Pearl is a gem for fast-casual Thai and Vietnamese food
Pearl is a fast casual restaurant surprise within a generic Novato strip mall offering a unique combination of cuisines — Hawaiian poke bowls, fresh Thai rolls and curry, Vietnamese sandwiches and Taiwanese boba tea. With the universally familiar Subway sandwiches on one side and Kentucky Fried Chicken on the other, Pearl offers a welcoming respite from the ubiquitous chain alternatives.
Business partners Tien Lam and Pearl Pongcharoen are celebrating the restaurant’s one-year anniversary this month. Lam splits his time between Pearl and his traditional American breakfast and lunch restaurant, Bacon, also in Novato. Pongcharoen handles the kitchen and day-to-day operations with her husband, Andrew Chaiwong, and brings her family’s cooking lineage from Benecia, where her parents own a Thai restaurant, also called Pearl, that she continues to help manage.
It was a given that Pongcharoen would bring over a few of her favorite dishes from her family’s restaurant, including Thai curry and fresh rolls, but Lam had a few additions in mind that the two agreed were lacking in Novato. The fact that they knew little about putting together a poke bowl or prepping and fusing the proper components of a banh mi was a challenge he says they conquered with extensive experimentation, even going as far as sending Chairwong to Thailand to get some firsthand knowledge on how to make the best boba beverage.
It has been a work in progress that is paying off as the business continues to build.
“We are patient and we work extremely hard, always listening to our customers to find out what they want and then finetuning,” Lam says.
What is clear from the outset is that genuine and hospitable service is a priority, which is particularly helpful when navigating a broad menu. And with an extensive number of poke bowl and boba tea ingredients to choose from, their guidance in putting together a customized meal or beverage is gracious and informative.
An assortment of appetizers includes waffle, French or sweet potato fries ($4); popcorn chicken ($7); shrimp tempura ($8); roti with yellow curry sauce ($8); and pot stickers ($7). Five vegetable egg rolls ($7) are golden, hot and crunchy and elevated by a sweet chili sauce.
During a hangry and brief lunch stop, I jumped straight to the substantially sized poke bowl ($13.50, $16 with three). Choose a base of white or brown rice (Pongcharoen suggested a combo), organic mixed greens or fried wontons. Proteins range from ahi tuna and salmon (again, a combo was recommended), bay scallops and octopus, to barbecued pork
or beef, chicken breast and steamed tofu. These are mixed with ponzu (a sweet-and-sour favorite), Sriracha or mild or spicy fish egg mayo. For toppings, choose as many as desired — corn, jalapenos, scallions, cucumber, pineapple, edamame, pickled ginger and more. Fried egg ($1.50), seaweed salad (50 cents) and avocado (50 cents) are extra. Finishing sauces top it off, and the suggested spicy mayo and unagi tare provided the perfect savory enhancement. Other sauces include Thai peanut, teriyaki, hot sriracha and sweet chili. Most are house-made.
The bowl as a whole is fresh, filling and full of flavor. I’d have to agree with Lam, who later shared that he believes his poke bowl is a step above. “It has the right sweetness and sauciness, and the
special touch that makes it better.”
Brown or white rice bowls offer hot proteins and a mix of veggies. Choose from steamed white meat chicken strips ($13.50) or tofu ($11.50) with creamy coconut Thai peanut sauce, or grilled salmon ($16.50) with unagi sauce, scallions and sesame seeds. Both include an al dente mix of broccoli, zucchini, baby carrots, edamame and purple cabbage. My chicken bowl was vibrant in color, but mild in flavor; maybe a heavier pour of sauce would elevate it beyond plain.
Teriyaki bowls come with chicken breast, barbecued pork or beef, a soft-boiled egg and mixed veggies ($13.50).
Thai curry is a nice and saucy dish combining a protein — chicken breast (13.50), fried chicken ($13.50) or salmon ($17.50) — in a rich, bold yellow coconut milk sauce with onions that seeps into a bed of white or brown rice.
The fresh rolls are a convenient grab-and-go option. A tight rice paper wrap holds organic mixed greens, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, carrots, purple cabbage, glass noodles and furikake served with either house Thai pesto or peanut sauce. Choose fresh ahi tuna or salmon ($11), steamed prawns ($10), avocado ($10), or steamed or veggies tofu ($8 to $9).
As for the banh mi/ Vietnamese sandwiches ($8 to $10), I only had the barbecued pork ( barbecued beef, steamed shrimp and tofu veggie are the other choices) and this is not what I’d go back for next time. The slices were overdone and many were more fatty than I like, but
Pongcharoen’s aunt and uncle’s marinade does shine through. The meat is surrounded by julienned pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, jalapenos and fresh cilantro, and is enveloped within a fresh, toasted Bordonaves sourdough roll swiped with mayonnaise.
Drinks are far from secondary when dining at Pearl. In fact, boba ($4.50, $5.50) is a major draw. Boba is a Taiwanese green, black or other tea-based drink combined with milk (at Pearl, choices include cow, almond, soy and whey protein nondairy creamer) flavored with lavender, cantaloupe or honeydew, among others poured onto chewy spheres known as “pearls,” but also referred to as boba. These are made of tapioca starch that’s extracted from the native South American cassava root.
The Taiwanese beverage and snack is all the rage for some (often those who came of age in the 1990s, when the trend hit its United States stride and became an elixir over which to study and socialize in boba cafes) and a complete mystery for others.
ristinely aligned containers of luminously colored add-ins for the milk teas beckon from behind the clear partition, greeting patrons at the ordering counter. The vibrant, marbled-sized fruit jellies come in flavors like aloe vera, green apple, coffee jelly, lychee and coconut. Juicy popping boba is flavored with strawberry, lychee, mango or passion fruit.
Because the teas are customizable, you can turn your drink into anything from a slightly to thoroughly sweet treat.
But if nothing else, simply adding these little flavor absorbing balls to your next Pearl tea drink can’t help but make the sipping experience more fun.
The hospitable service at Pearl is a source of pride in equal measure to keeping the interior meticulously clean and tidy.
“Details are very important,” Lam says. “I always pay attention to the little details.”
Bright neon colors and Japanese whimsy establish a festive theme. Booths with bright yellow tops and black benches line the wall. A Formica counter hugs the floor-to- ceiling storefront window, where bar chairs with hardwood seats and black steel frames face the parking lot.
Polished gray cement floors have large splats of citron- and orange-painted polka dots. Playful cartoon images adorn the wall — cats, bubble tea, poke bowls and cityscapes — thanks to the high school kids who lent their youthful and artist flare to the premises. Faux pink and white flower arrangements in mini vases are scattered about. Background music varies; Lam intends it to be universally appealing.
Pearl is a breath of fresh air, and a pleasant and satisfying escape from fastfood sameness in its immediate surroundings.
Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer. Send her an email at ij.lbattelle@ gmail.com with your comments or restaurant recommendations. Or you can follow the Marin dining scene at instagram. com/therealdealmarin.