Pearl Dragon

Been coming here since I was about 6 years old and it’s still the best Chinese in the area by far! Am gutted the takeaway has shut next door but appreciate with prices and inflation it had to close. The Dim sum menu is awesome (on par with Chinatown in London) and I also love the roast duck 🦆. The service is great and so friendly. This place is an institution in Southend… always a winner. My only feedback is play some traditional Chinese music instead of English pop music? Would be a better vibe. And they need to start taking online orders instead of on the phone, it is 2023 after all! Come on guys get with the times please for us younger generation…nobody wants to be shouting a food order over the phone.

Lived in Southend all my life and this was my first visit to this restaurant and won't be my last. Service, food atmosphere was amazing. The food was fresh and delicious. We didn't book and it is reservations only but they managed to fit us in which was amazing. When we left the restaurant was full. One of the best chinese restaurants I've been too. Worth a visit!

The dim sum there was surprisingly delicious, in fact in my opinion it is much better than most in London. We went there for late lunch on a lovely weekend, the door said "reservation only", but we tried our luck as it wasn't too busy around 2pm, the owner gave us a table. Staff was friendly and paid attention to details. The prawn paste stuffed eggplant with black bean sauce was delicious. Glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leave was moist and tasty. BBQ pork buns and Cha Xiu (BBQ) rice noddle rolls were nice. Beef balls can be a pass. Two of us had 5 dim sum together which was quite filling. The final bill was GPB 34 which is much better value than others in London. If one happens to visit Southend, worth to try. Parking was a little challenge on the weekend, we were lucky as someone was leaving. A nice stroll by the water after a satisfying meal would be a bonus.

The best choices in the region for authentic Cantonese dim sum. You could find more special dim sum if you visit here on Sunday, including Crispy Fried Dough Stick, Egg Custard Tarts, Char Siu Pastries etc. The deep fried cuttlefish cakes are really recommended. Staff are generally nice and price is fair.