May’s Fusion and Cuisine

Does anyone know if this place is closed or not? I made a phone call to order a take-​out this afternoon, 4÷24÷15 (Friday) around 4:30pm, and got a message said the number is not in service. Curious enough, I drove by the restaurant and there is a «closed» sign hanging at the front door. Any ideas?

I’ve been to May’s more than a handful of times and I really like coming here for 1) the ambiance — it is usually quiet and peaceful inside 2) authentic Taiwanese food — fusion is a bit of a misnomer 3) price, which is reasonable.
I would recommend getting the egg pancake on any visit. My advice is to share a bunch of appetizer and main dishes with the people you come with, so that you can get a more diverse tasting experience. Only drawback is that they are cash only.
I will come back here again.

Tucked away in a residential area, it may be easy to miss May’s. Parking can be a bit tough BUT fear not because they apparently have a lot or driveway to the left of the restaurant! Clearly we didn’t know about this until we saw it on the menu. so there you go!
We were the only customers here on a Thursday night around 7:15 so it was nice to have the place to ourselves. The place is a bit small and has one row of tables. They have a lot of choices that you would find in a Taiwanese restaurant, but also some other ones like yaki ramen and bulgogi.
We ended up getting the scallion pancake and zha jiang mian (mild)
–Scallion pancake: fried nicely but a little to thick for my taste. It wasn’t very salty, but the sauce they gives you adds enough flavor. Otherwise it could be a little bland without it. It’s pretty big and thicker than what I am used to. Eat it hot! Or else it gets tougher when it’s cold
–Zha jiang mian: I really liked the noodles in this dish! It comes with the slightly flat doughy noodles and carrots/​veggies, meat, tofu, and sauce. The sauce is a bit salty, but that’s normal for this dish. I liked the spiciness level too. We asked for just a little bit since the menu only said spicy or non-​spicy, and the mild was enough for me!
They have an extensive drink menu too with different teas and smoothies.
Overall I thought it satisfied my taiwanese food craving, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here. Good place to try though!

I had a light supper (consisting of all appetizers) at May’s on Saturday and was pleasantly pleased with the results. We ordered the scallion pancake, and although it wasn’t the best that I’ve ever had (a bit on the oily side), the turnip cake was very authentic (just like I used to eat when I lived in Taiwan), and the fresh greens and the panfried goyza were delicious. We topped the meal off with the Red Bean smoothie which was a real treat! I’d go back again.

I was super excited to try this place. I am Taiwanese, my parents lived in Taiwan all their lives until moving to the states, and I’ve vacationed in Taiwan for long periods of time. This food is absolutely not authentic. This is Chinese food as in food from mainland China. The most I could say is that it may be Chinese-​Taiwan fusion if I’m really stretching it.
I had the house special fried rice and the vegetable they put in there (not sure what it’s called in English, but in mando it is «gao-​li cai») is a very Chinese thing to put into fried rice. As are carrots. Also the food was just average. The fried rice was not very good and the egg pancake was rubbery. It really was a disappointing all around experience.

Had a great Saturday dinner here. Some highlights:
— sliced pork garlic dip
–beef noodle soup
— lychee smoothie
Feels very authentic and looks like a family run place. The atmosphere is pleasant and the prices very good. Pretty easy to find parking. Second time here and will keep coming back

Who: Taiwanese-​American lady who’d grown up in Asian-​food-​mecca LA and her Caucasian spouse
When: Early Sunday dinner
Where: Cute window seat
What: Appetizers — 3x combo (marinated eggs + pressed tofu aka dougan + seaweed), steamed fresh-​picked veggies, thin-​sliced pork; entrees — sauteed rice cake w/​veggies + pork and daloumian (Taiwanese gumbo w/​bamboo shoots and wood ear fungus and pork and other noodles); drinks — peach + grass jelly smoothie (so good we got 1 extra to go), red bean smoothie (equally good, but my hands were too cold to hold that many).
How: We both loved the food! Definitely a new favorite dining spot. The portions of these items were fairly large, so we decided early on to pack half the apps. Very challenging to avoid 1) greasiness and 2) oversaltiness, and May’s successfully avoid both in the food to present a tasty but healthy-​feeling meal.
$ — $ 56 for a very filling dinner for 2 hungry people, plus at least 1 or 2 meals’ worth more, neatly packed in microwaveable containers
To fuss: the thin-​sliced pork entrée could have been leaner, but plenty of tasty lean meat anyway. Location could’ve been more accessible via car, though not too bad. Daloumian could’ve been thicker/​gunkier, but that’s coming from a «that’s how other places always made it» rather than «it would’ve tasted better» issue… gunkiness is probably also less healthy!

I went to May’s Café today. Seems like there are 2 names for the place.
Food is decent, good quality and has a home made quality to it. Some of the foods seems a bit pricey, e.g. $ 11.95 for their house special fried rice.
The streamed greens are very good — probably because of the fried garlic added on top of it. The May’s fried rice is good though the rice is a bit mushy. Lots of ingredients unlike some other places.
The beef noodle soup is pretty good though not as good as Jo Jo Taipei. The egg pancake was good.
Service was good though slow. It’s cash only.
Overall, nice and decent food. I’d go here often if it were in my neighborhood, but I probably won’t drive out of my way again to come try the food here.

I lived next to May’s for a year and never came here. I recently came with a friend to get some food, I ended up getting the best scallion pancakes I have ever had in my life. I also got to sample my friend’s spicy wontons and wonton soup, which were both delicious. I regret never coming here when I lived across the street but it’s worth the trip from Somerville.

It’s difficult for me to write a review here because I’m beginning to think that maybe Taiwanese food isn’t for me. I came here with my boyfriend and we ordered the spicy wontons, salty crispy chicken, scallion pancake, and the spicy beef noodle soup. Other reviewers were correct, the scallion pancake is quite doughy — I like mine thinner. Everything else was oddly bland and unsatisfying. It also didn’t help that my boyfriend and I had stomach aches for the rest of the night. I liked that they put lemon in the water, but other than that the food was just okay.

Love this place!!! very cozy feels like at home. The lady working there is very nice. Most importantly, the food is absolutely delicious, can’t wait to go back again!!!

If I could give this place 0 stars, I would.
Food: Bad Flavor, Warm
Service: Terrible, Slow and Rude
Parking: very lacking, in a residential only parking area
We ordered:
Scallion Pancakes: Tough and Chewy, served Warm but it should be HOT
Pork Chop Noodles: Pork Chops were to sweet, noodles were only
House Fried Rice: The only flavor was pepper, way too much of it! The rice was too wet.
Dumplings: plain, very little filling, also served warm
Shanghai Style Nian Gao-​very little flavor, not authentic at all
By the way: CASH ONLY (and it’s not written on the door or any where on the menu.

May May May! You appeared as the best hidden gem to discover. Above average Unilocal reviews, very authentic menu items and Taiwanese regulars that don’t even need menus to order. Sigh… My expectations were way too high, hence my sore disappointment.
The marinated seaweed, egg and dried tofu platter was pretty flavorless. Scallion pancakes were more doughy than crispy. Pork with garlic sauce was supposed to have more garlic bits and scattered green onion, not an odd slump of cilantro on top. Lastly, the zhajiangmjan sauce was too watery and there was more fat bits than ground pork.
Everything was just slightly off at this place. Is this the «fusion» they were aiming for? Not digging it. Not recommending it.

This is review is largely for the Taiwanese beef noodle soup. I have been traveling around Boston, exploring what Boston has to offer in terms of Taiwanese beef noodle soup. To be warned, I’ve had very, very good beef noodle soup in California, and the Boston variety is definitely a notch or two below, so anything I rate in Boston is graded on a curve.
May’s is tucked in a residential area of Allston. I liked the secluded feel — knowing about this restaurant made me feel like an insider. Parking was a little difficult, but I came on a Sunday, so I was able to park on the street. And there wasn’t much of a wait when I came here, as I came here the night before Hurricane Sandy arrived to Boston and most people were probably loading up on canned food. I tried their beef noodle soup (which they say is their most popular dish) and spicy wontons as an appetizer. The spicy wontons were pretty good, and the soup review is below:
Taiwanese beef noodle soup breakdown:
— Beef (⁴⁄₅) — The beef was pretty good. It was a tender piece of beef that wasn’t too fatty, and it melted in my mouth. Probably the best beef I’ve had in any beef noodle soup in Boston.
— Noodles (¹⁄₅) — They used the standard, packaged noodles. They’re merely okay, and they’re nothing like the fresh, chewier noodles that you can get at other places.
— Broth (³⁄₅) — The broth wasn’t intensely flavorful, it was just okay. The broth also wasn’t too oily, the way that some other places make it. It wasn’t very spicy, but I think that was because I did not specify my level of spiciness, so by default they made the soup with a low level of spiciness. Though upon request, they gave me some garlic chili sauce, which added a little bit of spice and sour flavor to the dish.
— Other ingredients (⁴⁄₅) — The soup came with some lettuce, herbs, and pickled vegetables on top. All pretty standard. I wish they had given me a little more pickled vegetables though — I think the best part of this kind of soup is the contrast between the sour vegetables and the spicy broth.
To be warned, the soup here is also $ 1-​$ 1.50 more than you might spend at other places around town. But definitely worth at least one visit if you’re a Taiwanese beef noodle soup aficionado like myself.

Yeah… yeah, YEAH!
Yeah, that was the pleasant and great «vibe» I felt after eating at this place. This place is fairly hidden from the main streets, and if you drive here, parking might be hard to find, but once you find this place, you will be rewarded. This place’s specialty is Taiwanese Chinese cuisine, another great type of Chinese cuisine that I recently started appreciating. Here are the dishes I had so far:
Cong You Bing — The scallion pancake is a good choice for an appetizer, with a decent crisp on the inside and a nice chewiness on the inside. It’s not too oily or greasy, making it probably one of the best scallion pancakes I have eaten.
Fan Qie Niu Rou Mian — The spicy beef noodle soup was fantastic. The beef texture was soft, chewy and really flavorful. The broth had a great spice. The noodles and vegetables were really good and were a great complement to the beef and the broth. This is a great choice when the weather is at a dismal 18 degrees Celsius or below. Probably one of the best beef noodle soups I have eaten since I left Shanghai.
Yan Su Ji — The Crispy Salty Chicken is a great choice for an appetizer even though the portion is small and served almost like a Spanish tapa or a racion. Very freshly cooked, it has a fine crisp on the outside and a decent tenderness on the inside. The spices provided just make the chicken even tastier.
E Zai Jian (Ho Chai Jin) — The Taiwanese Oyster Omelet is a great combination of egg, oyster, and this really tasty sauce. They put in a good amount of meaty oysters and the soft texture of the egg combined with the tasty flavor of the sauce can make a great morning breakfast for one person.
Shi Jin Dan Chao Fan — The May’s Special Fried Rice is made from Chinese sausage known as «Lap Cheung» in Cantonese Chinese, shrimp, chicken, carrots and scallions. This is not your ordinary generic Yeung Chow Chao Fan that you would find in your typical Chinese restaurant. It tastes so much better. The Chinese sausage had a really meaty texture and was easier to chew compared to a lot «Lap Cheung» at other Chinese restaurants. This fried rice dish was freshly cooked, the portions are extremely generous for one person, and it can be the perfect meal if you are really hungry late in the evening.
Luo Bo Gao (Lo Bak Go) — The Turnip Cake’s soft texture combined with the sauce, made it a really tasty dish. Despite the lack of crispiness, it was still good. I hate to say this, it was probably better than the Lo Bak Go served in the most mediocre dim sum restaurants in Boston’s Chinatown, and almost as good as the Lo Bak Go served in Toronto and even in Hong Kong.
I really liked the small, quiet and quaint interior. This is a good environment if you really want a casual and somewhat discreet dinner appointment with someone you know or with 2 – 3 other friends. The lady who works here is fairly nice. Make sure you have plenty of cash since it is cash only.
Overall, this is a great choice for some tasty Taiwanese Chinese food and if you are looking for a fairly quiet environment. This is probably the type of place I would definitely look forward to coming back if I am craving for some good comfort food in the Taiwanese Chinese style.

May, you’ve been hiding from me for 11 years, but now I’ve found you! Another Taiwanese place in Boston? Woot!
May, why are you tucked away on a 1-​way residential street where I must drive in circles, narrow alleys, and bust out my mad parallel parking skills just to at here. You should have taken my commercial real estate seminar in 1996 on «Where Not To Open A New Restaurant, Location, location, location!»
Ok, so you survived for 15 years already, boast a 4-​star Unilocal rating… give me all you’ve got. My Taiwanese tummy is ready for you.
Minced Pork Over Rice, Jackie Chan’s favorite. The pickled radish garnish would have doubled in size if it were 1 mm wider. I like my crunchy radish. Small portion. A little watery, but better than too oily and not too salty. Thank you for adding the soy-​sauce boiled egg even though it comprised have the volume in the bowl. This dish was cute in size, but too much of a tease. Can you offer a medium or large-​sized option with pork belly or pork knuckle? I expect to see this next time, May.
Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, please be good. Beautiful presentation in a black, wide, Japanese style bowl. Little fresh greens and pickled garnishes decorate and complement the robust flavor of the beef and spicy brown broth. The beef chunks here are are very good. Very tender and marbled with a little fat/​tendon. Candy to the eye and yummy in my tummy.
Cold, marinated tofu and seaweed. This simple appetizer dish evoked childhood memories with the family. It was perfectly prepared with fresh cilantro sprigs and the garlic soy paste. A must try.
Turnip Cakes. Less oily, less greasy, but a more healthy way to enjoy these palate-​satiating squares. Came with a soy based and spicy dipping sauces. My tummy moaned for more crispiness, but my heart reminded me that more crispiness means more oil.
Oyster pancake. Probably the highlight of the evening. They used the pink sauce instead of the red and brown versions. I grew up with the pink version. It’s more subtle than the red or brown, but the better of the 3 musketeers. Very well balanced proportions of egg, gelatin, oysters, greens. It was gone in a few nanoseconds between my wife and I. I think she managed to eat more than half of it because I was taking some sips of the beef noodle soup in between. No wonder I have a hard time remembering any details. The flavors just worked and we inhaled this son of a b****.
Celery Sensation. The waitress called it Kelery. Loved it! Celery, carrots, grapes, and some honey. Thought it might be weird, but it worked esplendito. Served at room temp with a little ice. More of a juice, not smoothie.
May, you impressed me and I’ll be back. Since you are family run and I’ve got a soft spot for you types, I’m also going to tell all my friends about you.

Aw, I love May!
This place was a super tiny restaurant in the middle of a residential street. Just like its surroundings, it was quaint and quiet. Me and 2 of my girlfriends went for an early dinner at around 5:30pm and it was empty inside. There had to be only like… 5 tables max. At first, it was so quiet that we found ourselves almost whispering to talk to each other. But that ended quickly when we had our first fit of laughter. And then the restaurant felt like home!
We ordered their popular May’s fried rice dish, fried turnip cakes, and salty crispy chicken. The fried rice and turnip cakes were really good. But that chicken… it kind of tasted like it was fried in herbal medicine. My friend loved it because she said it smelled like stinky tofu… mmhmm…
overall, it was a good meal for a cheap price. i will definitely go back because their menu is pretty extensive. plus, i like supporting family-​run businesses, which May’s definitely is because I saw little people running around through the kitchen door! aw, so cute :)
p. s. by little people, i meant toddlers. i hope no one was offended.

This is probably the best Taiwanese restaurant in the New England region of the U.S. that I ever visited. This restaurant is clean, with warm atmosphere. There are good selections of typical Taiwanese street food. We have ordered appetizers to try.
Turnip cake: it was perfectly pan fried, with great dipping sauce. it will be even better if there were some turnip chuck in it.
Marinated tofu and seaweed: the tofu was perfect, not too hard, and not too soft. The seaweed was also just about right texture. The sauce that came with it was not too salty, and with a hit of sweetness.
Scallion pancake: I was not a fan of its texture. It was way too chewy, not flaky at all. Also, for some reasons, there was no scallion in it.
Steam vegetable with meat sauce: Although it was steamed, the meat sauce that over it was too greasy, and kind of bland.
Minced pork over rice: The minced pork was very favorable, and the sauce that went with rice was just about perfectly seasoned. The rice was the good short grain.
Although not everything we ordered were great, I still look forward to coming back to try some of their main dishes soon. This is a tiny local restaurant worth of trying and supporting.

went here because I was told it was a hole in the wall with amazing Taiwanese food. So I went here. the parking kind of sucks. but by no means is it a hole in the wall. It’s warm and very homey. The place serves homemade Taiwanese food. The owner is very nice.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find any of the food extremely tasty. It was good. a bit expensive for what you get… oh and too much ginger. Not a fan of that really. But the bubble tea is good though. Personally, I’d rather head to Chinatown for something cheaper and tastier. But then again, I am a fan of Cantonese food than Taiwanese…

This seems to be one of those places foodies go to since it’s not anywhere near other restaurants and easily missed by residents, much less tourists. Once you take away the novelty of being hidden in a quiet residental area of Allston, you’ll notice that May’s is just okay.
The place is rather small but clean and tidy. It was quiet and there were only two other customers. The instrumental version of the song «I Believe» from the Korean movie «My Sassy Girl» was on repeat the entire time. It’s a good song and wasn’t disruptive, so I didn’t mind. The service was very polite and attentive.
May’s has this philosophy of trying to make their dishes as healthy as possible. It seems apparent that they’re on the right track. The scallion pancake is greaseless and lacks any oil at all. The spicy beef noodles has lean beef with very little fat, along with cut napa cabbage and pickled greens.
However, the big sacrifice that May makes is the flavor, taste, and texture that fat/​oil lends to. The aforementioned scallion pancake was not crispy at all and tasted more like chewy bread, kinda like a crêpe. Plus it was rather sweet, which is unusual. There wasn’t a whole lot of scallion inside. Healthy doesn’t mean less scallion. The dipping sauce was a spicy soy sauce, which made it better.
The spicy beef noodle soup wasn’t as spicy as I’d like it to be. There wasn’t as much beef compared to the nou rou mein I’ve had at Jojo Taipei. The cabbage tasted really raw and coarse, which didn’t really go well with the soup. Lastly, while I can understand less spice, less salt, and less beef, you can still make this soup healthy and have good noodles at the same time. The noodles here were average and lacked good texture, freshness, and taste.
Yeah, May’s is healthy and is interesting because of its location. However, while I’m not all for dishes that’ll cause you to have to run to the bathroom to «degrease» yourself, sometimes you gotta have a little bit of oil to make things taste better. I’ll give it another shot, but with other Taiwanese places around, May’s had better be more impressive next time for me to stick…