SGV: Chinese Dinner at Mama’s Dumpling House
juicy pork dumplings
There are a few dumpling masters in the San Gabriel Valley. One of them is Mama Lu. Although the latest restaurant doesn’t bear her name, Mama’s Dumpling House is most definitely of that lineage. The restaurant is at the San Gabriel Super Store so there’s plenty of parking which is a huge plus in the SGV.
Taking my Cantonese family to a spot that serves Shanghainese dumplings was an interesting experience. Although we ordered the popular pork juicy soup dumplings (xiao long bao), the other dishes could have been Cantonese. This location took over a Hong Kong style cafe so I believe a lot of the menu caters to their old patrons.
These XLBs were absolutely solid. They could use work on the service however. Our tray was snatched before we finished and after some consternation, one dumpling was steamed up to replace the missing plate. Yep, only one dumpling.
Westlake beef soup
The rest of the dinner proceeded normally or as normally as possible in a hectic busy Chinese restaurant. The Westlake beef soup was served in a triangular bowl. It made me laugh because I’m pretty sure it’s the same dishes as the old restaurant. But in any case, the cilantro was nice and bright. The beef itself was somewhat poor quality.
cold steamed chicken
Since it was our Lunar New Year dinner, we ordered chicken for good luck. This was not even room temperature but ice cold. It was much better warmed up a bit the next day.
fish with veggies
We also got fish and Chinese broccoli. My mother didn’t want to deal with a whole fish which I was secretly glad about but the presentation isn’t exactly four stars when it’s just pieces of fish piled on top of greens. Still, it tasted good.
sweet and sour pork ribs
My brother wanted the sweet and sour pork ribs. Actually, these were tiny pieces of chopped up ribs. I didn’t think it was worth it with all the bones but he did like the sauce.
pea sprouts
The pea sprouts with garlic was actually quite mild. I was surprised there wasn’t much garlic but I suppose it’s good for those who had a date later that night…
608 E Valley Blvd., Ste A., San Gabriel, CA 91776
© The Minty 2017