Well worth it. Fast service. Taste is on point. Price is reasonable. I'm a regular whenever I'm in the area. Try the pork chop and egg tofu.

If you're looking for a Chinese food spot that delivers both in flavor and portion size, Mama Lu's Dumpling House on East Garvey in Monterey Park is a must-visit. The service? Well, it's what you'd expect--nothing special, but not bad either. The real star here is the food. The portions are huge for the price, making it a great value. You could easily feed five people with just two dishes, but if you want variety on the table, it's best to either splurge for leftovers or come with a decent-sized group. Here's what we've tried over the course of three visits: we ordered: * Beef Udon with XO Noodles ($14.99) - Classic fried noodles with beef, onions, and bell peppers. The flavor is umami-rich and absolutely delicious. * Shanghai Rice Cake ($12.99) - This dish didn't stand out as much, but after adding soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and hot sauce from the table, it worked. The portion is generous for the price. * Deep Fried Prawns ($15.99) - While I loved these, my table was just okay with them. They're fried to perfection, like walnut shrimp minus the walnuts--scrumptious and a steal for the price. * Honey Garlic Pork Chop ($14.99) - This is the standout dish. Perfectly fried, sticky, crunchy, with an irresistible honey umami flavor. We order it every time, and it's the reason we keep coming back. * House Special Fish Filet ($13.99) - Essentially a battered salt-and-pepper deep-fried fish. Reminds me of Asian-style fish and chips with jalapeños, garlic, and green onions. It's made with tilapia, which isn't my favorite, but the flavor is still great. * Pork Fried Buns ($9.99) - Fluffy, crispy, and fried to perfection. Absolutely delicious. * Eggplant with Garlic Sauce ($12.99) - Minced meat with basil. While I've had better, it's still a good dish. * Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings ($12.99) - Nicely fried, crispy, and topped with jalapeños and crunchy garlic. A solid choice. * Kung Pao Chicken ($13.99) - The veggies and chicken are cut a bit large, but the flavor is on point, especially over rice. * French Style Beef Tenderloin ($16.99) - Loaded with whole mushrooms, which I loved, but my boys weren't as impressed. They wanted more beef. The black pepper sauce is great, especially over rice. * Fried Coconut Buns ($7.99) - Crunchy on the outside, pillowy on the inside, and served with sweet condensed milk dip. Amazing. * Spicy Wontons (Pork and Shrimp) ($10.99) - These are scrumptious. Add a little vinegar, and it takes them to the next level. Of all the dishes we've tried, the Honey Garlic Pork Chop and Pork Fried Buns are the ones we keep coming back for, every single time. The portions, prices, and flavors are just unbeatable, especially in today's economy. This place has officially become our go-to spot for Chinese food. Highly recommend!

This Chinese restaurant is one of my go to places when I'm in the 626 area! The staff speaks pretty fluent English, so it's easy to communicate. The restaurant itself is not the biggest, but has a homey and comforting feeling when you walk in which I like. The food portions are also huge and very reasonable pricing. We got 4 dishes and it came out to be around $58. For the food, this place is always consistent and delicious. The beef chow fun is one of my favorites, it's smoky, has bean sprouts, onions, beef, and stir fried with a sweet/savory soy sauce. The fish fillet and vegetables I really enjoyed as well. It was very clean tasting and was seasoned with garlic. It had a ton of vegetables; baby bok choy, carrots, and mushrooms and the fish fillets were tender/flaky. We got the pork soup dumplings as well. The dough around the dumpling is thicker than Din Tai Fung, but has a more meatier filling and is larger. The last dish we got was the beef wraps. It has a crispy dough pancake, and in the inside it has beef with cucumbers, onions, cilantro, and hoisin sauce. This Mama Lu's location beef wraps are a lot better than the other location. It's not dry at all and has amazing flavor. I recommend eating the food with the chili oil they have on all the tables, it has great flavor and is not too spicy! Overall, I would recommend this place if you are craving reasonably priced Chinese food that is good quality! I also recommend coming to this location, in my opinion the food tastes better here.

First of all...why didn't I find this place sooner! Dumplings are flavorful. Service was fast and they got everything correct! It reminded me of all the places I loved I San Jose that I'd go to with my friends from china!

This is the best authentic Chinese place there is!!! It's always super busy but service is typical for a Chinese restaurant. The prices are super cheap for large positions! My favorite dishes are Shanghai style chow mein, egg tofu with mushroom, filet mignon mushroom, & the original pork xiao long bao. Bustling vibe with many Chinese patrons so you know this place is good!

My friend recommended this place so we tried it for lunch today. The staff is friendly and attentive. The warm tea is good. I had the beef chow fun it was good, not too salty. She had the sweet sour pork it was pretty good. The scallion pancake was too hard and oily, they said they hired a new chef that hasn't gotten it right. Overall it was a decent lunch and portions are very big.

Review Written by a 10 year old patron: My mom told me that we are going to get a haircut. When we were done my mom asked me, "What do we want for lunch?" I suggested Mama Lu's then we went to Mama Lu's across the street. There was a long line to get in. When we got in, it was packed. The service was good, but I recommend hiring more staff. It took a few minutes to get our order. The food came out fast. Water spilled on the table, then they gave us napkins to clean the water. The food came bursting out hot on our table. My favorite dish is the sauteed string beans. The flavor is delicious when you bite into it, it's so addicting that after the first bite, I almost ate half of the plate- and it is vegetables. There's minced meat that is delicious. My second favorite dish is Xiao Long Bao. Just in case you do not know how to eat the xiao long bao, eaters discretion advised. In the xiao long bao, there is pork with soup inside. DO NOT POP THE XIAO LONG BAO. It can burn your tongue. I would recommend to put the soup in the rice. It tasted really good. Next is the green onion pancakes. This was incredible because it's crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. That is why I like the green onion pancakes. I also ordered the yang chow fried rice. In the yang chow fried rice there is beef, shrimp, eggs and peas. They definitely know the hack to making fried rice. There are plenty of parking spots in the back because it's a big plaza. In the inside, there is about fifteen tables. Be patient because it is not a fast food restaurant. There is also not that many service staffs. There are o reservations, so come early to avoid a wait. I think a big party would take a long time because they have to set the tables. When you are a small table, you will get in faster. Go in with a hungry stomach. By J.D.

Mama Lu's is a comforting Chinese restaurant that I'll never get tired of. I love that Mama Lu's is so affordable -- reminds me of how restaurants are in Hong Kong. There is a variety of foods you can try here besides the dumplings. This time my friend & I ordered the sautéed green beans & spicy wontons (pork & shrimp). I usually order the Xiao Long Bao's & a dish of the beef chow fun (my absolute favorite thing in the world). I love doing family style when I eat here at Mama Lu's -- it's so affordable with a big group!

Been here couple of times, good thing it wasn't busy the times I went here. I always like fried tofu with bokchoy, I like the sauce a lot and the tofu. Juicy pork dumpling is okay, don't really recommend getting it. Fried salt and pepper pork is always good. Fried rice and crispy noodles is highly recommend to get it. All the vegetables dishes is always good. Service was okay. Hard to get there attention and didn't refill our water. Ambience is casual and not as clean.