Niu Mama Kitchens — Restaurant in Glendale

We have been looking forward to this place opening, and I'm so glad that we made the time to go! My only complaint is that it's not closer to home. The space is clean and beautiful, and everyone at each stall were so friendly and helpful. Even my picky eater found things she'd eat (fries 😂). We're already planning our meals for next time! Saito's: Skipped this time, definitely will try next time - their menu looked good! Sumo Snow: Lychee drink, dragon fire (?) drink, chocolate Oreo drink, Thai Green Tea, and peach ice cream. All good! The drinks do come in cups the size of a to-go soup, so if you're on a budget, you may want to share. We grabbed as a sweet treat before we left. What we had was definitely (obviously) more of a dessert, but their menu is pretty big. Pho Mama: Husband took one for the team and got the meatball pho to share with our oldest. Not the meat he'd normally go for, but both enjoyed it. Had plenty to take home. I loved the broth - nicely balanced. Meatball was good, too. :) Lao Ma: So sweet! The cucumber salad is amazing. Medium spice level. Enjoyed the teriyaki chicken pan fried dumplings, lovely presentation. Chili oil sauce mild heat, no spice garlic sauce was delicious. I really hope that the xiao long bao is available next time we go! Definitely will grab the spicy garlic sauce, too. K-Bap: The beef bulgogi bowl stood no chance. 😅 The sauce was really good, I'm torn between wanting to eat it for every meal for the next month, or try something different next time we go. The guys working were so kind and helpful, especially adjusting for my picky eater. I'm grateful that they had no problem doing fries with just salt for her. I'm working on her palate, but it's slow...

Finally, authentic Asian food in Arizona! The pho from Pho Mama was incredibly flavorful, with a rich broth and a generous amount of meat. I did not even need to add sriracha or hoisin sauce. I also had the best dumplings I have ever tasted from Lao Ma, perfectly made and full of flavor. You know it is the real deal when the chefs are Chinese. The staff could not have been sweeter, and I appreciated that the young Asian man running the kitchens personally asked for feedback on the food.

Niu Mama Kitchens is a modern food court with five different Asian style kitchens. There is a boba shop with amazing pastries, boba drinks, Thai tea, Vietnamese coffee, and smoothies. You have to try their Matcha Thai Iced tea. They also have the viral TikTok ice creams. They were sooo good! The two young girls working at the boba counter were so sweet they truly made my day.

Lao Ma is the dumpling restaurant, and their service was top tier. You can watch the cooks prepare everything, and they had the biggest smiles on their face. I tried their pan fried dumplings, which were perfectly crispy, along with fried and steamed dumplings. Each came with three sauces: chili oil, a garlicky soy, and a sweet soy. Every bite was delicious.

The whole space has a warm, inviting atmosphere and is a wonderful place to get work done. I will definitely be back to try Saito Express and...

Niu Mama Kitchens is basically an Asian food hall/ food court in a strip mall on 43rd Ave and Glendale. The concept is interesting, there are five fast-casual spots under one roof: Saito's Express (Chinese/ Japanese), Sumo Dnow Express (Boba drinks), Pho Mama (Vietnamese), Lao Ma (Chinese dumplings), and K-Bap Kitchen. We didn't try everything, just the Dumplings Combo from Lao Ma and pho from Pho Mama. Honestly, we left feeling pretty thirsty. The dumpling combo ($25.99 + tax) came with 24 small dumplings: 6 Signature (pork, chives, eggs, and shrimp, I wasn't a fan), 6 Pork & Cabbage (best of the bunch, but still not great), 6 Pork & Chives (okay), and 6 Teriyaki Chicken (way too sweet). The pho (Meatballs $13.99, Brisket $15.99) was surprisingly sweet rather than savory, the kind of sweetness that isn't from slow-cooked meat. Definitely not worth the price. Overall, it's an interesting concept but very pricey for food court-style food. We went to try it, but we won't be coming back...