If you're looking for a family style meal, look no further. Mama Lu's is always a good idea and each dish is always packed with flavor and well seasoned. I've been at the Tustin location, too and service has always been fast and friendly there but I know this one might be a bit on the busier side so you might have to flag down the servers more. Bustling and casual environment. I always come to Mama Lu's with my partner and his family and we always enjoy our meal. What we got: - Pork dumplings - a must - Spicy wontons - that chili sauce is addicting. I love how it's topped with peanuts - Pan fried pork buns - crunchy on the outside with delicious filling on the inside - Green onion pancake - pretty standard, could be a bit crispier - Seafood pan fried noodle - i love the fried noodles! the veggies go well with it too - Chicken with corn soup - light and hearty - Fish with seaweed (fish and chips) - lightly battered, one of my favorite menu items - French style beef tenderloin - another favorite menu item! each beef tenderloin bite was like tasting a bit of heaven. the mushrooms were a really great addition to this as well - Egg tofu topped with mushroom - i like this sauce more than the one on the seafood pan fried noodle - Yang chow fried rice - a good base to get so that you can eat it with all of the other food we got I have no complaints at all besides the parking situation and the long wait time, especially during lunch hour but it's not their fault the food is so good that they're busy! Hoping to come back soon. read more

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Poor service. Food was very so so. The tea drinks were great. Their conditioning may have been broken or if it was not they need to upgrade. read more

Mama Lu moved to a new location. The location is much more spacious. service is quick. The food is affordable and portions are large but it's not that delicious. I would rather eat the Ying Chao fried rice from Lunasia and the beef roll from noodle Street over mama Lu's. read more

This place is a perfect spot for a meal with your family! Plenty of seating and so many menu items to choose from that everyone will surely be satisfied. My absolute favorite items were definitely the house fish fillet and the xiao long bao. Everything was delicious and the service was so quick too! I definitely recommend this spot if you're ever in the area read more

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I usually go to the location in Monterey park and I always order the house fish filet, always so good there! I tried out this location and the dish looked completely different. It was not fully cooked, my friend and I were able to taste and see uncooked batter, it also just looked super pale on the outside. We didn't finish that dish at all. We ate the dumpings and wontons but they lacked a lot of flavor, and just tasted off. My friend got really sick later that day. read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - House fish filet - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Fairly busy on a Sunday noon. Usually go to the SGV ones but happened to bed in the area. Got the food quickly. 1. Xiao long bao: good as usual. Better than DTF 2. Seafood crispy noodle: doesn't taste the same or as good as SGV. Didn't like the fish cake 3. Westlake soup: overall good 4. Steamed chicken with green onion: a little salty but flavor was still good. For some reason it came this red onion. They did remove it from the bill when we asked about the green onions. Overall 3.5. Not sure if the recipes have changed or it's just this location. Would rather go to SGV location read more

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Finally a good Chinese spot in Old Town!! Mama Lu's has everything you would expect and want from a dim sum restaurant. Apart from the dumplings (which I found to be on the priced end at more than $1/piece), the portion sizes are huge. The hot and sour soup could've easily fed 4 people and came at a very reasonable price of $13. I loved the enoki mushroom with tofu...that dish alone is enough for me to come back. Service is scarily efficient. All four dishes came out within 10 minutes of ordering, and the table was being cleaned up before we even got up and left lol. read more

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Everything here was so delicious, packed with flavor! The restaurant is clean, the food portions are huge and the food was brought out quickly. They are located within walking distance of the new Olive Young k-beauty store which is awesome!!! You can make a whole day date out of this area to shop, eat and drink. My favorite dish was the Mongolian beef! It was soooo good, cooked to perfection! Would definitely return and be looking to see if they have other locations closer to Orange County. read more

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Very big servings. I highly recommend the dumplings! They are delicious! Everything else has to be seasoned to your taste at your table by yourself. The eggplant was very flavorful though didn't need much seasoning because of the sauce. The rice was a bit dry and definitely needed seasoning. Wonton soup was also in need of seasoning. Pork Dumplings $10.99 Shrimp fried rice $15.99 Won Ton soup $15.99 Eggplant dish $15.99 Service was good when you get their attention. Seems like they don't ask you if you need anything often. Otherwise I did a lot of flagging servers down. Place is casual and busy. Parking also a challenge. Public parking is $1 for the first 2 hours, if that helps you. Street parking is an option but we had no luck. read more

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My eldest daugther and I were heading to the Jackaloupe Arts Fair held at Central Park in Pasadena. We parked at Schoolhouse Parking Garage. On our way out of the parking garage, we saw Mama Lu's Dumpling House. They have relocated to another space where 85 Degrees Bakery used to be at the corner of Fair Oaks Ave and Green St. I feel they made a very good decision in the move. We ordered to-go via self-ordering kiosk and got an order of Green Onion Pancake. It was simple and easy to manuever through the screens. Inside space is very comfortable and airy. Lots of room for more capacity. Staff was nice and attentive. Once order was ready, they brought it to us. It didn't take them very long to make the item. Thank you Miss! Green Onion Pancake was flavorfully good. Not too oily with the perfect amount of crispiness. Definitely a keeper! I haven't dined in at this new location. I will need to come back and dine-in once again. Hopefully, they have elevated their flavors since the last time I ate here. Thanks Mama Lu's! read more

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My family group of 6 adults ate at the Pasadena location of Mama Lu's (61 S. Fair Oaks). This was my 1st time. They sat us at a small table for 6 people right by their front door & in front of a blowing fan. The table looked too small to hold all of the 8 dishes that we would be ordering. I asked for a larger table, but they said the table for 10 would be too large. There were several larger empty tables. The restaurant was not busy. As it turned out, our table was too small to hold our 8 entrees. The server wasn't even sure herself on how or where to put our orders on the table due to a lack of space. We had to combine several of our entree dishes onto 1 plate to make room on the table. The service was terrible because no one would check up on how we were doing, & no one would take our mountain of extra dirty serving plates away. Staff were standing around instead of being attentive. We got up & brought the many empty dirty serving dishes to their main counter ourselves. We had to ask for water refills because no one came to see if we needed anything. They then had the audacity to automatically charge us an 18% service fee ($19.83) for their bad service. The bill totaled $139. Tipping is NOT optional, even for bad service! The food tasted OK, not great. The facility & restroom was clean. Available street parking was very hard to find on a Saturday at noon. The Pasadena location was a big disappointment & a bad experience. I will not return, & I do NOT recommend eating there. It was not enjoyable. NOTE: The Chinatown location of Mama Lu's has excellent & very friendly service, larger tables, better tasting food, & an adjacent free parking lot. I highly recommend that facility. I've always had a good experience at that location. read more

I decided to come back here again because their beef wraps are so yummy. It looks like they also remodeled the place since I was last here and it looks much nicer. We were seated quickly and got our order taken. The food came out fast and just like last time the beef wraps were delicious. I also ordered the spicy wontons and those were tasty. The only thing I hope for the next time is ac because it was a little toasty in there. Overall I'll come back the next time I visit Cali! read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Beef wraps - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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I went to lunch with my family. This restaurant has been my favorite restaurant since it was in Garvey Ave. However, the store is always crowded, and it is difficult to park in the parking lot, most of them were delivery. The taste was the most delicious, and I ordered it again and again. This is the first time I visited a store in Pasadena. The inside of the restaurant was very clean, the server felt good, the food came quickly, and the serving was good, so I was very satisfied. But there was a little noise. I think this place is always delicious and my favorite place. It was a recommended restaurant that I would like everyone to visit. read more

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Mama Lu's in Pasadena completely lived up to the hype and then some. This ended up being one of those meals where every single dish hits, and you leave already planning your next visit. We ordered a variety of dishes to really get a feel for the menu, and everything came out fresh, flavorful, and well executed. The beef rolls were crispy and flaky on the outside with a savory, tender filling that disappeared almost immediately. The dumplings were packed with flavor, juicy, and perfectly cooked. The beef steak was incredibly tender and seasoned just right, and the seafood udon was super comforting with a generous amount of toppings. The fried shrimp had that ideal golden crunch without feeling heavy or greasy. One of my favorite surprises was the fried tofu. It had that perfect contrast of a crispy exterior and soft, silky inside, and it soaked up the sauce beautifully. Such a simple dish, but done really well. And of course, the xiao long bao were the highlight. Each one was filled with rich, flavorful broth that bursts when you bite in. Definitely a must order. The restaurant was busy, which says a lot, but service was still efficient and everything came out in a timely manner. It's a great spot to come with a group so you can try a little bit of everything. Overall, I would absolutely come back. If you're in Pasadena and craving solid, satisfying Chinese food, Mama Lu's is definitely worth a visit. read more

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My favorite Mama Lu's dumplings House is expanding to Pasadena . It is located in the neighborhood of Old Town Pasadena. Came to have dinner after we did some shopping. I'm always craving for dumplings. It was 4 of us so we ordered few dishes to share. The menu is about the same and now they have a drink menu with different Oolong tea and Green Tea! Of course, we ordered the XLB, Pan Fried Dumplings . These two will never disappoint. We also ordered Seafood Udon with XO Sauce, Deep Fried Prawns Egg Tofu woith mushroom. All these dishes are high recommended. The deep fried prawns were very crispy topped with the fried wonton chips, very similar to Walnut Shrimps. The udon cooked with the perfect texture, I love that they added fish cake! Egg Tofu woith mushroom was my fav. dish of all! It had great flavoe and love the assorted vegetables. The soft fried tofu and snow peas are my favorite. Street Parkings available with meter. Max is 2 hours, costs about $2.15. Or you can park in the structure which they have one at mostly every block. It does cost a little more for all day. or you can pay every 15 minutes. read more

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Went here on lunch. No fucking ac, don't come in summer. It's hot as hell and still included 18% tip in your bill. Food is ok, don't order dim sum they sucks . read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Shitty ass fans - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

If you're undecided on if you should come here and see this review. DEFINITELY GOO!! The food is fire. We got 4 items for 2 and that was enough to fill us up with left overs. Also the shrimp pork dumplings. A MUST read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

I must have ordered all the wrong items. The fried dumplings were greasy, the filling was hard and not fresh. The steamed/boiled cabbage and pork dumplings had no cabbage and the pork was not fresh. The beef roll had lots of beef, it was just ok. The veggies were ok, overpriced for the amount but too greasy. Mama Lu's used to be the GOAT of dumplings. Unfortunately, they seek to suffer from the same tired curse that a lot of Chinese restaurants suffer from. Starts out great and things get stale. Staff give you the vibe that they just do not want to be there. Ambience is tired and restaurant is on the dirty side, just like the food. This is not Old Pasadena vibe. read more

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Great lunch experience! Nice booth great company and wonderful food! Seafood noodles, dumplings, string beans and free peanuts! Washed down with FREE HOT TEA! read more

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Had Mama Lu's Pasadena recently for delivery on a Friday night and it was just ok. I've had Mama Lu's at the original location several times in the past, before their expansion and it was always good. This wasnt that. Again, this was for delivery... On Friday night, after a long work week. We ordered beef udon with xo sauce ($19.75), salt & pepper chicken wings ($18.75), honey garlic pork chop ($19.75) and beef wrap (roll?) $15.50. The beef udon had a bit of spice that was a little too much for me. The noodles itself had a good chew to them. The beef had good flavor but the dish was a little too spicy for me overall. The salt & pepper chicken wings lacked flavor and was heavily battered. Not that much chopped up chilis & green onion with it. The honey garlic pork chop just wasnt for me. You see it and it looks like salt & pepper pork chop but its not. The sweetness threw me off. Just some fried garlic thrown on top... Not a fan of this dish. The beef rolls, as i know them, from the original location looked like a 'lite" version of what I've come to expect and have had from Mama Lu's. There was not as much meat as typical, not as much cilantro which was fine by me but also some of the rolls didnt have the hoisin sauce. That's what gives it the finishing flavor... There was also none given on the side. Bummed cause I was craving it. Just disappointing. Maybe it would be better eaten there but like I said, I've had Mama Lu's before and this was far from the experience I was used to having. Didnt order the XLB cause this was for delivery and we'd rather not sacrifice the quality. read more

This is a great location, conveniently located across the street from a parking structure that is super reasonable. I believe it was a dollar for the 1st hour or two hours and then two dollars for the following hour. Once I was seated, I was immediately greeted and set up with a complementary hot tea and peanuts that are lightly fried and perfectly seasoned balance of a salty sweet. This makes it feel like a very traditional dining experience. I also ordered an oolong milk tea! Everything is served family style, what we ordered to share with the honey, garlic, pork, chop, juicy pork, dumpling beef, frappe, and spicy wontons with pork and shrimp. These dumplings are delicious and juicy. There's not one thing I did not enjoy! The tables are set up nicely and everything was clean. They were hosting several large parties during this holiday season. It was a busy Friday evening so I was happy to get seated right away, but shortly after there was a waitlist, so come with the patients. read more

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It'll always drive me to write a review, when all these restaurants with ever increasing menu prices don't provide the most basic of supplies to enjoy these meals, like how much is giving a lil Soy a lil vinegar and a lil hot sauce gonna increase your overhead cost..... such a disappointment that the restaurants with most tenure fail at the most basic part of customer service. Need rolls were disgustingly without the sauce, just a heap of hot oil dough and beef not in a good way. read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Dryest most basic bland dry dumplings I've ever had, the worse is the insult to not include any sauces for a 100$ + meal. - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Food was good and had large portions. We ordered the juicy dumplings, chow fun and fried chicken. All were freshly served and tasty. The service was of course- not accommodating, but that's what you get. We didn't get water refills and their air conditioning was not working (it was 100 degrees outside). We had asked for a fan and one bus person gave it to us- to have the server move it away to another area. Good food, bad service, affordable and hot as hell. read more

I love Mama Lu's so much. It's my go-to comfort spot. I came here with my friends who live in the area and I've never been to the Pasadena location before. We ordered some of my favorites: -Crispy pan fried noodles with seafood -Beef Chow fun -yang chow fried rice -seaweed fish -ha gow -sauteed green beans You can never go wrong with the crispy fried noodles. They're so flavorful and crispy at the same time. and it comes with so much seafood and bok choy so you're getting your veggies in. The beef chow fun was addicting I couldn't stop eating the noodles. The flavor was just too good. I also was very surprised at their yang chow fried rice. The pork meat was so good and the rice was perfectly cooked. If you haven't tried the seaweed fish it's a very unique dish I recommend if you like fried fish, this is a very tasty fish. It's green but it tastes so good. I love ha gow, you can never go wrong with a shrimp ball steamed in rice paper. And always gotta get the green beans in for that veggie dish. The green beans are flavorful and crunchy in the right places. I had a really great time. It's honestly really fun to come here with a big group of people to enjoy a really delicious family style Chinese meal. They also give free peanuts for appetizer and serve jasmine hot tea which gave me so much energy for my dinner! The service here is also really nice the waiters and waitressses are so friendly and helpful. You can always get a refill on your waters and tea. There are also a selection of drinks to choose from. I'm on a no sugar diet because I've been having too much sugar lately or else i would have ordered more! ALSO park across the street! There is a lot for $1 for 2 hours and addition $2 for another hour I think. I ended up only paying $3 for 2 hours and 15 min. Had too much fun at my dinner. read more

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Came here after the Dodgers game on Halloween and it wasn't too busy thankfully so we got seated right away. We parked in the garage on Green St which is $1 for 2 hours. The interior was clean and pretty spacious and my first time at this location. I've been going to the locations in Monterey Park for years so glad there's one closer to me now. My bf and I ordered the beef chow mein, salt and pepper pork, spicy wontons and green onion pancake. They came out pretty quickly overall. I thought the beef chow mein was just ok, a little too much gravy and the noodles could've been crispier. The portions are great for the price especially the salt and pepper pork chop. Everything was good, not great but that's totally ok especially for the price in Pasadena. I think they're moving locations but it's close by so will likely be back again. read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Beef chow mein - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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I don't usually write reviews but my experience with mamá Lu's is utterly despicable. First of all, it took me and girlfriend forever to get service. It seems that they prioritize Asian patrons rather than quote on quote, " outsiders". It's really disheartening especially when you have been to other Taiwanese restaurants with good atmosphere and really great service. Lastly, there food seemed to come out of the kitchen uncooked as my stir fry noodles came out cold in some parts. That same day I had horrible food poisoning after for the first time ordering the fried shrimp rice. Overall, the place felt like they could not control how a busy restaurant should be handled. read more

Late lunch with mom and sister. My sister was craving dumplings so we walked in to try it here. The dumpling place before was really good. We discovered that this place is more of a Chinese food than dumplings. We tried the two on the menu and their hot and sour soup. They tasted ok. It was busy on a Saturday afternoon. Customer service was ok. The Chinese food nearby tables looked good. We will come back and try it. As far as dumplings we didn't like it so much. read more

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Came back in after a few months to see how things tasted. Came in at 1:00pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Service was very quick from staff. Location is very light, bright in the new location. I ordered dim sum and it took about 15 minutes to come out. Nice and hot but lacked a little flavor from when it was up the street at the other location. Their selection of hot sauces is good so I was able to spice up the dishes. Men's restroom was OK but my wife said woman's room had a leaking toilet and smelled very bad. I spoke with staff about the changed location thinking maybe there was a change in ownership. They said all was the same as before as far as ownership and staff. Not sure why but just isn't as good to me. I'll probably give it another try in a couple of months. Somewhat disappointed because I really liked it before. read more

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Mama Lu's Dumpling House moved south on Fairbanks to the northwest corner at Green Street. The food is still great as usual and is brighter and cleaner too. We were able to find street parking, but there is also a parking garage across the street. read more

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I got their beef noodle soup. I was excited to try it. But it was disappointing lol 1.5/5

I know they are not all related, but every time I've eaten at a 'Mama Lu's', it has been good. This particular location used to be Chef Tony Dim Sum. It was very good but Mama's looks to be just as popular. The XLB Soup Dumplings are juicy. The Pork & Shrimp Spicy Wontons are excellent and the Beef Noodle Soup is also very good. On one occasion, I asked for low sodium soy sauce and they gave me a few packets. On another occasion, they gave me a bottle. The service is a bit inconsistent but, It won't take you too long to get something if you need it. I do like how they serve hot tea without request. I've been here a couple of times now and I will be back. read more

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prices here are pretty good tbh, we got just the two dishes and with tip paid $30. The mapo tofu was very yummy and def needed rice but it was soo good but definitely spicier than I can handle. The rice cakes were solid and flavored and the vegetables in it were also good. the hot jasmine tea is yummy and the nuts are randomly sweet which I wasn't a fan of personally read more

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Really liked the spacious interior and good service. Every time my family is craving fried fish with seaweed we come here because this the only place that makes it perfectly. We enjoyed the soup dumplings and a variety of other dishes. Reasonable price for the quantity. read more

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Ambiance was OK, nice store. Food was good, especially the chow fun with mushroom and extra vegetables. Service was poor.

Oh that fresh Chinese food real smell is often salivating and endearing, whenever I come back to Mama Lu's Dumpling Restaurant in Old Pasadena. I chose to keep coming back and tonight ordered the same old Yang-chow Fried Rice, with some bacon, shrimp, egg and nicely cooked in light oil and served abundantly. I also ordered the steak with mushrooms to satiate my starving soul of that Hokkien or Fujian smells and tastes. Oh boy, Mama Lu's pot never fail to satisfy my cravings and play with my stomach rollercoaster for the night. Often, it's never easy to decide to have Chinese food for the night because of the perceptions laid on nutrition, obesity and health impact but having the Mama Lu dishes washes all these negativity. So, I ordered a balancing dish for the night, fish fillet and vegetables...walla... white fish probably pollack and lightly cooked broccoli, garnished with carrots, spring onions and the like. The brocolli and other veggies was crunchy to the bite and sweet to the tastes, it does takes me back to my grandmother's time when she would cooked for days and quietly serve a hundred hungry animals (satire) who would eat every morsel ... LOL. So, if you find yourself moaning from Chinese food, don't go to the usual chain restaurants, go for the real thing and enjoy a Mama Lu's Dumpling locale. Oh by the way, their servings are huge and am sure you'll head home with takeaways and extras for whatever you order at Mama Lu. read more

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We met up with some family members at this spot for brunch. We were quickly seated (I think the rainy weather was a factor as to why people weren't really out and about in Pasadena). The staff was friendly and attentive and quickly took our orders once ready. They also delivered hot tea and a small serving of nuts as an appetizer. Initially we tried to order the Pork Soup Dumplings (not available for order), Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice, Seafood Udon noodles with XO sauce, French Style Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms, Shrimp and Broccoli, and Sauteed Vegetables. We were a bit disappointed with the lack of Pork Soup Dumplings but honestly everything else was pretty tasty. The food came out pretty quickly and was pretty decent for portion size. Each dish was pretty flavorful and unfortunately I am a bit sensitive to spice (there were a few peppers in the noodle dish along with quite a bit of seafood items , but enough to add a hint of spice). The rice was as good as advertised with a decent amount of chicken and fish included. The beef dish with mushrooms was well prepared and also a good proportion of meat to mushroom and a delicious sauce. The shrimp and broccoli dish was equal portions of each with a tasty sauce. The veggies were also pretty good. All in all, not bad. Service was great and we were just a bit disappointed that there were none of the soup dumplings available to order at that time. The place was pretty spacious and it felt as if once the rain subsided, people started to come in more and more as the time passed. All in all, would definitely check them out again in the future. We ended up ordering way too much and had some leftovers for later on (definitely not a bad thing). For parking, we opted to park on the street and paid a meter (there were also other parking structures with off street parking also). read more

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Absolutely amazing add this to your list of spots to check out. Your automatically greeted with green tea and given a menu with so many options I recommend the fried fish wrapped in seaweed and the coconut buns. Of course you can't go wrong with the dumplings. It's a must when you come here. I also had the green tea milk tea I never had that before or I've seen it at any other spots I've been to it was so good! read more

Came with some fiends in a Saturday night and there was less than a 10 minute wait. Parking here can be a bit difficult but there are parking lots around the area that is cheap. I do like the ambiance here more than other locations. It's big and clean. The food was a bit too salty for my taste. We got their chicken wings and the batter was not my favorite. Their egg white and scallop fried rice was way too salty along with their string beans. The xlb were okay skin a bit thick. We also got their crispy noodles with seafood which was just okay. Servers were nice and let us stay until closing. read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - 71. Salt & Ppper Chicken Wings - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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My go-to chain for Chinese food. Atrocious parking + typical Chinese restaurant interior with chandeliers + long wait time during dinner. Was packed and bustling but our food came out in timely manner. We ordered pork XLBs ($11), spicy wontons ($13.25), shanghai rice cakes ($17.50), hot & sour soup ($13.25), and the sweet and sour chicken ($20). Everything was delicious. The XLBs were bursting with soup. Highly recommend. read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Love the food here first time trying it out. Food service is great here & friendly. I love the dumplings & yang chow rice was very yummy. Very nice atmosphere. It's a good amount for what you get at this restaurant. read more

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