Mama Lu’s Dumpling House - Tustin — Restaurant in Tustin

This is not the same Mama Lu as others. The portions are smaller, the food quality and taste is not the same, and service is slow and unreliable. This is going to be my first time and last time visiting this location. I believe this place to be franchised out but do not understand anything what makes Mama Lu great. I’ll explain…

Food quality and portion: other locations’ best and most well known dish is the deep fried pork chop with spicy salt. If any Mama Lu have to get one dish right, it’s this one. Unfortunately you will be disappointed here if you’re expecting the same dish. I won’t even go into other problems with the food and the portion here but we ordered several dishes here and it ranges from mediocre to outright bad. Food is 1 out of 5.

Service: okay this is the first week of opening so there’s some leeway on service as I don’t expect everything to be running smoothly like a well oiled machine. The waiters are slow and inexperienced, however they are patient and nice so no fault to them. Out of 6 items ordered, two of them had issues; one was incorrectly charged and other was brought to 2 different tables then ours (after we saw another table literally touched the food with their hands). This is unforgivable in food industry. To make it worst it wasn’t the waiter, it was the manager who doesn’t know what this dish was called. We saw the manager took the dish from the waiter then walked around, then he went back to the ordering terminal to look up the item to see which table it should go to however, could not find it since he doesn’t know the dish name. We flagged a waiter to tell them it was our dish and then she had to ran over to let the manager know it was our table. How is this even possible? Since the wait staff seem nice I am not going to give it 1 but 2 out of 5.

Atmosphere: The place itself look okay however, there are no round table for a large party (party of 6 or more). The place has tall sitting long tables for a large party which is very inconvenient because in any Chinese restaurant with large party, you’re there to eat mostly family style. The whole set up behind a round table with Lazy Susan is that it’s easier to share food between the group. This place has none of those tables. So I give it 3 out of 5.

Overall: never visiting this location again. 1 out of 5 due to food being horrible and (which I think is the best part of other Mama Lu locations), and other areas couldn’t save it. Drive to Monterey Park or City of Industry. This place gives Mama Lu a...

Chicken Xiao Long Bao- these were absolutely delicious! The dumplings were perfectly steamed with delicate wrappers that held in all the hot soup. When you bite into them, the broth just bursts out with amazing chicken flavor. The filling was tender and well-seasoned.

Beef Wrap- this was so good! The beef was tender and flavorful, wrapped in a flaky pancake that had the perfect texture. The sauce complemented the beef perfectly and everything came together beautifully.

Fried Dumplings- these were crispy on the bottom and tender on top with juicy filling inside. The filling was packed with flavor and the dipping sauce was amazing with them.

Honey Walnut Shrimp- this was incredible! The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the honey walnut sauce was sweet and creamy. The candied walnuts added great crunch and the whole dish was so well balanced.

House Special Chow Mein- the noodles were perfectly cooked with great wok flavor. They weren’t greasy at all and had so many different ingredients mixed in. Everything was fresh and flavorful.

House Fried Rice- this was delicious! The rice had perfect texture and wasn’t clumpy. It was loaded with ingredients and seasoned really well. You could taste that wok hei flavor in every bite.

Orange Chicken- the chicken was crispy and the orange sauce was sweet and tangy with great citrus flavor. Not too sweet or overwhelming, just the right balance.

Chicken with Corn Soup- this soup was so comforting and warming! The broth was rich and flavorful, and the chicken and corn made it hearty and satisfying. Perfect for sharing with family.

Broccoli Beef- the beef was tender and the broccoli was perfectly cooked - still crisp and bright green. The sauce was savory and tied everything together perfectly.

This is such a great place for Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinners! The variety of dishes we ordered was perfect for sharing with family, and everything came out hot and fresh. The portions were generous and there was something for everyone to enjoy. The atmosphere was festive and warm, making it ideal for celebrating with loved ones during this special time of year!

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Second review: My second time back and for the best reason

I live farther now so coming to Mama Lu's is definitely a treat and it was a special day so we did the drive out and of course did not disappoint!!

They had two new items on the menu:

Bombay duck fish and red bean pancakes: both 10/10

Hot and sour soup: 100000/10 my absolute favorite

Sweet and sour chicken: 9/10, only cause I'm not a fan of pineapple and it had some chunks but that's me

House special chow mein: 10000/10 it was JAM packed with all types of protein: chicken, squid, Chinese sausage so so good

Garlic green beans: 10/10 can not go wrong with them, plus topped with Chinese sausage

Pork dumplings: 100/10 the main reason we came, their dumplings are so good here. Juicy and tender, honestly way better than Din Tai Fung

Overall the food, service, ambiance, vibe, and price were all so good and reasonable

$90 for 3 people WITH tons of left overs from the insane portion size makes me believe I'm stealing but guess not!!

Definitely coming back again

First review: Where to begin.. let me just start off by saying that the food, quality, price, service, atmosphere, and taste were all 5/5.

For food we got the spicy pork wontons, egg rolls, juicy pork soup dumplings, peking pork chop, egg drop soup, pork pan-fried dumplings, garlic string beans, and pork chop with spicy salt.

I give every item a 5/5 and comparing it to Din Tai Fung, even more. The portion sizes are double, prices are affordable, and the food is actually fresh and really good. I plan to come back and try other items that I didn't get, such as the cornish hen and shanghai rice cakes.

The service was impeccable. The server made sure our drinks were always refilled, we got plenty of napkins, and answered all of our questions with enthusiasm. He made some great recommendations such as the pork chop with spicy salt and the egg drop soup which were my top 3!!

Overall this place was truly lovely, and my return...