Mays Fusion & Cuisine

Overview: May's Fusion and Cuisine (formerly May's Cafe) is a small Taiwanese restaurant on Glenville Ave, a residential street in Allston. May's specializes in cooking healthy Taiwanese home style dishes, and with less than a dozen tables, it has a very intimate feel. The few times we have visited its been very quiet, which is not surprising because May's is difficult to find.

Medium Dead: I first read about May's in the Boston Globe shortly after I moved into Brighton. I was enticed by the gyoza and scallion pancakes, but then forgot about it for about three years. I don't know how we forgot about May's, but our second trip was like discovering it again for the first time.

Medium Well: To compare May's to any other Chinese restaurant in the Allston/Brighton area is to compare a gourmet gastropub burger to a Big Mac. Rather than using sodium rich soy sauce to enhance the flavors of dishes, May's uses fresh, whole ingredients such as ginger, scallions and chili powder. The resulting combinations are absolutely delicious. For every reason I have avoided eating Chinese food (salt, grease, mystery meats), May's gave me even more reasons to eat it regularly. And since all of the dishes are cooked with a modest amount of oil, this was the first time I have ever felt good after eating Chinese food.

We started with the best scallion pancakes I have ever had. They are crispy and flaky, fried to a perfectly golden brown. The "young" scallions must be why they taste so good.

I am a sucker for dumplings so we had to try the pan fried gyoza. The gyoza taste so fresh; filled with pork and ginger served with spicy soy sauce. They are steamed and lightly fried so they aren't heavy or greasy.

The entree choices aren't diverse, but the few things they make they do well. The main features are noodle dishes and famous stir-fried rice with a few Chef's Specialty items. I went right for the May's Special Fried Rice; I can see why its the most popular menu item. The stir fry is a little spicy offset with sweet and sour Taiwanese sausage and shredded chicken and shrimp. The dish is so fresh tasting and very light on oil. May's is a step above the other Chinese food in the area.

The Verdict:  Eat at May's regularly and feel good about it!