Mama’s Taste — Restaurant in Fairfax

Had the lunch curry special, shrimp and pork dumplings, and hot and sour soup. The curry sauce was flavored well, although I got medium spice and think I would opt for a lower level if I were to let the curry stand out more. The chicken was delicious and extremely tender, although the vegetable portion of the dish was a mix of what seemed like frozen, stir-fried peas and carrots along with roughly chopped onions and green peppers, which were adequate, but nothing special. The fried rice was very standard but plain, even for "plain fried rice", lacking eggs or even a bit of pork. The egg roll was ok, I can confirm some other reviews saying it was a bit dry, or the coating was thick. The soup was a little too vinegar forwards for my taste, and while I'm willing to entertain that I got a portion that was light with fillers, the lack of pork and general filler (tofu, mushrooms) was a bit disappointing, and I wasn't particularly impressed by the fried noodles that went with it.

To end on a higher note though, the shrimp and pork dumplings were quite good, very clearly handmade, and easily the most unique and memorable part of my order. I'd love to try their other dumplings sometime, as well as their Singapore Rice noodles due to how good the chicken and curry sauce were, but I'll pass on the soup and lunch special next time.

For comments unrelated to food, the restaurant itself was very clean, especially for a Chinese takeout place, and the service was extremely fast (though I did see that some of their specialty dumplings take a bit longer so I'd plan ahead for those whether you're sitting in or picking up). A solid place to grab a quick lunch for someone in the area or, more likely,...

I had been craving some biang biang noodles and heard Mama's Taste was worth a go. As usual, I didn't have much restraint and went with three items: spicy wontons, steamed shrimp dumplings, and biang biang noodles with beef.

My top pics were the biang biang noodles and the spicy wontons. The wontons were on the smaller side, but there were a good amount. Spicy, but slightly sweet oil/sauce. The noodles were similarly tingly, though they had more of a slight tartness to their spicy chili oil. I probably could have gone just noodles and veggies, but the sliced beef added in was tasty. The shrimp dumplings were good, especially with their sauce, but it was closer to a pork dumpling with a large piece of shrimp in it. I was thinking a filling more similar to a har gow. One thing... Those dumplings were JUICY and fresh.

My own personal issue... I want to try everything and when I go on my own, it gets expensive for one person. The three dishes (considering I had the beef add-on for the noodles) were just slightly over $40. Splitting with a group would work and I was quite stuffed for the...

Was really excited to try this place as 6 months ago they had a nearly 5-star rating. I think they are located in a sweet spot for those living nearby, which is also why I believe the rating was so high (overhyped by hungry college students) but after my experience, I would not drive out my way to eat here I like I did today. I got the rice noodles with shrimp and fried dumplings. The noodles were TERRIBLY oily that it made me feel ill for the rest of the evening. $18 for one cookout plate and one bottle of water did not feel sufficient at all! It also turns out that they add an extra $2-$3 as a service charge when you use the check out kiosk, but the lady in the front never made herself available for me to order through her. It was a bit upsetting to find this out after placing my order and feels a bit sneaky to not have any message disclosing that .. For dining in, the service was very mediocre too. Would not...