Mama Lu's Dumpling House — Restaurant in Arcadia

While the food was okay, their service was absolutely terrible. Upon walking in we were not greeted nor directed where to go as we were new and the dining room was hidden behind the front counter. Waved at us from the dining room and then walked off, we were unsure if to follow or not before doing so. When taking our order she got it wrong and upon correcting, she gave me attitude for offering to repeat the order again for her. While eating, we were not checked up on throughout the entire time even though there was only 2 other tables. Which would’ve been fine. If at the end, they didn’t hold us hostage and force us to tip when we paid. He demanded we tip either by card or cash even though we pointed out tipping is optional seeing as our tab was only $72 and the receipt said ‘SUGGESTION’. When we asked if we could not just not tip (bc we have every right not too) he said that it was fine. But then proceeded to ask if we’re gonna tip in cash then and stood by our table until we did so. We were nothing but polite and simply ate and kept to ourselves. Whether or not we should’ve tipped for service to begin with is debatable, but it stopped being debatable as soon as they forced us to tip. Forcing someone to tip is never okay, we paid what we owed for our tab so we were in no obligation to give more. And if this is the way this establishment is run, I’d hate to have someone else be put in a position my friends and I were. I don’t normally care this much about “bad” service, but that was straight up heinous and probably illegal. Their food is not worth being put in a...

MaMa Lu’s newest location in Arcadia brings a fresh twist to their well-known brand, taking over the former upscale Monarch restaurant space. While retaining some of the original decor, the seating has been reconfigured to suit a more practical, bistro-style vibe. This location stands out from other MaMa Lu branches thanks to its live BBQ station, offering BBQ pork, ribs, roasted duck, and roasted pig—a definite nod to the Cantonese community in the area.

Here’s what we tried: • Xiao Long Bao: Decent, though it didn’t quite match the standards of places like Prince Dumpling or Good Alley. • Fried Rice Cake: Generously portioned, but the rice cakes weren’t as crisp as traditional Shanghainese style calls for. • BBQ Pork Rib with Rice: The star of our meal! The ribs were full of flavor with perfectly charred, smoky edges that added a delightful texture.

The menu strikes a balance between Cantonese canteen-style dishes and the dumpling staples MaMa Lu is known for. The service was excellent—attentive and friendly throughout.

One downside is the parking situation. Most spaces in the back are taken by nearby banks, so be prepared to search for a spot.

Overall, MaMa Lu’s Arcadia location is a welcome addition to the area. With its BBQ offerings and focus on Cantonese flavors, it’s worth checking out—especially...

Just opened! Very spacious dining area, there's one side of the restaurant that has HK bbq (fried pork, duck, pig intestine, etc.). 小籠包 (XLB) was very soupy, very good, but you may need to ask/remind the server to give you the ginger slices to eat with! 生煎包 was very savory and the skin wasn't too thick, I felt it was a good ratio of meat filling to skin! The garlic pea sprouts were fire, def wanna try the other veggie dishes since taiwanese style veggie dishes have such a good balance on the flavor and cook on the veg. Chicken wings were alright, but if you don't compare them to HK style wings then they're actually pretty good 😆 The wontons alone were really good, but since there wasn't a lot of chili oil/sauce to really coat the wontons, it didn't really feel accurate to the 紅油part of it's dish name. Spicy wontons felt a little underwhelming compared to the ones I've had at the Monterey Park location, hoping to try them again when they've been around a little longer! Fried mantou was on the house since it was day 1 of opening, and you can never go wrong with a dessert like that 😩 fluffy inside, crispy outside, perfection all around. Looking forward to going again and trying...