It’s been quite the wait, but as we mentioned earlier, Pearl Castle in Richmond Centre has finally opened! They’ve been open since last Thursday, and I finally got a chance to go check them out yesterday.
Pearl Castle is an immensely popular bubble tea joint in Richmond, and you’re almost guaranteed to have to wait in line if you attempt to go at night at around 10 or 11. Although many people prefer other bubble tea places, such as the popular Dragon Ball Tea House, Pearl Castle is consistent, they have great bubble tea as well as great food.
The new Pearl Castle in Richmond Centre is a franchise of the original one, which made me skeptical because I wasn’t sure if they just bought the name, or if they actually intended to faithfully recreate the original Pearl Castle.
From the outside, the new Pearl Castle looks quite swanky; you’d never be able to tell that it used to be the old Kin’s Farm Market! The decor is bold and vibrant, giving the restaurant a clean, modern look. The patterned wall on the left hand side of the restaurant constantly changes colours, producing a nice dynamic effect. The restaurant is also fairly deep, although it’s hard to tell in the pictures. They’ll also be open a bit later than regular mall hours, where they will presumably use one of the outside doors instead of the mall entrance.
Even though they just opened, the service is marginal, which is expected of a Chinese restaurant. The tables are setup well, and it looks like they should be able to accommodate fairly large parties by grouping the tables together.
This Pearl Castle uses the exact same menus as the original, so it’s safe to assume that whatever you used to crave at Pearl Castle will continue to be available here. They don’t currently have any take-out menus printed, but, again, I assume it will be exactly the same. Unfortunately, I was not able to try every item on the menu, so I tried a few dishes that I’ve had before at the original Pearl Castle, for comparison’s sake.
For the bubble teas, I tried the Rose Oolong Tea, Chocolate Frappe, Lychee Frappe, and my personal favourite, Jasmine Green Milk Tea.
I’m not a big fan of Rose teas, but my sister in-law that ordered it liked it very much!
Both of the frappes were quite good, with the chocolate frappe being fairly sweet.
The pearls in the lychee frappe seemed to be unusually hard, not the nice Pearl Castle consistency that I’m used to, however, it could have just been due to the coolness of the frappe.
My Jasmine Green Milk Tea was very great, and tasted exactly like the original Pearl Castle made it.
For food, we ordered the classic Chicken Nuggets, the Taiwanese Meat Sauce on Rice, and the not-so-classic Ginsing Chicken Hotpot.
The Gingsing Chicken Hotpot was a new dish to me, but I was pleasantly suprised. It had a nice mild flavour, with no over powering flavour of ginsing. It seemed like the perfect winter dish.
The Taiwanese Meat Sauce on Rice came, as suspected, with a few cold sides and a small jelly for dessert. The meat sauce itself was simple, well flavoured, and decently meaty; the perfect snack if you’re not quite feeling super hungry.
The Chicken Nuggets was the real test, as Pearl Castle is one of my favourite places for Deep Fried Chicken Nuggets. The afternoon had been going quite well so far, and, thankfully, the Chicken Nuggets were no exception. The meat was tender, juicy, and well flavoured. Usually, I’m scared that the Chicken Nuggets will accidentally contain a piece of cartilage, but this time, all I got was lean meat!
Overall, the Pearl Castle at Richmond Centre is a great copy of the original. Next time the wait is too long at the Sexsmith Pearl Castle, head over to Richmond Centre, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Their hours are supposed to be Monday to Saturday, 9:30AM - 12:00AM, and Sunday, 11:00AM to 12:00AM, however, they have a sign that says their ‘current’ business hours are Monday to Saturday, 9:30AM to 11:00PM, and Sunday, 11:00AM to 11:00PM.
Five Loaves Rating:
Value: 8/10
Quality: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Verdict: A faithful recreation of the original Pearl Castle, great food and great bubble tea!
Pearl Castle (Richmond Centre)
6551 No. 3 Road
Richmond
V6Y 2B6
604-279-0177
Monday to Saturday, 9:30AM - 12:00AM
Sunday, 11:00AM to 12:00AM
