???????? Read more
The server was very friendly and nice. For food we started off with the crispy calamari rings which was good. We enjoyed the... hints of lemon and pepper and the sweet chili sauce. However there was a bit too much breading and some of the rings stucktogether into a big clump. Next we got the Pad See-Ew with shrimp which was okay. The shrimp was very tender and fresh howeverthe Pad See-Ew tasted a little too sweet and oily. Then we got the Eggplant Basil with pork which was also okay. The pork was abit dry and burnt and I think the burnt taste from the pork affected the rest of the dish and caused it to not taste asintended. In the end I would definitely be willing to go back and try some of the chef specials like the wild ginger currynoodles and hopefully give Thai Pearl a better review like the ones I saw before we visited. Read more
Drunken noodles, Tom kha soup, secret wife with chicken, papaya salad and pad Thai. Wow we ordered too much food, each portion... could feed 2 people. Prices are affordable, food is fresh and so well seasoned. The veggies aren't soggy, fresh rolls are crazygood and crisp. This is the best Thai food I've had in North Carolina. Read more
Best Thai food I have had! We tried so many dishes (larb salad, papaya salad, drunken noodles, green curry, wild ginger curry... and Tom Kha), they were all fabulous. Our surprise favorite was the papaya salad. We frequently order papaya salad when we getThai and the Thai Pearl rendition blew us a way. The food is perfectly spiced, super fresh and complex but not heavy. Theservice was absolutely lovely and just the right amount of attention. Read more
Thai Pearl is a disrespect to Thai culture. I've lived in Hong Kong, and spent a considerable amount of time traveling in... Thailand. I was told this was a fantastic Thai restaurant in Asheville. And when I saw they had Boat Noodles (Kuay Tiew Reua),and Yen Ta Fo on the menu - two very specific dishes that are rarely on a Thai restaurant's menu unless it is fairly authentic -I got very excited. First, we ordered fresh rolls. A simple item commonly found on many restaurant's menus which is hard to getwrong. When it arrived, I was shocked. The rolls were stuffed with raw red onion, and iceberg lettuce. Neither of which istypical in a fresh roll, and honestly made the dish taste more like a southern coleslaw without the sauce than anythingelse. Second, we ordered the Boat Noodles and Yen Ta Fo. The Boat Noodles arrived. In the photos I've included, you'll see whata typical Boat Noodle soup should look like (reference the very professionally shot photo), and the soup from Thai Pearl(reference the soup photo which is not very pink). The first red flag was the broth. Boat Noodle soup typically has a thick,hearty color. Instead, the broth was practically clear and utterly flavorless. And again, there were typical southern vegetablespresent which should never be in a Boat Noodle soup. The bowl was scattered with tons of sliced and julienned carrots. (Why??? Imay never know.) The Yen Ta Fo looked far closer, with the tell-tale pink present (reference the photo of a fairly pink soup).However, the pink or red food dye used was where the resemblance ended. One of the staples of Yen Ta Fo is the presence ofcuttlefish. Not only was this absent, but again, there were tons of carrots present in a dish which has no carrots in it. Icertainly did not enjoy my meal. However, the saddest thing for me is that this is what the people of Asheville are introducedto as exemplary Thai food. Thai food has an incredible complexity which is a joy to experience. This was an embar Read more
This was my second time trying Thai Pearl and I wish I could say it was worth the money, but it was just overall disappointing.... Everything is EXTREMELY over priced for the amount of food you get which seems to be a repeated complaint here. This was apicture of my shrimp and vegetables- half filled and barely any vegetables :( I always want to support local restaurants, butunfortunately after spending $21 on this I won?t be returning. Read more
Food was very tasty and portion sizes were large enough for half to be taken home. Paneang Curry and Seafood Basil Fried... Rice. Will definitely be back. Read more