Mandarin Deli

The staff there are kind, so I am really hesitating to write this review about the food — however, one suppose to honestly report one’s experience on Unilocal so as to serve the community, isn’t this the point of Unilocal?
Ok, ordered (1) steamed veggie dumpling, (2) TOFU soup, and (3) noodle in soy paste and ground meat. #2 is passable, thanks to the MSG or seasoning packs used (ugh), but #1 and #3 really failed.
(1) Steamed dumpling: 10 out of 10 dumplings sent to us were terribly BROKEN into PIECES. NO self-​respected dumpling shop owner would EVER DO THAT. In Chinese culture, such thing was nearly unthinkable — even for home made dumpling. If 1 out of 50 broke in BOILED ones, it is probably ok. Steaming is a method that should not break any dumplings (if they are fresh, non-​recycled dumplings). So for a dumpling restaurant, 10 out of 10 falling apart? It is impossible to pick any up with chopsticks. So it begs the question: ARE THESE RECYCLED DUMPLINGS?
(2) noodles in soy paste and ground meat. Not only unauthentic and oily, but the bigger problem is that the oil used here are far passed its prime. It TASTES ROTTEN! How many times they re-​use the frying oil? Don’t they know such method is very cancerogenic?!

I’ve been coming here for over 25 years and I used to live down the street. Now I drive from Simi Valley to get my favorite Chinese food. My favorites are the soups!, Mandarin Chicken, vegetable dumplings, fried rice, and chow mein. Everything here is as good as it gets!

I had gone in here hoping to just get a bowl of wonton soup, the broth had no flavor and the fried rice I had gotten was so salty. Maybe it’s different without take out, but this is one place I won’t be going back for take out.

Have been eating here my entire life. Many of the same waitresses still work here after all this time! The food is very good. I recommend the onion pancakes and the beef noodle soup. Pricing is reasonable, and you will likely have left overs. I personally usually order take-​out, and this is my family’s go-​to Chinese takeout restaurant.

Mandarin Deli offers the only legit bowl of beef noodle soup in the valley. It is not as bold and spicy as Taiwanese BNS, but it hits all the right notes with high quality chunks of beef. Go for the hand made noodles, it is worth the extra dollar. Another favorite is the scallion pancake. The chicken chow mein is the same recipe as my mom’!
I am not a fan of the pork dishes here, but they may be fine to those who like northeastern Chinese cuisine.

It was okay… I haven’t had Chinese food in probably a year ever since my fav place closed down so I decided to give it a try. It’s a bit pricey here and the food wasn’t WOW to me. I called in my order and they had it ready when I got there so that was nice. I really wanted to love the place.

It’s not wonderful and it’s not terrible. But it beats having to drive to SGV.
If you’re just hankering for some «catered to American taste buds» then this is your place. I could taste the extra sugar they added to the sauce for the beef roll and the lack of depth for the beef noodle soup. I generally love soup that has been on the stove with bones for hours. Sadly, this place makes their broth with minimal love and few ingredients.
The staff were friendly though and it appears to be dog friendly (I’d still ask first though) since I saw a baby Akita just lounging next to his parents.

Niu Rou Mian (beef noodle soup) is a staple of mine around the house growing up. This place makes it with hand stretched noodles, and they make a banging scallion pancake. One of the best pairings in the world IMO. This places gets it, it’s just pretty expensive.

It’s a bit pricey, in my opinion. That aside, I am a pretty good fan of the things I regularly get from there. (Scallion/​thin onion pancake, beef noodle soup and pan fried dumplings. every. single. time.)
When taking out, it’s actually great because they package very well, and always are on time about it, and you can call way ahead and theyll have it hot and ready based on what time you give them.
When dining in, the wait is a little more than I’d like it to be, but the service and attentiveness is pretty good.

I love, love, love this place! I’ve been going here since I was a teenager, in college, and still. There aren’t many Chinese restaurants in the valley that can compare to the yummy food in SGV except maybe 2 I can think of, which includes this place.
The top items I like here and always order are the stir fry pan cake, beef noodle soup, steamed dumplings, and their chilled spiced cucumbers.
I recently took my friend who was visiting from Chicago and wanted good Chinese food. She’s really picky since she knows her food, but she said this place hit the spot.
I wish they would offer delivery and maybe Chinese breakfast once in awhile.

When we came here, there were very few asian patrons, and that made me hesitant. Our cousin took us here because my sis was craving chinese food. I was expecting Americanized chinese dishes, but it was pretty authentic and delicious. I had the handcut beef noodles which looked to be one of the most popular dishes (from perusing photos on Unilocal), and indeed, they were very tasty. My cousin and sister also had noodle soups, and we all felt like we were eating endless bowls of noodles. We all took leftovers home, and they even obliged to my request of separating my soup and noodles so they don’t get too soggy. The green onion pancake appetizer was amazing because it was super crisp and fluffy at the same time.

Been coming here my whole life. Was definitely the best and most authentic noodle house & dumpling shop in the west valley until Tampa Garden opened. But the food at Mandarin Deli is always consistent and solid. My favorite is the stewed beef noodle soup. Hot, spicy, with perfectly cooked noodles and huge chunks of tender beef. My other go-​tos are the pan fried dumplings, cold jellyfish salad, pan fried pork chop, and noodles in black bean sauce.

Short review, burnt dumplings and MSG.
Since I grew up in China I’m pretty use to the taste. We don’t use it at home but it’s hard to avoid it eating out. But come on guys, did you use a bucket full for each dish? If you don’t know what msg taste like, you can tell by the fact that you are constantly reaching for water even though the food is not salty. Our pot sticker was also burnt. Not toasted but burnt and dry on the bottom. This is my 3^rd time eating here, the last two were pretty good actually! I’m disappointed please talk to your chef about it.
Service is slow all three times.

DISCLOSURE: If I was rating based on ALL their menu items I would only give this place 3 stars. However, I really enjoy the following items so I’m sticking to my 4.
The best items on their menu I would have to say are:
–stewed beef soup noodle
–thin onion pancake
–pan fried dumplings
Those items are musts when dining here. Many of the other items I have tried are bland and lacking in flavor. The beef soup noodle is supposed to be spicy, but I find that some days it’s not spicy at all. I love the beef chunks they use for this soup because the fat (if you don’t want to eat it) can be easily removed lol. Soup has a nice beef flavor and noodles are delicious. They add a lot of green onion and cilantro and it really enhances the soup. Delicious! The onion pancake is only good while hot… I usually dip it in a soy sauce & vinegar mix or soy sauce & sesame oil mix. I noticed sesame oil aren’t on the tables like at the other location so you’ll have to request it. Pan fried dumplings are good, but only fried on one side.
The staff are friendly, but not very attentive.

When the temperatures finally start to drop in the San Fernando Valley… and the winds start kicking up, finally, making residents and visitors alike feel like Fall has FINALLY arrived, nothing feels better than a big bowl of hot soup with noodles.
And if you want Chinese comfort food, Mandarin Deli’s Beef Noodle Soup is the best one I’ve found in the Valley so far. Still on the lookout for other good ones.
I read in an article that their noodle is hand made (hand cut). I’m not a noodle expert so I won’t be able to tell you how «good» their noodles are, but I know they definitely weren’t bad.
I really would come back here for their beef noodle soup. The noodle was the right amount of soft and chewy, now not doughy and tasted fresh. The broth was clear and full of flavor. Their beef was falling-​apart tender.
However, don’t bother ordering their pot stickers. Unless you like yours doughy, then go for it. I had to deduct a star for this because we asked the server what their specialty is and he said the pot stickers. I got so excited when I heard that… and got so deflated after I took my first bite. There was barely any flavor. The stuffing was overpowered by the thick doughy wrapper.
Plenty of parking spaces in their lot. The place is not fancy and is not full.

I’ve visited all three locations since my college days — the 1980s.
All three have the same menu, and I have stuck to the same three or four items:
cold noodle with chicken and sesame sauce — always loved this dish as the sesame dressing is so creamy. Noodles are always perfect and fresh. Toss in some chicken, sesame seeds, and a few blanched veggies (bean sprouts, cucumber shreds, and spinach).
potstickers — always a favorite among everyone — pan fried to perfection.
others will also choose the jajiang mien — spelling is probably wrong. Tons of garlic in this one, which is why I avoid it.
Will definitely be back again as I’ve been for the past 30 years.

I tried a bunch of Chinese restaurants in this area and of course, being Chinese, it is in my blood to find the best place that satisfies my cravings. We very enjoyed our order: pan fried meat dumping, beef pancake roll, and beef chow mein with handmade noodles. The handmade noodles are wider and flatter than regular noodles. It has a terrific texture. I normally wouldn’t order dumplings in restaurant since my momma makes it best but these are good considering how momma is hundreds of miles away!

I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. The menu is simple, service is fast and the food is satisfying and plentiful. It is what it is, a Chinese restaurant in the valley. Mandarin Deli is easy going and welcoming to all. The parking lot is huge, and it’s easy to find. It’s been around since the late 80’s.
My favorite dish is definitely the beef noodle soup with hand pulled noodles. The portion and flavor is pretty decent for $ 10.50 but I think it could’ve been a lot hotter on the temperature. At best it was luke warm. The lady figured we were going to share it so brought two bowls and started serving which I thought was nice… But then she started butchering the noodles which in my book is a no no. I love the noodles long, that’s how they’re designed so leave it that way. If I wanted bite size noodles I would’ve ordered Mac and cheese.
The same went for the black bean noodles. This dish is $ 8.50 and it was ok. Temperature could’ve been hotter and chopping the noodles to bite sized pieces wasn’t necessary.
Their pan fried meat dumplings were fairly priced and portioned and came out piping hot and juicy. The dough isn’t my scene though and I felt it could’ve been a little thicker. Also the dipping sauces available at the table was nothing special. Red vinegar would’ve been nice. $ 7.50
Tea at the table was hot for a second but then instantly tapered off to warm and quickly to cold.
Atmosphere… I don’t think they’ve touched anything since the 80’s.
Overall: not really impressed especially with the temperature of the foods. Its family run and that’s where the charm ends. Their menu has a lot of super Chinese dishes but lacks any true Chinese execution. This just didn’t cut it for me. There are no lunch specials, the prices are a little more expensive and unfortunately doesn’t make it worth it.

We ordered some take out after reading the reviews and scanning through their pics. And the verdict is we were pretty satisfied.
The pan fried meat dumplings are hand made and yummy. You can tell they are hand made because they are rustic looking. The largest dumpling I’ve ever seen, 8 in each order. I like dipping mine in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce. Must try.
Also ordered the noodles with black bean sauce. In Korean it’s called Jjajangmyeun. The noodles are soft and tender and comes with this black bean sauce and mixture of chopped meat and veggies. You have to toss the noodles with the sauce.
Last thing we ordered was their pork chop that was recommended by the waitress who took my order. It was really tasty. Its a marinated pork chop that they cut into pieces, salty and finger licking good.
Can’t wait to try their beef noodle soup and spicy seafood noodle soup.

Mandarin Deli feels like a 1970’s Chinese diner… sweet older ladies waiting on you, old-​fashioned booths and tables, and cheap, piping hot, delicious comfort food in a bowl (Enter: beef noodle soup)…
Their beef noodle soup with hand-​cut noodles will rock your socks… AND sandals off– that’s right, Asian grandpa-​style. This broth is powerfully flavored with what seems like the bones and carcasses of a thousand virgin cows. I’m sure it took hours to make by magical Chinese elves in the middle of the night. The pieces of tender beef, aromatic herbs and perfectly chewy/​springy noodles simply add even more depth to this already intoxicating base. I should warn you though, the soup is pretty intense and some may find too rich or salty… I, however, could drink that liquid gold on the daily.
The scallion pancakes are a great accompaniment as well. They’re hot, fluffy and doughy and just as comforting.
So if you’re not in China/​Taiwan/​San Gabriel Valley, etc and want a traditional, authentic experience, drop that mahjong game, and get some beef noodle soup at Mandarin Deli.
(Big, free parking lot too!)