Mama Lu Dumpling House is my favorite Chinese spot in the area. The dumplings are amazing, which is exactly what you hope for when going to a place known for them. You really cannot go wrong with the xiao long bao, steamed buns, or any of their other dumpling offerings. Beyond the dumplings, they have a lot of other dishes I really enjoy. Some of my favorites are the beef rolls, spicy wontons, green onion pancake, chow fun, orange chicken, and chow mein noodles. The noodles are especially good and, importantly, not overly greasy or oily, which can sometimes be an issue at other places. The prices are also competitive, especially considering the portions and quality of the food. It is the kind of place where you can order a good spread, share a bunch of dishes, and feel like you got a solid meal for the money. I also love that they bring out sugared peanuts when you sit down. It is a small touch, but a really nice one. The restaurant has plenty of seating, though service can be a bit slow at times, so good luck flagging down a waiter when it gets busy. You can also tell they are a high-volume dumpling restaurant because there is often steam in the dining room, which can make the restaurant feel a little warm at times. A couple of practical heads-ups: the tables are on the smaller side and can get crowded quickly if you order a lot of dishes, so just be mindful if you are planning to feast. You will also likely need to park in one of the structures around the area, but there is a large parking structure right across the street and plenty of parking options around Old Town. Overall, Mama Lu is a great spot with excellent dumplings, solid noodles, competitive prices, and a menu that keeps me coming back. Definitely one of my go-to places in Pasadena. read more

This is one of my go-to spots in Pasadena. The Shanghai rice cake is one of my favorite dishes of all time, perfectly chewy and well-balanced with the sauce. It's not mushy like the usual rice cakes you get compared to other places. The spicy wontons were light in spice, which is exactly how I like them. The XLBs are always a hit and perfect for sharing. The staff was attentive, and there are plenty of parking spaces around. Super spacious compared to the MPK 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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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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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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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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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

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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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 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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Not good! Went there by mistake and will never go back. Ordered salty fish and chicken fried rice it was ok. The free tea is nasty as well as the free peanuts that has sugar on it. Shumai dumplings not good! Place is dirty! Sticky floor and tables, chairs. So many flies while you're eating. Got diar$&@& after eating. read more

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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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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Loved it!!!! Food was amazing service was also awesome. Definitely bringing the whole family read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Veggie rice, noodles, spicy chicken, shrimp kung pao - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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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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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The experience was a bit odd. The customer service needs some work I would give that 0/10 honestly, they weren't mean but it gave robotic and there was a lot of confusion. Also as I was eating one of the waiters knocked over my purse, looked at it, then looked at me, looked at my purse again and kept walking. It took me a minute to grab my purse that SHE knocked over cause my hands were all sticky but my lord in all my years eating in many places I've never had that happen, it was so odd. customer service or not, human decency maybe???? we had to grab someone's attention for basically everything it was so annoying. food was average, nothing to brag about but it wasn't nasty either. food I give 6/10 Honestly wouldn't return cause I've had better food and better customer service read more

We love the Monterey Park location and order the seaweed fish all the time, so we were surprised by what we received at the Pasadena location. Visually it looked quite off, the appearance was honestly really unappetizing. The seaweed coating had a lot of strange little bumps all over it.. Not sure if it was the batter or preparation, but it definitely didn't look fresh or appealing.. read more

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

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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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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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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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My absolute favorite place to eat is Old Town Pasadena. Their hot and sour soup is out of this world, but everything else on the menu is delicious. We come here almost weekly and have no intention of changing our habits, we always enjoy a good meal here. read more

I highly reccomend this restraunt to anybody who is a Chinese food enthusiast. The food was all good, especially the green beans and shrimp fried rice. The service was fine, which is the main reason why I had to dock a point. Also do NOT get the pan fried pork dumplings. However the portion sizes are very generous and I it has a great family friendly ambiance. Also good tea and beautiful place settings. Overall very good but there could be some better decor and service. read more

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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Unfortunately none of the 3 dishes I ordered were any good. The pan fried dumplings were too big and basically a soggy meatball inside undercooked dough. The beef roll was so oily on the outside and did not have enough sauce of cucumbers inside. The chow mein was the best of the 3 but it was still below average. No sauce other than oil and with scrap pieces of chicken. The restaurant is large and clean. The service was quick. read more

One of our order, the pepper salt chicken wings came with a lot of dough fried. My daughter needs a gluten free diet and they change it with light dough. Hands up for them. Server is attentive and it's quite quiet inside the restaurant. 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

This place honesty disappointed me. I had such high hopes because my friends had been hyping it up for months, but honestly i was just sad. The service was mid at best, the servers were unfriendly and acted like they hated their job. The food was ok, I really enjoyed those green beans and scallion pancake. Overall all the food was overly salty and that made it just not the best. The ambience was just ok but I didn't have the best time. read more

Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - scallion pancake, rice, chow mein, 108. Sauteed String Bean, beef roll - Chinese Near Me - Pasadena, California

They have MOVED just down the block, on the north west corner of Green and Fair Oaks. If you go to their former location on Fair Oaks and Colorado, there is no signage they have moved!!! I just stumbled across the new location. Thank goodness! Anyways, the new location is nice but doesn't have the historical architecture of the former, but the restrooms are on the same floor! Hahaha! Food wise, on this occasion was just okay, 2 stars, but this has nothing to do with the chef. The fire alarm kept going off every few minutes so I am guessing the kitchen had some ventilation issues. Our chicken fried rice was definitely not fried( see photo) , and very bland. However the garlic Green Beans came out first, hot and delicious, the Beef and noodles were good too. We never got our juicy dumplings and was told the kitchen or equipment was not working. Nevertheless, I am giving them 4 stars for effort as I know today's experience was due to the fire alarm going off the entire time we were sitting there. We quickly ate and took the rest home. The staff should of comped the fried rice, but... I hope the fire alarm and kitchen ventilation issue is resolved soon. Parking is easy! Park on the city structure on Fair Oaks, just south of Colorado. The first 90 mins are $1. read more

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Mama Lu's is one of my go-to spots when I'm craving dim sum. Quality is always good and the service is always quick as well. The staff is always really attentive especially with refilling drinks which I appreciate. Some of my favorites are the Hot and Sour Soup, Fried Buns, and the Spicy Wontons! Definitely recommend if you're craving Chinese food! read more

The food here is so good. Every single thing we tried was truly amazing. The prices are affordable too, considering the big portion sizes.

Fun, classic Chinese dumpling house. It's not anything in the way of extraordinary traditional Chinese cuisine, but if you're looking to load up on soup dumplings and pot stickers with a side of greens, this is your place. Nice and large too, so there's rarely a wait. read more

I went last month! We asked our server what they recommended and it did not disappoint! We got pork & shrimp dumplings, green beans, Shanghai style beef, Schwann shrimp, and noodles. This spot is perfect for a date night since it's located in the heart of Pasadena. Perfect for walking afterwards since you will be full with all the food provided! Also, this spot is great for family dining, they have tons of round tables and the dishes are great for sharing. The more people, the better for all the food you get to try! read more

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Quick service as always, food is always hot and fresh. Very affordable pricing for a family meal. When we crave Chinese food -- we always come here. Everything is so good. I havent experienced one bad mama lu day and I hope I won't experience that at all. Would recommend it, if people love a good Chinese food. Servings are pretty big usually good for 3-5 people already. I love a variety so this place is always 100/10 for me. This branch is also more modern than the others. read more

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