Mama Fu's Asian House
4615 N. Lamar
Ste #307
Austin, TX 78751
One of my co-workers is leaving for a new job, so we took him to lunch, and he selected Mama Fu's. I'd never been there, and it seemed like a good time to express a few opinions on the food.
I checked out the menu before hand, and a lot of the food seems to based on vegetables that I don't care for, like peppers, onions and mushrooms. Also, they didn't really have my favorite, sesame chicken, though they do offer a dish with a sesame soy sauce and chicken. Mama Fu's is a little different because their entrees are Noodle or Rice dishes to which you may then add Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, Tofu or Veggies. So, I could have had Sesame Chicken, or Sesame Beef, or Sesame Tofu....you get the picture. The problem is the description has the sauce with "yellow onions, red bell peppers, white mushrooms and green beans..." That didn't really appeal to me.
What I decided on was an appetizer, a large order of potstickers, and a side order of fried rice. That ended up the same price as one of their entrees with chicken or tofu. And, they have Coke Zero, at least at the Triangle location, so that is a big thumbs up for me.
Now, at Mama Fu's, you walk up to the register and order and then find a table and they bring you your food. We had a party of seven and the Triangle location isn't real large. They had trouble fitting us in, but it didn't help that they had another large party in the restaurant while we were there. The wait staff were very helpful and very pleasant to deal with.
Our food arrived amazingly fast, which is important when you are out at lunch and need to get back to work. It took them a moment to sort out the orders, because a side of fried rice looks a lot like fried rice with tofu. My order turned out to 8 large potstickers, and a rather large side of fried rice...as I said, it was mistaken for a full order of fried rice, and it really was that large. The fried rice was very tasty. It did not taste particularly of anything, but it definitely wasn't bland. The pot stickers were perfect. You can get them steamed or crunchy, and I got them crunchy.
If you have never had potstickers, you should know that crunchy potstickers are not really crunchy all over, it just means that they are cooked in a fry pan rather than being cooked in a steamer. They come out crunchy in places, and these were just right, and packed with pork. They were delicious, and could easily serve as a small appetizer for as many as four, at least the large order.
Everyone at my table seemed to enjoy their food, and they had a variety of dishes. I didn't taste them, as they didn't come to the restaurant to participate in my review. On the way out, one of my co-workers complained mildly that it was a little bland. He likes spicy Thai and Chinese food and he didn't get it.
I won't mind going back, and I would certainly recommend it for the Potstickers and Fried Rice, if nothing else.
