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    Papa Lu's Kitchen

    4.2 (78 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Noodles, Seafood
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Papa Lu's Kitchen Takeout or Delivery

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    PAPA LU'S KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Consumer Alert: Low Food Safety Score!

    Consumer Alert: Poor Food Safety Score!

    Did you know health officials inspect food service facilities to improve food safety?

    This facility may have received a health score that is lower than others in its area. You can check out its health score details on its Yelp page.

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    Reviews With Photos

    Fried Rice, Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce, Roasted Duck
    Chrissy L.

    Papa Lu's Kitchen had Chinese food like the Roasted Duck, Fried Rice, and Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce. The roasted duck had crispy skin and tender meat. The eggplant was soft and coated in a garlicky sauce. The fried rice paired well with the other dishes.

    Sauteed bittermelon with beef
    Net A.

    Located in the President Plaza Baldwin Park. Mixed yelp reviews but overall it was still a 4- star rating! This has a health score of C .. hmmmm read all the violations before but hoping they were all corrected and didn't have an updated Letter Grade ! Well it was still worth the try and it didn't disappoint!! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Restaurant has at the center a nice elegant dining area with 3 of 8 seats round tables covered with nice blue and white printed cloth and lazy Susan atop!!![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Red Leather covered booths set up against wall for more privacy![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Ordered their weekday Lunch Special which was an ala carte dish list @$12.99. Hubby and I shared a plate of Sauteed Bittermelon with Beef and Chicken & String beans with Black bean sauce served with rice!! They were generous serving dishes which were good for 4 people at least .... Leftovers for dinner for sure!! Both dishes were cooked to perfection and next time I'd love to try the ..... lobster, Bbq pork, fillet mignon, walnut shrimp, duck , eggplant and many many many more !!!

    Bienvenido A.

    Good service, warm reception. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambience quiet, casual and comfortable.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Ordered green beans with chicken and bitter melon with black bean sauce. Perfect match with steam rice included with lunch weekday special. Rich flavorful sauce on both veggies but a little different in taste. Salted black bean and right cooking time made bitter melon taste more prominent (my preference) in which steamed white rice's role did its job as a neutralizer. Nice crunchy green beans with soft and tender chicken pieces was as good and as enjoyable. Very reasonable price for what you get. Will definitely come back an d try lobster dish and others on the menu list. Disappointed though on the C rating we saw as we walked out the door. Hope no serious health issue/s involved and hoping to see a better grade next time.

    Kathy M.

    This is a small hole in the wall restaurant that a friend recommended that I try. I wanted some duck and he said this place has the best tasting one, so i had to give it a try. Parking is very simple, they share a private lot with other establishments around. I did not use the bathroom so I'm uncertain what it looks like. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The environment is extremely casual and the service was great![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I'm not sure if it's because I spoke to them in Cantonese, but i was treated with a smile and was given great customer service. As soon as I walked in, I noticed there was half a duck left. I asked if they had any others in the back, they said no. I said to them that I'd like to order that last duck as I was waiting for my friend to show up. They gladly told me that they will hold that duck as I took a look at the menu. I ordered for us: Salt and pepper prawns: 8/10 the size of the prawns were huge and was very meaty. There was flavor but I wish there was a little bit more. Yang chow fried rice: 9/10 the rice was extremely fluffy and I loved the meat variations. I just forgot to ask without onion/chives. Bbq pork: 8/10 It was great, but I wished it was a little bit sweeter, just a little. Roast duck: 10/10 for only being half a duck, the duck was smooth, the skin wasn't too roasted but it was the right consistency of crispy and chewy. They didn't drench it with sauce, which is great! They gave us the sauce on the side. Iced lemon tea: 7/10 it was good, but definitely could be a lot sweeter (I love the sweet ones). One free refill during your stay. I'll be back! So good!

    Had Singaporean noodles, fried intestines, braised tofu with roasted pork and mushroom fries.  Everything was so good.
    Irene A.

    Second time to eat here. 1st time was just last week. We drove all the way from Sun Valley. I love all 4 out 5 dishes. I find the rice noodle with spare ribs bland. Lacks flavor. Not bad, but not good. It can easily be remedied by adding soysauce. We will definitely go back to try more dishes. Staff is super friendly (shout out to Holly). [[HIGHLIGHT]]Clean restaurant and clean restrooms.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]

    Sweet & Sour Pork Chop (super yummy)
    J C.

    Holly always is courteous and friendly, she greets everyone with her smiles and provides an outstanding service. She recommends a variety of items that we always enjoyed. It feels like home with homestyle cooking.

    yang chow fried rice ( husband already ate more than half of it)
    Christie C.

    just got food to go. As usual great tasting, perfectly cooked and generous portions. The fried rice is similar to Sam Woo - but they have more ingredients

    Orange chicken
    Magda N.

    Solid chinese place. Who knew there was a pretty good one in this area! Salt and pepper fish fillet is delicious. Will get again. Orange chicken is not sweet like your typical american sauces. Solid though. Not overcooked and plump chicken. Order came with rice. Phoned the order and ready within 15 minutes. Quick service.

    David M.

    Very good food and service. Al their canto dishes are on point and service is pretty fast. We had everything to go and didn't have to wait when we arrived.

    Menu
    David C.

    Decided to try this off a Yelp search find by the missus. I knew it was no way related to the now somewhat well known Mama Lu's group of restaurants and was just trying to sort of leech off the name, but the Yelp reviews and pictures looked good. Well, located in a small nondescript strip mall, this is a tiny local joint with authentic Chinese in an area of town you probably don't go to for Chinese food in the SGV. Every other business in the mall was specifically tailored for Latinos and you don't see a lot of Chinese businesses or customers. Still, the workers are very friendly and attentive. The place is clean if nothing special inside. The problem is the food was just okay. Maybe for the area, due to a dearth of Chinese restaurants, this stands out. However, I live in Temple City and we have many, many choices all around us. When we go anywhere the first time, we order a small handful of dishes and don't go crazy just in case it's bad. This place wasn't bad. It is just none of the dishes particularly stood out. I always order kung pao chicken, and here it was incredibly bland. I love how at 99.9% of Chinese restaurants they always warn us that kung pao is spicy and it is never any spicier than mayonnaise unless you are at an authentic Szechuan restaurant and beg them to make it really spicy. The other two dishes were more successful. The most successful was probably the Salt and Pepper Fish Filet. It was good and flavorful. The chicken with black bean sauce was also pretty decent, especially since it is filled with string beans, which I usually order separately anyway. Portions were not small nor overly large, but also fairly priced. Bottom line is you can see people who are locals seem to like it more than I do. I probably wouldn't go back. I certainly wouldn't rush back since it is farther away than most of the other Chinese restaurants I can try or which I already frequent. But, you certainly can do worse. It wasn't bad in any way. So make your decision to try or not with these things in mind.

    Fried Pig intestine
    Jessica G.

    Gave this place a try because my dad lives really close by. The food was decent, it wasn't spectacular nor was it horrible. It is great to have a Chinese place in Baldwin Park and not have to commute to MPK or Arcadia for it. Pork Intestine was okay, it could've been a light crispier but not bad! Quail/Squab: not the best.. I would suggest going to Mr. Chopsticks in Temple City/Arcadia for it Crispy egg Noodle with Char Sui: This is what you expect when you order it. They gave a lot of char Sui which isn't bad, but the noodle were crispy and this dish was overall very salty. Fried Pork Knuckle: I personally did not try it cause I typically don't like this dish in general so I have no idea if it was good or not Sautéed Water Spinach: delicious!

    Stuffed pork intestine (glutinous rice and sausage inside)
    Karen L.

    If you're looking for a home-cooked Cantonese style meal, this is a nice spot to check out if you're in the area. It's a hole in the wall, family run business. They do have a few unique items on the menu that you don't find everywhere, like the stuffed pork intestine, which has glutinous rice and sausage inside. Ample parking even though shared with other businesses too.

    Beef Chow Fun
    Jinan L.

    It's a very authentic Cantonese restaurant with specialties in Taishan dishes. The waitress is extremely welcoming and friendly and even recommending the best dishes and highlighting the fresh lamb. We order three dishes and all come with a large portion. The waitress also recommended their homemade hot sauce. I would definitely recommend you try this! I will return for the clay pot rice when winter comes.

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    Review Insights

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    4 days ago

    Pretty good Chinese food. Love the ong choy and it's close by. Definitely coming back.

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    1 year ago

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    11 months ago

    Good real chinese food, [[HIGHLIGHT]]renovated and clean[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. Friendly service and nice touch in Baldwin Park.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Papa Lu's Kitchen

    What credit cards do they accept? I got hung up on when I called to ask. Called again and was told VISA. I'm almost certain I used MasterCard there in the past. Lots of…

    We used visa and it worked

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    I came here because of the reviews, but my God!! I'm never coming back and here is why!!!! My…read morefamily loves Mariscos, I absolutely don't mind paying if it's worth it, my opinion this place is NOT!! I have included a picture of a small tray of tostadas mixtas (camarón crudo, cocido y jaiba) for $52.00 (Yikes!) plus I added callos to it (I counted the callos which was a whopping 8 cut in half ) for an additional $18.72. BEWARE when you buy a Charola "Tray" no salsas come with it, not even limes....only tostadas!!! WTF!! I can go to a pricey Marisco's place by my house and they At least provide ALL condiments, this is ridiculous. Now to only make matters worse the majority of the seafood is Jaiba (crab) you can barely see the shrimp. Look at the pictures and see if you can spot the shrimps!! Well all I can say go with caution!!!

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    Mariscos El Guero

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    Excelentes porciones, perfectos para compartir, los camarones cuchi cuchi nos gustaron mucho a mi y…read moremis amigos del trabajo. Seguire pidiendo de este lugar

    I finally tried this place and unfortunately I was disappointed…read more When I went in, the servers were all in the Kitchen. Then a server came out and seated us. We ordered after 10 minutes. I was very hungry and thought having tacos and ceviche and shrimp cocktail should be something quick. But the order took more than 20 mins to come out and I had to follow up with them. There were only 3 tables at the time and each table is just with one or two customers. There two servers total, but it seems the person who ordered for me also went to cook. I am not sure if this is one time situation where the Chef is not working that day? Because it honestly took too long to bring the food out when it's not busy at all. The most disappointing part is that after all this waiting, the tacos were toooo salty. We ordered grilled fish and grilled shrimp tacos. There were these blacks stuff sticking to the fish and shrimp, it's those black stuff that you get from burnt pan. The shrimp cocktail and ceviche was okay. Nothing amazing but I just wondered why couldn't they bring these two dish out first because it should be something already premade?? I would not come back after this experience. But I would suspect the management more the employees working there because I think they need more training. I also wonder if it's a substitute Chef or a new Chef was working that day?? This happened on Saturday the Thanksgiving weekend. Their ambiance is cute but feels old.

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    Lobster & Steak Express

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    This is the one time yelp completely failed me on the reviews. I dont know if people who give this…read moreplace a great review above 4 stars and above were just high on MJ or climbed out of a rock, but this was no where near comparable to any legit chinese cantonese cuisines. I rather have eaten Panda if the quality was going to be this low and saucy and salty. The service was atrocious too. 1 person handling the order taking, table service and the register. So imagine trying to get any service when she has to attend to the other tables as well. She will leave you mid ordering to handle something in the kitchen to grab a dish then come back to take ur order later. They should just make this a counter register ordering spot. where you get a number and grab your food at the counter when its ready. Cuz i sure as heck wasnt tipping 15% for this service.

    Stopped in the other night for dinner and felt that the food was different than in the past. Not…read moresure if there's a new chef, but there seemed to be a lack of seasoning/flavor. The service was still good, but I would have to say that the food was only average at best. We ordered most of our usuals: the Spicy Wontons (a little bland, not very spicy), House Special Fried Rice (with Chicken, Beef, and Shrimp) which also seemed a little bland, Spicy Filet Mignon (best of what we ordered), and the Kung Pao Chicken, which was not good at all. Apparently, they offer crunchy and non-crunchy, but there was hardly any chicken, and it was so small that it really seemed like all we got was the crispy coating. Plus, it was a little sweet and not at all spicy, which is what I would expect from Kung Pao. The portions are always good sized, but we were very disappointed with the taste. Hopefully, this was a one-off experience, and things will be back to normal on our next visit.

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    Papa Lu's Kitchen - chinese - Updated August 2026

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