As we are currently unable to visit our favourite restaurants, takeaways have become a regular treat for us during this extended period of time at home – and I’m rather happy about it! We had been craving a Chinese takeaway for a few weeks, so when we found out that Pearl of the Orient in Farlington were extending their delivery radius we had to place an order.
Pearl of the Orient is a small family Chinese takeaway & delivery business who have been around for almost 30 years, offering traditional Cantonese, Peking & Szhechuan dishes. They are located in Farlington, currently offering an extended delivery service to local postcodes. It was our first time ordering from here, so we were curious to see what the food was like.
I often find that Chinese takeaways can be a little hit & miss, especially when it comes to trying new places – so, I’m very pleased to say that our takeaway from Pearl of the Orient is one of the best we’ve had!
As we do with most Chinese takeaways, we decided to order all of our usuals to compare against other places. It’s a reliable tried & tested method!
We ordered a shredded chicken chow mein (a classic!) which was incredibly fresh and not at all greasy. Far nicer than most chicken chow mein I’ve eaten previously. It was a generous portion, with plenty left over for the next day!
I also opted for a portion of spicy deep fried chilli salt chicken – something I’d never tried before, but couldn’t resist! I’d say this is basically Chinese fried chicken – and you know just how much I love fried chicken! This chilli salt chicken was delicious, and a new firm favourite of mine. Crispy, with just the right amount of salt & spice – this was addictive and I couldn’t stop eating it. I most definitely ate more than my fair share!
Next up were some classic appetisers – spring rolls and prawn toast. Two of our favourite things to eat! The prawn toast was excellent – stuffed with chopped prawn and fried to perfection. They were filled with a lot more prawn than we’re used to, which was fantastic – great value for money.
We tried both the duck spring rolls and the vegetarian Peking spring rolls – both were incredibly crispy and tasty. I’m not sure which I preferred!
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We always like to order a couple of saucy dishes to share, so on this occasion we ordered a portion of Hong Kong style sweet & sour chicken alongside beef with green peppers & black bean sauce. I personally don’t like any sweet & sour chicken – but Tom assured me it was very tasty.
The beef with green peppers & black bean sauce was excellent – this is always a favourite of ours, and the offering from Pearl of the Orient was no exception.
A portion of egg fried rice was also a must for us, and this was a good one – perfect for soaking up those sauces.
All in all, this was an excellent Chinese feast – and exactly what we needed after months of craving a good Chinese takeaway. We were really impressed by Pearl of the Orient – their food was obviously all incredibly fresh, and so much more delicious than other Chinese takeaways we’ve tried. Their delivery service was also great – our food arrived after about 40 minutes, which was much sooner than we expected given our distance from the restaurant. (We are right on the very edge of their delivery radius!)
As I type this, Pearl of the Orient are currently not offering collection orders and are delivering to an extended delivery radius – which includes PO6, PO7, PO8, PO9, PO3 & PO2 (call them to double check if they will deliver to your postcode, as it may vary). A delivery charge will apply, which may vary depending on your distance from the restaurant – however, we actually found that our order (even including £5 delivery fee) came in at a far cheaper cost overall than our local Chinese takeaway. So, as well as being speedy & delicious, I’d say Pearl of the Orient is great value for money too.
If you live in Portsmouth, Farlington, Waterlooville or the areas inbetween, I’d really recommend ordering from Pearl of the Orient the next time you fancy a Chinese takeaway.
You can find their website & menu here, and all orders & payment are taken over the phone, on 02392 380380.
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