China Pearl Restaurant – Farragut Tennessee

This winter has been ‘tough’ so far here in east Tennessee.  We did have a couple of inches of snow that melted away 2 and a half days after it fell.  The cold temperatures have been replaced by temperatures in the 50s at night and 60s in the daytime.  We may even reach 70 degrees at some point!  It looks like we’re going to have at least 10 days like this… Winter here sure beats what we experienced for year after year living in Chicago!

Decent temperatures and no snow combine for great winter weather to go out and eat with friends…

Note: I failed to take an exterior photo of our dinner destination, China Pearl Restaurant in Farragut Tennessee.

This is Morrie and Jodie, our friends and neighbors who joined us for dinner.  Like us, when they retired, they ‘escaped’ from the north-country and fled to East Tennessee.  In their case they came from even further north…Minnesota with its brutal winter weather!  Note the smiles!

Morrie snapped this photo of Laurie and me… It took a couple of tries in order to catch me with a smile of sorts.  I’m just not good when it comes to posing for photos!

Laurie, Jodie and I all started out with a cup of China Pearl’s Hot and Sour Soup. ($1.95) (No photo) It is one of our favorite soups and we almost always order it with our meals…

For her dinner, Laurie ordered Chicken in Szechuan Sauce. ($10.50) The sliced chicken is sautéed with fresh garlic and wine with bamboo shoots, mushrooms and other vegetables in the spicy Szechuan sauce.  Laurie really enjoyed her meal!

It’s worth noting that China Pearl has been in operation in Farragut Tennessee for over 22 years now.  There has been a recent change in ownership but I think that both the depth of the menu and the quality of the food has improved.

Jodie chose the Kung Pao Chicken for her entrée. ($10.50) The marinated sliced chicken was sautéed with red peppers, vegetables and peanuts in a spicy Kung Pao sauce.  Jodie was very happy with her meal!

FYI, service was very efficient and friendly.  Our waitress kept our water glasses filled as well as our pots of hot tea.  She checked back regularly to ensure that our food was satisfactory and/or if we needed anything else.

That big bowl of brown rice accompanied our entrees.  Between Morrie and me we ensured that no rice remained when we were done!  Those wonton crisps are a bit addictive and I should just skip them but they’re served gratis as soon as you sit down at your table.

Morrie ordered the Sweet and Sour Chicken. ($10.25) Breaded chicken breast chunks are deep fried to a golden brown and served with vegetables and a sweet and sour sauce.  He really liked his entrée and he cleaned his plate!

I strayed from my usual entrée…the Chicken with Broccoli.  Instead I opted to try spicy Malaysian Curry with Beef. ($11.25) The beef is slow cooked for 4 hours and it’s seasoned with Malaysian curry powder and spices.  The good news for me was that the bell peppers, which I don’t like, must have added at the end before serving.  I didn’t detect the pepper’s flavor at all!  I really liked this curry dish.  That spicy sauce went well with brown rice too… I would order this meal again.

By most accounts, good Chinese food is almost as rare as hens teeth here in East Tennessee. (We don’t count P.F. Chang’s or Pei Wei Asian Diner as ‘real’ Chinese restaurants) So far, China Pearl is the best we’ve found but I do have 2 others on my ‘must try’ restaurant list…

China Pearl is in the Kroger Marketplace Shopping Center near Campbell Station Road.  The address is 115 Brookhaven Street.  Phone: 865-966-6936.  Website: http://www.chinapearlknoxville.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see what we had for dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave