This restaurant takes me back to my childhood - featuring incredible dishes that my dad would cook that are relatively simple, but incredibly delicious and satisfying.We ordered the mini-dumplings, stir-fried cabbage, shui mai, and two orders of xiao long baos. Would definitely come back
Whitney T.
We stopped by on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. It was pretty empty. The space is relatively small, so be mindful of this if you are concerned about social distancing. We got the fried dumplings, juicy pork dumplings and the chicken fried noodles. We loved the juicy pork dumplings and it was standard in price (6 for $7.50). It was just how it should be. They also have us a small side of sauce and ginger. You can definitely ask for more if you need it. The fried dumplings were alright (6 for $7.50 as well I believe). Don't be deceived. They look cool enough, but there is juices inside and it is actually super hot. The juices inside burned me. I was too quick and didn't wait for it to cool! We thought the pan fried noodles were alright (about $11). They had a strong flavor, but still felt like something was missing. Overall, if you're looking for a hole in the wall space to get juicy pork dumplings and wanna support a local business, this is the spot!!!
Christian C.
Great food , everyone there looks sad but I was just there for the food lol i got the 4 Piece Signature Pan Fried Pork Bun " very good " 6 Piece Steamed Soup Dumpling "these were especially delicious " Orange Peel Chicken "tastes very bland "
Kristen Q.
Had the below dishes via takeout -Lions head: not the best but satisfies one's cravings. I do think the Lion's head at Peter's Place is better -Scallion pancake: nice & crisp -Orange chicken: not spicy and kept going back for bite after bite.. A-okay Shanghainese food, but I wouldn't return excitedly and anticipatory for the food. Also, tasted like there was some MSG, which I am unfortunately sensitive to.
Julia Hatch
Excellent service and delicious food! We were really happy with the wonton soup, scallion pancakes, and cucumber salad. It was all so tasty and we’ll definitely be back ☺️ Scallion Noodles has great flavor, but a little too oily for us so will probably pass the next time. XLB we’re good but had little soup in them and maybe too much meat (if that’s a thing) ?
Quang A.
Good food for reasonable price! Love their soup dumplings and friend pork buns. We would come back for more.
Chris L.
Great mom-and-pop Shanghainese restaurant in a small Lomita strip mall. As a Shanghainese, it's hard to find good Shanghai food in California. A lot of the dishes here are truly authentic and wonderful. The lion-head meatballs and vermicelli dish hit the spot perfectly, especially with the savory, tender meatballs-- a perfect ratio of minced meat to starch. The green onion noodles were also delicious. The noodles were chewy and flavorful. I think this would pair well with a lot of the other meat dishes as a replacement for white rice. However, I do think that the meat filling they use for the XLBs and Shengjianbaos are subpar. The meat was chewy and not that flavorful; not comparable to Kang Kang in my opinion. They didn't have the sweetness that the meat fillings in Shanghai have. On the other hand, the skin/wrap of the XLBs tasted tender and delightful. I have no doubts that they are freshly steamed and prepared. All in all,I loved visiting this restaurant and tasting quality Shanghainese food. Different to popular opinion though, I thought this restaurant shined through their less-known traditional entrees rather than the established XLBs and Shengjianbaos.
Robbie P.
Unassuming spot with some of the best dumplings in LA and for extremely reasonable prices. The xiao long bao and sheng jian bao were the best I've ever had.
Quentin McInnis
Really great food. The dumplings are superb. The prices are pretty good and the portions are great too. I had the fried pork chop noodle soup which was actually fried pork chop AND noodle soup. The pork chop was decent, nothing mind blowing but the noodle soup was delicious. Noodle soup and dumplings are a must have.
Jennifer G.
Smashed Cucumber salad is awesome, refreshing and crunchy! Xia long bao is juicy and full of flavor. Their chow mein is hella good too. We also ordered the fried rice cake but it was too mushy. Would've preferred it to be more "fried" vs chewy and watery. Service was good and food was ready for pick up when I arrived. This place is my go to place over Din Tai Fung. 4 stars only bc my Rice cake was too mushy.
This is one of my favorite choices for dumplings-- the reason being is that it's completely off the charts with quality. Ok it's not everyone's cup of tea as far as location but the service and food quality is quite extraordinary considering the situation. I'd recommend this place to those who love authentic Chinese cooking. It's a real gem.
Peijean T.
I just heard about this ma-and-pa restaurant and tried Muodu last weekend -- I was delighted by the menu, food, service! But I'm also sad, because the staff told me that the restaurant will be shuttering within the month due to new owners taking over who will be serving Hakka-style food. My advice is to try Muodu as soon as possible before they close! I typically go to Tasty Noodle House, Northern Cafe, and Din Tai Fung for noodles and dumplings (xiaolongbao and shengjianbao), but I really loved how Muodu is a smaller operation with low prices and menu items I typically don't find on other menus, including dishes I grew up with cooked by my Taiwanese mother (such as cold beef slices and Lion's Head pork meatballs served with clear vermicelli noodles). Everything was perfect when I dined here. They were out of the scallion pancake which is popular and sells out regularly. I ordered: --Xiaolongbao (Shanghai style soup dumplings) --Shengjianbao (juicy fluffy dumplings with crispy bottoms) --Beef Slices with Special Sauce (aka Chinese "cold cuts") --House special (aka "Lion's Head") meatballs: there were 2 HUGE meatballs in the clay pot, and I love that they were served with vermicelli like my Mom makes. Usually if restaurants even have Lion's Head meatballs on their menu it is served with Napa cabbage or just sauce. I love how they did this dish so authentically! It's an unassuming spot located in a tiny strip mall in Lomita (East of Torrance) with a few parking spots. I am going to try to squeeze in at least another visit soon before they close!
Kiki Z.
Excited to try this place since it says my hometown cuisine but can't be more disappointed. 1. Lack of management. Dad and mom work hard in the kitchen but sons and waitress are chaotic. Table were not set, mixed up the orders, unclear division of labor. 2. Food are below average. As a Shanghainese, it's the worst xlb and shen jian I've had. The skin of the xlb are all broken, which means the juice are all leaking. The meat is tight and not much flavor. I also ordered shao mai. Tasteless. Just because they look like xlb, shen jian, shao mai, doesn't mean they got the essence of it. 3. Not clean. Table are not clean properly especially during COVID time. I don't see any disinfectant being used after the table was cleaned by clothes. Dirty dishes are in the tray right next by my seat. Waiter was not aware he scratched his hair with his hand and bring food to the table with the same unwashed hand. They are polite but really need to improve the hygiene. For those reasons, I don't recommend this restaurant.
Rachel L.
After eating shengjianbao in shanghai, I was always super disappointed with places in not just LA, but SF and NYC too (I spend a lot of time in both). I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the best sjb i've had in the US. Seriously. Better than Kang Kang, better than anything. Try it, you won't regret it. (The XLB is amazing too!)
Jing L.
The cook is from Shanghai, China. The pan fried pork burn tasted like what I had in Shanghai. They were so tasty and has soup inside the burn. Noodles are good as well.
This restaurant takes me back to my childhood - featuring incredible dishes that my dad would cook that are relatively simple, but incredibly delicious and satisfying.We ordered the mini-dumplings, stir-fried cabbage, shui mai, and two orders of xiao long baos. Would definitely come back
We stopped by on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. It was pretty empty. The space is relatively small, so be mindful of this if you are concerned about social distancing. We got the fried dumplings, juicy pork dumplings and the chicken fried noodles. We loved the juicy pork dumplings and it was standard in price (6 for $7.50). It was just how it should be. They also have us a small side of sauce and ginger. You can definitely ask for more if you need it. The fried dumplings were alright (6 for $7.50 as well I believe). Don't be deceived. They look cool enough, but there is juices inside and it is actually super hot. The juices inside burned me. I was too quick and didn't wait for it to cool! We thought the pan fried noodles were alright (about $11). They had a strong flavor, but still felt like something was missing. Overall, if you're looking for a hole in the wall space to get juicy pork dumplings and wanna support a local business, this is the spot!!!
Great food , everyone there looks sad but I was just there for the food lol i got the 4 Piece Signature Pan Fried Pork Bun " very good " 6 Piece Steamed Soup Dumpling "these were especially delicious " Orange Peel Chicken "tastes very bland "
Had the below dishes via takeout -Lions head: not the best but satisfies one's cravings. I do think the Lion's head at Peter's Place is better -Scallion pancake: nice & crisp -Orange chicken: not spicy and kept going back for bite after bite.. A-okay Shanghainese food, but I wouldn't return excitedly and anticipatory for the food. Also, tasted like there was some MSG, which I am unfortunately sensitive to.
Excellent service and delicious food! We were really happy with the wonton soup, scallion pancakes, and cucumber salad. It was all so tasty and we’ll definitely be back ☺️ Scallion Noodles has great flavor, but a little too oily for us so will probably pass the next time. XLB we’re good but had little soup in them and maybe too much meat (if that’s a thing) ?
Good food for reasonable price! Love their soup dumplings and friend pork buns. We would come back for more.
Great mom-and-pop Shanghainese restaurant in a small Lomita strip mall. As a Shanghainese, it's hard to find good Shanghai food in California. A lot of the dishes here are truly authentic and wonderful. The lion-head meatballs and vermicelli dish hit the spot perfectly, especially with the savory, tender meatballs-- a perfect ratio of minced meat to starch. The green onion noodles were also delicious. The noodles were chewy and flavorful. I think this would pair well with a lot of the other meat dishes as a replacement for white rice. However, I do think that the meat filling they use for the XLBs and Shengjianbaos are subpar. The meat was chewy and not that flavorful; not comparable to Kang Kang in my opinion. They didn't have the sweetness that the meat fillings in Shanghai have. On the other hand, the skin/wrap of the XLBs tasted tender and delightful. I have no doubts that they are freshly steamed and prepared. All in all,I loved visiting this restaurant and tasting quality Shanghainese food. Different to popular opinion though, I thought this restaurant shined through their less-known traditional entrees rather than the established XLBs and Shengjianbaos.
Unassuming spot with some of the best dumplings in LA and for extremely reasonable prices. The xiao long bao and sheng jian bao were the best I've ever had.
Really great food. The dumplings are superb. The prices are pretty good and the portions are great too. I had the fried pork chop noodle soup which was actually fried pork chop AND noodle soup. The pork chop was decent, nothing mind blowing but the noodle soup was delicious. Noodle soup and dumplings are a must have.
Smashed Cucumber salad is awesome, refreshing and crunchy! Xia long bao is juicy and full of flavor. Their chow mein is hella good too. We also ordered the fried rice cake but it was too mushy. Would've preferred it to be more "fried" vs chewy and watery. Service was good and food was ready for pick up when I arrived. This place is my go to place over Din Tai Fung. 4 stars only bc my Rice cake was too mushy.
Restaurantji Recommends
This is one of my favorite choices for dumplings-- the reason being is that it's completely off the charts with quality. Ok it's not everyone's cup of tea as far as location but the service and food quality is quite extraordinary considering the situation. I'd recommend this place to those who love authentic Chinese cooking. It's a real gem.
I just heard about this ma-and-pa restaurant and tried Muodu last weekend -- I was delighted by the menu, food, service! But I'm also sad, because the staff told me that the restaurant will be shuttering within the month due to new owners taking over who will be serving Hakka-style food. My advice is to try Muodu as soon as possible before they close! I typically go to Tasty Noodle House, Northern Cafe, and Din Tai Fung for noodles and dumplings (xiaolongbao and shengjianbao), but I really loved how Muodu is a smaller operation with low prices and menu items I typically don't find on other menus, including dishes I grew up with cooked by my Taiwanese mother (such as cold beef slices and Lion's Head pork meatballs served with clear vermicelli noodles). Everything was perfect when I dined here. They were out of the scallion pancake which is popular and sells out regularly. I ordered: --Xiaolongbao (Shanghai style soup dumplings) --Shengjianbao (juicy fluffy dumplings with crispy bottoms) --Beef Slices with Special Sauce (aka Chinese "cold cuts") --House special (aka "Lion's Head") meatballs: there were 2 HUGE meatballs in the clay pot, and I love that they were served with vermicelli like my Mom makes. Usually if restaurants even have Lion's Head meatballs on their menu it is served with Napa cabbage or just sauce. I love how they did this dish so authentically! It's an unassuming spot located in a tiny strip mall in Lomita (East of Torrance) with a few parking spots. I am going to try to squeeze in at least another visit soon before they close!
Excited to try this place since it says my hometown cuisine but can't be more disappointed. 1. Lack of management. Dad and mom work hard in the kitchen but sons and waitress are chaotic. Table were not set, mixed up the orders, unclear division of labor. 2. Food are below average. As a Shanghainese, it's the worst xlb and shen jian I've had. The skin of the xlb are all broken, which means the juice are all leaking. The meat is tight and not much flavor. I also ordered shao mai. Tasteless. Just because they look like xlb, shen jian, shao mai, doesn't mean they got the essence of it. 3. Not clean. Table are not clean properly especially during COVID time. I don't see any disinfectant being used after the table was cleaned by clothes. Dirty dishes are in the tray right next by my seat. Waiter was not aware he scratched his hair with his hand and bring food to the table with the same unwashed hand. They are polite but really need to improve the hygiene. For those reasons, I don't recommend this restaurant.
After eating shengjianbao in shanghai, I was always super disappointed with places in not just LA, but SF and NYC too (I spend a lot of time in both). I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the best sjb i've had in the US. Seriously. Better than Kang Kang, better than anything. Try it, you won't regret it. (The XLB is amazing too!)
The cook is from Shanghai, China. The pan fried pork burn tasted like what I had in Shanghai. They were so tasty and has soup inside the burn. Noodles are good as well.