Aug 26, 2010

Lu Dumpling House (on Garfield) 一口福

My friend and I drove pass by a dumpling house the other day,
The place was crowded, packed with people munching on tiny doughy goodies,
Immediately, I've decided to come here for lunch next time!
While that thought lingered in my head,
I forced my friend to repeat the Chinese name of that eatery several times so I can search online for the exact location later,
一口福 (E - KO - FU), means one bite of happiness/goodness,
I ought to have my own bite of happiness soon.


Weeks later,
We did manage to get to the dumpling place as planned,
However, it looks a wee bit different from my memory....


My friend pointed at the chicken soup picture printed on the table mat and asked the waitress if they serve it,
Sadly no, which put us in an even deeper doubt...did we come to the right place?...
The lady kind of sensed our worries and further explained that the dumpling place on Garfield was the second location,
The original one is on Garvey, which is just 2 or 3 blocks away,
And luckily, I went there on a Wednesday, the original place closed on Wednesdays,
Well, I guess eventually things just worked out fine?

Beef wrap 牛肉捲餅 $4.99 -


The wrap itself was good, crunchy and flavorful,
Especially the dough itself, a wee bit buttery taste, but I'm sure they used something even oilier instead of butter (but so good!).
They also put some kind of melon inside the wrap, which is different compared to other beef wraps I had.

Spicy dumplings 紅油炒手 $3 -


Not spicy at all, nothing outstanding, not recommended.

Fennel and pork dumplings 茴香豬肉水餃 -


I love having fennel (only the thin leaves part) in my dumplings,
Somehow the aroma matches really well with Chinese seasonings.

Juicy pork and crab dumplings 蟹粉小籠湯包 $8.99 -


Not as good as the ones from Din Tai Fung,
And I didn't get that juices "burst in my mouth" sensation after the first bite.
But one reason that I tried to explore other dumpling places so hard other than just going to Din Tai Fung is because I'm "sick of it!"
Please please, if you know any place that can beat Din Tai Fung, let me know!

Overall the service was good but a little bit slow towards lunch rush hours,
There were only two ladies at the front serving customers,
We did wait for quite some time to get their attention and asked for our bill.

I do like their smaller portion dishes,
Usually when you order dumplings, it comes in a set of 10 to a dozen,
But Lu Dumpling House serves it in about 6 little dumplings,
So trying out more flavors won't result in bursting stomaches! ( > _.< )P

The overall rating might be on the lower end,
But if you like beef wraps,
I think Lu Dumpling House's is pretty good, definitely worth a try for that wrap!

Cindy's Rating: 5

Lu Dumpling House
330 North Garfield Avenue
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 307-2700


















Mama's Lu Dumpling House
153 East Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91755
(626) 307-5700

6 comments:

  1. They serve each XLB in a foil container? That's new.

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  2. To Tigerfish~
    I saw that in like 3 places though. Maybe it only existed in the states haha (just like fortune cookies)

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  3. Never have been here before, but I think I've drove by it. I only see foil stuff in dim sum restaurants. So unusual!

    You don't mind the drive to LA for Xiao Long Bao? I'm impressed. :) Dunno much other places, I've listed some on my blog but it seems like they all come from one place called Dean Sin World which gives dumplings to lots of restaurants. Haven't been there myself but there are plenty of blogs talking about the place!

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  4. To Eat Travel Eat~
    Believe me or not, I used to drive all the way down to San Diego just to pick up my favorite chocolate bread pudding from Extraordinary Dessert!

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  5. I don't know how accurate this is, but my brother told me that the Lu Dumpling House was sold to new owners with the right to keep the name, and then the original owner opened the Garvey location and called it Ma's Lu Dumpling House to distinguish it from the other one. Sort of like how Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was a Chris Steakhouse owned by Ruth.

    The foil on the pork+crab XLB is to keep the precious juices from leaking out while still in the steamer basket.

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  6. To Anonymous~
    Thanks for the info!
    I have no idea what the real story is but I did type out exactly what the lady told me that day.
    I have never went back to this restaurant, wondering if the business got better or not?..

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