Pearl Bayview Chinese Restaurant

I personally haven't been to Bayview Village in North York for quite some time and when I did go, it would be rare for me to actually sit down and some food there.  Most of the restaurants there I have tried and have eaten there before however Pearl Bayview Chinese Restaurant was a newer restaurant that had opened in that mall approximately one year ago.

There were about ten of us and some of the people that were there had eaten there many times before and said this place came highly recommended.  The food they said was fantastic and they had a little bit of everything to satisfy the tastes for all ages.  Although the prices of the food might be a little pricey, the quality they insisted was there was off we went to give a world.

The first plate to arrive was the Peking Duck.  Like many of the Peking Duck servings in many of the Chinese restaurants, the entire duck is used to make personal hand wraps and cabbage mixtures.  The duck skin and outer meat, its wraps, oyster sauce and onions were brought out first and at first glance, I could tell that the duck meat was of top quality.  The skin itself was nice and thin, perfectly glazed and there was little to no fat in the meat.  Some places just grab any duck and serve it without actually checking the fat content. When one is eating the wrap, the last thing one wants is a mouth full of oil and fat.  By choosing a lean duck, it made the Peking Duck wrap much more enjoyable.

Peking Duck

As mentioned, right after we finished our wraps came the cabbage wrap.  With carrots, duck meat and zucchini in the mix, this was a very refreshing following the regular wraps.  Once again, I really enjoyed how pure the overall texture of the entire mix was and how little grease was inside everything.  The cabbage leaf was grand and crispy and held onto all of the contents.

Peking Roast Duck with Asian Cabbage

The Deep Fried Filet made its way onto our table shortly afterwards.  The fish was crispy on the outside and was enjoyable to see the chefs used as little batter as possible to make sure that the focus was on the fish itself and not so much on the exterior.  There was also a secondary sauce that came with the fish which really enhance the overall flavor of the fish.  The fish meat was steaming hot on the inside and the fish was perfectly cooked.  It was a great dish to have a great alternative for those who did not want to have steam fish for the evening.

Deep Fried Filet of Sole with Sweet and Sour Sauce

The next two dishes that arrived were similar in nature however one was certainly better tasting.  The first was the Ginger Chicken which is very commonly served in many Chinese restaurants.  The skin of the chicken was nice and smooth and there was a good portion of meat on the chicken.  The ginger chicken, albeit ordinary and easy to make was served to perfection.

Ginger Chicken

It's cousin dish was basically the chicken mixed with some hot peppers and onions on top.  I'm not actually too sure about the actual name as I am not 100% if this was on the menu or was this dish just made up off the top of our heads.  It almost had a tangy mango taste to it and there was also definitely some hot peppers mixed on top of the chicken as well. It was a little spicy but not so spicy.  It made the chicken more delicious and juicy. In my mind, this chicken was better than the Ginger Chicken.

Chicken Sauteed with Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

The next one was a very special Fried Eggplant and Pork with Spicy Sauce.  I'm calling it this although again I'm not too sure if this one of their extra special dishes that were not on their regular menu.  Normally, most restaurants would be serving this dish with minced pork meat, however in this dish, the eggplant was there however it was served with pork soft bone.  It was certainly very different than how other restaurants would prepare it.  There was a certain spiciness to it as well.  The pork bone was crunchy where the cartilage was located and the meat was nice and tender throughout.  There was plenty of sauce and the sauce was quite heavy in flavor. It was an amazing dish in my mind.  I just wish I got the actual name of the dish.  If someone out there knows, let me know.  It was certainly top notch and one of the best dishes to have that evening.

Fried Eggplant and Pork Bone with Spicy Sauce

The original rice order I believe was the Fried Rice Mixed with Chinese Sausage and Seafood however I believe that there were people who could eat seafood that night and so it was removed.  Still, what was left was absolutely amazing.  The fried rice was perfectly fried as it was not over fried to a point where it was super dry.  The chefs made special care to make sure that there was still some moisture left in the rice.  Sprinkled with some green onions and Chinese sausage, it provided a perfect blend of flavor of meat and vegetables inside the bowl of rice.  One thing I also noticed was that it was served in a hot pot and not on a plate.  I think this really help preserved the taste and moisture in the rice and made it a much more enjoyable rice to have.  This was one great alternative to a simple bowl of white rice as I would highly recommended.

Fried Rice Mixed with Chinese Sausage

If one is not interested in pork, they also serve a lot of beef dishes and in this case we had a sauteed beef and eggplant served in hot pot.  This dish was made similarly to the pork bowl dish 2 dishes before except in this dish were pieces of beef and large blocks of turnips immersed into a beautiful rich meat sauce served inside a hot pot.  The dish was not as spicy as the previous hot pot dish and was a great alternative to all the non pork eaters.  With all the broth, one could also use the broth to pour some into any rice bowl to give your own rice a more meatier flavor.

Sauteed Beef & Eggplant in Hot Pot

With so much meat, it was great to have a Baby Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce vegetables to go with all the food for the evening.  The only problem I had was that the vegetables were served as the last dish.  It might have been better had it been served somewhere in the middle to go with all the meat that was served however it's always better late than never. With a lean piece of chicken laid on top of all the carrots and baby bok choys, this was quite a marvelous dish to have.  The bok choys were all fresh and crunchy and the broth went well with the vegetables.

Baby Bok Choy with Garlic Sauce

It was certainly a great night with great friends and with great food.  What I really enjoyed the most was the lack of greasiness and MSG in all of their foods.  One could tell that the chefs really tried hard to remove much of the oil in their plates while at the same time still preserving that wonderful taste in the food.  Although some of the foods were simple and really hard to present it with much more flair, I would certainly go back as the decor was nice, the staff was friendly and service was prompt.  Overall I give it a 4.75 out of 5.

Pearl Bayview Chinese Restaurant
Bayview Village Shopping Centre
2901 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario

416-226-1233