Liu Mandarin Kitchen

Great people and awesome little gem located in Auburn. Dumplings are great but a bit pricey. I’ll be back for sure though.

Food was great and seemed really fresh and authentic.
The menu was very simple; we ordered the dumpling combination and Hunan chicken with chicken fried rice!
At the end the owner came out and had a bit of an awkward conversation but he seemed nice.

It was good, but so expensive (for Auburn). I would expect these prices in Bay Area, not the Sierra Foothills.
Dumplings were very good, but pricey. $ 12 gets you a plateful.
My favorite dish was «Hunan Chicken» (but its also $ 12 — I’m used to paying $ 7-​$ 8 for this type of Hunan dish).
Our bill for 4 persons was nearly $ 60…and I was not really full after this meal. I was very hungry again just two hours later.
Service was borderline awful. Not sure why the reviews are so high for this place.

So, we literally stumbled on to this place, and wow, what a find! To be honest, we got off the highway on the way to Tahoe with designs on something quick, ended up making a wrong turn and pulled into the old downtown area. The first parking spot we found was directly in front of LMK, and it was raining… decision made.
The place is a bit non-​descript, inside and out, and my expectations were set on standard «strip-​mall» Chinese food… but this is far from it. Instead, it is a wonderfully authentic noodle house offering up homemade noodles (if you don’t believe it, they are making them in plain site) along with a wonderful assortment of handmade dumplings made about any way you’d like them. They also serve up some of the more traditional staples (by US standards) like Beef and Broccoli.
Service is a bit rough around the edges, but it only serves to add to the experience. You’re basically being served by the same people cooking your food and hand-​making your noodles, so give them a break.
Prices are squarely in line with quality and portion size. My only hope is that they build up enough clientele to make it work. I don’t drive through Auburn every day, but next time I do, you bet I’ll be back!

Everything we tried was good, and the Hunan beef was some of the best I’ve ever had. We will definitely be back to try some more dishes.

I really wanted to give this place a try. Went here on my lunch break from jury duty. It was a 4 minute walk from the court house. But was very disappointed by my entire experience.
1. They ran out of pork buns
2. They charged me for hot tea
3. Ordered the chow mein/​dumpling/​hot and sour soup combo. Only received the chow mein and dumplings.
4. Over priced
5. Service was slow and terrible
My bill totaled $ 16.13 and for a plate of chow mein (w/​no proteins) and dumplings and hot tea. I am better off going somewhere else to drop nearly $ 20 on lunch after tip. Won’t be back. Tried to support a local business and it backfired.

Fresh ingredients on the food I have ordered… fast service you won’t be so mad to wait for it while you are so hungry… good service .got some freshening on my green tea!!!

What a delightful place! The food is fresh and flavorful. Not greasy or processed… Great atmosphere and wonderful owners!
Will be back soon! Oh, the dumplings were handmade and to die for and the homemade chili sauce was super flavorful.

Finally, a great Chinese restaurant in Auburn! Fresh veggies, homemade noodles and dumplings, not greasy… pure deliciousness! We tried pan-​fried pork dumplings (perfectly done with a tasty dipping sauce), chicken chow mein (lightly sauced with crisp, fresh vegetables) and Yu Xiang chicken (my husband LOVED the delicate, spicy sauce). We had the honor of visiting with Sunny, the owner, and her husband Brian. Both are delightful. We will definitely return, particularly to try the boiled version of the dumplings as recommended by Brian! Can’t wait until spring when we can enjoy the upstairs balcony overlooking Old Town Auburn!

This place is truly something special. Real food. All of it. Heart and soul in it. And it is incredible.
Stopped in on a whim for a late lunch during a trip. Saw the pork buns and dumplings pictures here and had to. So glad we did! This is all done how it should be. I knew with each bite of everything I tried that everything here was prepared and made fresh, from scratch, by hand, and cooked with skill and care. Right down to the wonton soup broth, there was no mistaking it. This was the real deal. And not to be missed. Absolutely delicious across the board.
I couldn’t believe how empty it was on a Sunday evening. Wake up, locals! This place is amazing! Go check it out! I’ll personally be coming in any time I pass by Auburn with any room in my stomach again.

Simply good food. Quiet little place just getting off the ground. Friendly staff for a Sunday evening. Their dumplings and Steam Buns are the stuff dim sum lovers dreams are made of. We had the broccoli Chicken and wonton soup too. Fresh and delicious. We will be back, and will brag to our friends.

This place is so good!!! Upon walking in we were greeted by the best smell– the smell that fills the kitchen when my mom makes dumplings! At first we wondered why it was so empty but it’s simply because it’s brand new. That will definitely change soon though! This place serves amazing homemade food. We shared summer noodles and the combo which came with fried rice, dumplings, and salad which was satisfying and filling for two hungry girls who had just finished a hike. The owner was so friendly and so was her husband! They make their noodles in little batches so they are so fresh :)
Don’t miss this gem in old town Auburn! If I’m ever in the area again I’ll come and try the rest of the menu!
(I meant to post this a few months ago on Labor Day but I guess it never posted! I’m glad to see this place has more reviews now since it deserves to do really well!)

Stopped by after a weekend of snow fun
We luckily scored front door parking
The staff were super friendlh
Really loved the asparagus beef dish

Hubs and I were in the area, so I Unilocaled around to find a place to eat that wasn’t a burger, taco, or pizza. The Unilocal photos of the food looked delicious. So off we went. And so glad we did…5 stars-​tasty fresh made good, quality ingredients, and sweet folks.
Have patience, parking can be tricky but worth it. The restaurant is located in historic Auburn. So parking is limited, there is free street parking and a free parking in a lot about a block away. Hubs and I scored street parking close by.
As we walked into the restaurant, we were warmly greeted immediately by the owner. It’s a small family run business.
We ordered 10 pan fried pork dumplings fried, 1 pork bun (I think that what’s it’s called), and jasmine tea. The dumplings come in 4 «meat» types: beef, pork, seafood, and veggie. I think you can choose to have them steamed vs pan fried, I forgot to ask.
The dumplings came with a side of sauce. The sauce had great flavor. The dumplings were juicy and overall tasty. Everything is house made from scratch including the dumpling skins and bun dough. Actually there was a lovely woman behind the glass partition counter rolling out fresh dough and dumplings as we dined. I’m sure those will be used to serve other folks for later that day.
The pork bun was capital Delicious. The pork was seasoned well with hints of green onion and cellophane noodles. The dough smelled excellent and tasted great, the aroma reminded me of childhood memories of visiting Asian bakeries. I must have looked like a weirdo taking long whiffs of the pork bun.
Ohh, and hubs was quite impressed how clean and organized everything was.

I had hoped for a wonderful experience but I was very disappointed especially after reading all the previous reviews. We ordered the dumplings, fried rice and soup and the two pork buns with wonton soup. We got the second order and the soup from the first order. Then we waited… and waited… My husband shared a taste of his pork buns, which were very nice … Still we waited. Finally the bill arrives Not the rest of my order but the full bill. We bring it to the servers attention who quickly apologizes and offers to now make the second half of our order.
We politely declined, we had to be somewhere else, paid for what we received and quickly left.
I don’t think we will go back to soon but would like to encourage others to try it and make your decision. Mistakes happen. Just very disappointed!

Happened upon this place on a stop off coming home from Tahoe.
Amazing, authentic northern Chinese food and great service, would have never thought to find this just off the highway.
Pork buns amazing, dumplings so tasty and fresh.
Looks may be deceiving but don’t walk past it!

Excellent delicious food! I’ll definitely be back!
Worth every penny ! The food is fresh and the dumplings are made everyday!
The owners are very nice people as well.
The atmosphere is nice and very clean.

Wow. Just Wow. The only reason I gave them five stars is because I can’t give them six. My wife doesn’t usually love Chinese food, and we had a bad experience at an Asian restaurant recently. So… she said she’d be willing to give this place a try only if I agreed to not drag her to any more Asian restaurants in the near future.
Well… after a plate of the dumplings and an order of chicken chow mein, she said she’d be begging to come back to this new place in Auburn.
We’re looking forward to trying other dishes, but you just can’t beat their dumplings (AKA pot stickers).

Really hoped for a delicious, happy dumpling (potsticker) experience. Alas, disappointment. Caveat that our order was a take-​out order, but my Asian parents ate at the restaurant and were not too impressed :(. Dumplings tasted a little old, maybe they were not made fresh that day? Fresh dumplings should be juicy, soft, savory and plumb full of deliciousness! These were a little hard and just didn’t taste fresh. Sorry. Hope to try it again and experience the burst of a fresh dumpling.

Excellent service. Owner attended us and asked about the food. «The Pork Dumplings and Fried Rice were superb!!!»
I’m picky and am honest in saying this is the best fried rice I’ve tasted. I’ll be back.