Pearl on the Point restaurant review: East Perth yum cha joint on point with fresh feasts of dumplings

Consider, if you will, the lifespan of the har gow. After being lovingly handmade in a kitchen, the Cantonese dumpling is placed in a steamer basket with four or five of its best mates to enjoy a trolley ride around a restaurant. Then the morsel is deposited on a table before being stabbed with chopsticks, dunked in chilli oil and devoured whole. Har gow one minute, gone the next. Perhaps I’ve watched poignant Pixar animated short Bao too many times. Maybe it was the monosodium glutamate. I couldn’t help thinking about the humble dumpling’s journey from preparation to consumption at dim sum diners during a recent Saturday lunch with the family. Two minutes after being seated at Pearl at the Point, a somewhat upmarket yum cha restaurant in East Perth white elephant On The Point, our table was heaving with steaming bamboo baskets and dishes loaded with Cantonese delicacies. Chinese tea ($3 per person), a bowl of chilli oil and another of slightly acidic red vinegar joined the party on the white tablecloth as Rosie and Hugo went about decimating the global population of har gow and its even less glamorous cousin, shumai. The Collins clan has always loved yum cha, partly because you don’t have that long delay between arrival, ordering and food hitting the table — a delay that can seem like an eternity when you’ve got a hangry toddler. A quickly delivered steamed barbecue pork bun to the gob does a far better job than a pacifier. The only issue is if there’s a long line to get into said dumpling joint. Our previous visit to On The Point, when Pearl was called 8 On The Point under different ownership, was on a Sunday, when many Chinese families traditionally catch up over a yum cha feast. The line was long and the wait for a table epic. Luckily, there’s a half-decent playground neighbouring the complex where I could sit on a swing and ignore the chaos. On this Saturday, there was no wait. Within minutes we were feasting, Myra taking in the Swan River while I had my own water views thanks to the tanks full of fish, crays and crabs. I could also see into the bustling kitchen thanks to a glass partition wrapping around the pass. Pearl on the Point sits somewhere between Crown Perth’s Cantonese fine-diner Silks and the best of Northbridge’s yum cha joints. The East Perth pearler boasts white tablecloths, porcelain teapots and, most importantly, freshly made and super tasty dumplings, baked treats and other Cantonese fare. To be honest, I also showed no mercy for the aforementioned har gow — dumping the dumpling in chilli oil and savouring the fresh prawn inside the gelatinous wrapper. The crispy yellow prawn dumplings, served with mayonnaise, are a favourite of young and old. Again, Pearl’s arrived hot straight from the kitchen. Staples of any dim sum lunch in the chicken and chives pan-fried dumplings and steamed pork and prawn shumai were also winners. The pan-fried beef bun, a new menu item, was very peppery and had lovely puff pastry. This tasted so much like my beloved pepper steak pie at the Rottnest Island bakery that I almost called for a bottle of tomato sauce. Myra’s favourite, the barbecue pork pastries were also top notch. Excellent pastry, and that sweet ‘n’ savoury filling that hit the spot. The barbecue pork buns are always a good measure of a dim sum restaurant, and Pearl’s are super fluffy, encasing a decent proportion of sticky mix. We usually let the kids have all the buns, but these were so good that we had to join in. The Shanghai dumplings, or xiao long bao, were bigger than usual with half a dozen per serve. The soup inside was good, especially with an acidic hit from the red vinegar, but the meat filling was bland. I prefer the ones freshly made at Juicy Bao Bao in Northbridge. While barbecue pork buns and xia long bao are important indicators, the ultimate factor in judging a yum cha outlet is the Official Squindex™. How good are their salt and pepper squid tentacles? Pearl on the Points looked the part. A nice big plate, sprinkled with chilli and coriander. The batter almost a tempura, super crispy and sitting slightly off the tentacles, which were toothsome. They were slightly oily. Very good but, again, I preferred the ones at (now sadly defunct) Northbridge restaurant Little China Girl. Myra and I cleansed our palates with a glass each of 2011 Thompson Estate sparkling chardonnay pinot noir from Margaret River. I mention this specifically because our generous pours of this excellent wine offering citrus and brioche only cost $10. A bargain. Keep it to yourself. Before you ask, yes, we had some greens. The traditional token kai lan with oyster sauce. Moving on. We finished with a couple of Portuguese egg tarts, which had that lovely caramelisation on top, creamy filling and crispy pastry. Beyond the odd delay, service was of as high a standard as the food. Pearl on the Point is a little pricier than your suburban or Northbridge yum cha, but not much. Dishes range from $7.80 for small plates up to $11.80 for extra-large, while chef’s specials veer closer to $20 a pop. With Little China Girl no more, and Wall of China-length lines outside the thriving Roe Street enterprises, we’ll be heading to this isolated pearl for another dumpling demolition. The dim sum of all fears. Won’t someone think of the har gow! Pearl on the Point 306 Riverside Drive, East Perth OPEN Monday-Friday: lunch 10.30am-3pm, dinner 5.30pm-10pm. Saturday-Sunday: lunch 10am-3pm, dinner 5.30pm-10pm. CONTACT 9325 5555, pearlonthepoint.com.au BOOKINGS Yes THE VERDICT Far better than average yum cha in a huge room boasting either river or fish tank views. Excellent dumpling game, solid squid and impressive wine list. Add this pearler to your dim sum rotation. 14/20