Zoe Ma Ma

I have always heard great things about Zoe Ma Ma and finally found the time to try it out. It certainly didn’t disappoint, we went twice in one week! It has been hard finding good Chinese food. The Roast Duck Wonton Noodle Soup is by far my favorite thing here. I hear someone order it with vermicelli instead of the regular noodles and I will definitely be trying that next time.
It seems a little intimidating at first trying to find a table, but the turnover is quick and by the time your food is ready there is usually a table.

Would not return. We ordered 2 noodles, some potstickers, vegan dumplings, and steamed buns and the only thing that was remotely good was the pork steamed bun (the chicken curry one was as bland as water!!).

CPR was good. The best thing they have is the chicken soup. Never had chicken soup like it before. Amazing. Flavorful. Will go back just for the soup and get food from somewhere else. Yum.

We both got veggie options that were both bland. There was also a hair in my dish. Everyone says such great things about this place, but it must be their meat dishes that are good…

Stop by this place if you visit Pearl Street Mall. If you are an asian food lover, a good place to come by. Reasonable price and the food is authentic and taste really good. The noodles were crunchy and handmade. Lots of flavor to enhance your taste bud.

Best potstickers ever!!! The sauce for them is literally the best. The chicken soup was also delicious but would come back for potstickers for sure.

This place is great. My CPR dish with noodles instead of rice tasted awesome. Also had a BAO bun with curry. Great sixes to accent the meal.

I am addicted to the chicken noodle soup with egg, made extra awesome by adding their chili sauce and posticker sauce… on any given day you will find at least one of my coworkers eating just that, because it’s freaking delicious! I also love the duck wonton soup:)

The Good:
Zoe Ma Ma is a cute, tiny, authentic Chinese spot on Pearl around the corner from Pasta Jay’s. My boyfriend, carnivore & huge noodle fan, adores the soups & housemade noodles. Good location, good for to-​go, not expensive.
The Bad:
Not many vegetarian options. I like eating there, but I don’t love it. Tiny space only has a few tables which will most likely be dirty and in high demand. Not much flavor in veggie dishes, I douse mine in their red hot sauce — all their sauces are oil-​based which I don’t love.
The Food:
Housemade noodles, steam buns & sauces which is cool
The Service:
Order at the counter, bring your dishes to the bus tub by the door.
Overall:
Great for homesick Chinese folks, carnivores & take-​out.

Love this place! It is really authentic taste without being too bland. I have lots of Chinese food in my life including in China and Hong Kong. This place really come close to what serves in Asia. So far, this is the only place I would revisit for Chinese food.
The menu is limited but have enough variety to choose from. The place is tiny and parking could be problematic (of course Boulder right next to Sushi Tora) but the food worth going through some pain.
Favorites are CPR, Lion’s Head (special on Wednesday and Thursday), Za Jiang Mian. Note: Must grab some sauce provided for extra spice !

I’ve been coming to Zoe Ma Ma for years (came here a lot when I lived in Boulder) and was craving some good chicken soup yesterday. I usually am a phở girl, but decided to give Zoe Ma Ma’s chicken soup noodle a shot. Every other time I have dined here, I have had the Za Jiang (delicious noodle dish with a meaty sauce and fresh veggies).
Yesterday I got the soup and a potsticker. The soup was tasty, but the noodles were a bit harder and not very good. The broth also was a bit oily, but besides those two things, the soup was delicious. The flavors shone through, with fresh bok choy as one of my favorite parts of the dish. The potsticker was also wonderful and big!
Next time I return, I will likely try a new dish (maybe the duck soup on Friday or the beef soup served at the beginning of the week).
Pros: It is quite cheap (my meal was $ 10 for all that food!), you can sit outside and gaze at the Flatirons if it’s nice out, and they have a wide variety of both dim sum and Chinese dishes you can’t really find in Boulder. It is a unique spot, no doubt. They have beer and tea.
Cons: During lunch hour and at other busy times, it can get pretty crowded so you may be left without a seat if you want to dine in. It’s a few blocks up from Pearl Street mall, so parking can also be a hassle.

Step into Zoe Ma Ma and it’s like stepping into a local modern day San Francisco noodle shop. There are people from all walks of life who seem to converge here as time slows, reminiscent of days where my great grandparents lingered at the local ramen shop in Honolulu… people in flip flops, suits, buffs souvenir gear… it’s all here. Even a guy with an ukulele.
So, it’s like the past and present, sprinkled with Szechuan peppers, umami, cilantro and scallions. What’s not to like with that surreal narrative? Ha. If you doubt my verbose description, just let your taste buds do the judging.
Szechuan beef soup is only available on Mondays through Wednesdays, but it’s incredibly worth any gastronomic maneuvering. These noodles are addictive, y’all, and especially the morsels of tender braised beef in aforementioned beef soup!
The steamed pork buns are divine. The filling is more curry than char sui but meaty and delish.
Dinner for two to-​go for $ 16 on Pearl street? Oh ya, bring it!

Most excellent duck wonton soup! Only on Fridays and Saturdays though but totally worth the trip.
I highly recommend the outside seating on sunny fall afternoons with a direct view of the Flatirons.

First time I was here I had the za jiang mian and a bao. Za jiang was pretty good, I felt the sauce to be a bit bland, but the bao was just fine. Second time I tried the szechuan braised beef and was pretty disappointed. Sichuan food is all about spicy, and this couldn’t even be considered mild in my opinion. The beef was nice in it though, very soft and flavorful. The broth was a plain tasting beef stock with a dash of Chinese 5 spice, that’s all. For the first meal the price was nice, worth the amount, and quality I received. The braised beef soup was wayy overpriced for what you get, and I’ll never be tempted to order that again.
Overall it’s enjoyable enough to return, if choosing the correct menu items.

Zoe ma ma has some kind of situation going on. Unsure from what lens I should be judging this restaurant because the line between authentic and commercialized chinese food is a bit blurry for me on this one, which is odd since it’s generally so obvious to determine the real Asian food from the posers???
As to my confusion, perhaps it’s because the appearance came off as authentic but flavor veered left? It wasn’t the bold and savory flavors that I expect from Chinese food. Not saying the taste wasn’t delicious… Just a little different. I’m left reaching for words as to how to explain it.
We opted for take-​out because this food joint literally has like 4ish tables or something. Super cramped. The outdoor seating seemed quaint, but no covering. The sprinkling of rain really didn’t let outdoor dining be an option.
I ordered the «za jiang mian» which is a dish of homemade noodles, cucumbers, carrots, beef, and some brown sauce. Very simple in concept, but a very hearty dish with generous servings. I think (?) I enjoyed it. If I was reviewing it with the lower expectations of commercialized Chinese food, then it would get high ratings as it had a punch of flavor and unique menu not offered everywhere. The texture of the noodles had decent chew and all the ingredients were fresh and wholesome. But if I was judging based on more authentic Chinese food, then the flavors weren’t as rich and seemed a bit 2-​dimensional compared to restaurants of large chinatowns.
I also shared a couple of potstickers and steamed pork bun. The potstickers hit that comfort food note. Full of meat with a delightful sear on the doughy outer shell. However, the steamed bun, despite having all the right textures, had a peculiar aftertaste. I’ve never had steamed buns prior to this so perhaps it’s meant to be this way, but I wasn’t expecting a slightly sweet maybe cinnamon-​y or nutmeg-​y aftertaste to the bun? Not really a fan of that.
In real life, I’d rate a 3.5. I wouldn’t hate coming back, but I just left the meal feeling very on the fence.

I’ve only been in Boulder for 2.5 weeks and I’ve been here multiple times already. The Chinese food here is a little hard to describe. It’s not Chinatown «authentic» but it’s also not white-​washed Chinese takeout stuff. It’s more of a unique take on Chinese home cooking, and it’s at least satisfying enough to make me feel a bit less homesick.
The first time I went here, I got the Za Jiang noodles and a small hot and sour soup. The egg noodles have a decent Za Jiang sauce and are topped with fresh, springy veggies. The noodles themselves are a little more al dente than I prefer, and I would have liked more sauce, as it didn’t fully mix throughout the whole bowl. The hot and sour soup is quite different from what I usually get at Chinese restaurants. It’s a bit less intense and has real strings of hearty pork inside. It’s very good, but be prepared for something other than what you’d expect if you’re craving traditional Chinese restaurant hot and sour soup. I’ve also had their braised beef noodle soup, which uses the same noodles as the zhajiang mian. It’s decently yummy and the beef is rich and flavorful. The potstickers are one of my favorite things there, with a crisp, thick skin and juicy innards. They pair perfectly with ZMM’s potsticker sauce. My other favorite is the brown rice cake with goji and raisins, which is a sweetened sticky brown rice cake. It’s warm and lightly sweet with a slight tang from the fruit, and it’s only $ 1.75 — an unbeatable snack!
Overall, I’m giving this place 4 stars because as yummy and hearty as the food is, I still prefer the traditional Chinese food I grew up eating in Houston. This place is definitely worth a try, though!

Absolutely love this place!
The food was fantastic, the price reasonable and being able to hear the person I went with was perfect.
I ordered the vegetarian bowl and loved it. I’m a vegetarian with some vegan tendencies (that I am trying to correct) but the food was so good I tried my friends pork dumplings… Totally worth the belly ache I had about 20 minutes later.
I work on Pearl and you came best believe this is going to be one of my favorite haunts.

I was searching for a dim sum place and this popped up. Right on Pearl Street, so we checked it out. Good street food but if you are looking for a dim sum experience, this isn’t it. They have dim sum items on the menu but this isn’t the dim sum on carts kind of place. Still, the braised beef noodle soup had great flavor and on a cold day, I’d crave a bowl of it for sure.
The dim sum items are only okay. Tried the original pot stickers and the veggie ones plus the buns. Like I said, so-​so (out of the three, the veggie dumplings were the best). I am Chinese so maybe my standards for dumplings are a bit higher.
Would definitely go back and try the Za Jiang Mian though. It sounded good. Did like all the different dipping sauces and the hole in the wall vibe.

Went here for the first time today seeking refuge from the rain during Creek Fest. Unilocal gave this place only one dollar sign ($) so we decided to roll the dice and try it. My friends and I were pleasantly surprised. I had the «CPR» dish which was a chicken and potato bowl over rice. It was very good. My fiancé had a veggie bao bun and the Za Jiang Mian which was egg noodles with pork and veggies. It was also very good. The best part about this place is that they let you serve your self to a myriad of sauces to top your dish. All of them were unique and tasty. My friend loved her noodles too!
I also should note that they did not get my order correct the first time, but the woman in charge quickly whipped up the dish that I did order (in about 2 minutes). That was a huge plus. Corrected the problem immediately.
I did downgrade by one star for the ambiance and cramped seating… This place would do a lot better with double the space and an updated look.

After a day of shopping on Pearl Street my sister and I were on the hunt for some lunch. There are so many restaurants on Pearl Street it’s a little overwhelming so I thank Unilocal for pointing me in the right direction! We walked past a couple of popular restaurants on Unilocal and decided on Zoe Ma Ma because it’s not something that we would normally visit. It’s a very small Chinese restaurant with a small menu filled with choices that I’ve never had before so we were feeling adventurous (except for the potstickers… who hasn’t had potstickers??).
We decided on the daily special (Sichuan braised beef noodle bowl), a couple of pork and shrimp potstickers, and the marinated pork steamy buns. It was all delicious but let me tell you about the noodle bowl… best thing EVER! The meat was super tender and tasty and the broth was the BOMB! It was so good I considered going there for dinner the same day so I could eat as much of it as possible before leaving Colorado. As I type this my mouth is watering… oh, I miss it already! I can’t wait to visit Colorado and eat there again… I mean visit my loving sister… nope, I really just want another Sichuan braised beef noodle bowl!