May Mei
Thursday, December 15, 2005 15:03Dorothy had it right: “There’s no place like home,” especially when home has all the Chinese food that I’ve been totally craving. After an exhausting flight back to LA last night, the only thing I could think of was which restaurant I should go for my first LA meal. The decision was fairly easy, May Mei.
May Mei is a Hong Kong Style restaurant, and the only one I know of in LA that serves the Assorted Meats in Clay Pot. Many Chinese restaurants serve clay pot rice, but what makes this dish so special are the three meats - duck, pork, and Chinese sausage, which is one of my comfort foods. The rice is cooked in the clay pot with the meats, so the rice is filled with the flavors and aroma of the meats. While the texture of the rice comes out normal, the fun part is getting some of the crispy rice stuck to the clay pot. Those clusters of rice are golden brown and enjoyable to snack on. Make sure not to consume the clusters that are charred from sticking to the clay pot for too long. Burnt rice is never good. Chinese broccoli is also placed on top. The server will usually separate the broccoli (so the steam from the bottom of the clay pot won’t overcook the broccoli and turn it yellow) and then mix the rice and meats with some soy-based sauce. I recommend pouring the sauce yourself because when the entire dish of sauce is poured on top of the rice, some people find it too salty. That aside, this is, in my humble opinion, the best item on May Mei’s menu. Word of caution: go hungry. You will find yourself getting a bowl after another after another, even when you’re already full.
Today we also ordered several other dishes: mustard greens in garlic sauce, fish in black bean sauce, and shrimp chow mein. Cantonese style chow mein is something else I’ve missed these last several months. I know for most Californians who frequent Chinese restaurants, you’ve probably figured out the differences between the chow meins. For those who don’t know, here’s the basic break down: Most Chinese restaurants that serve chow mein use regular noodles, and the outcome is soft. Some use Lo Mein, which are also soft, but the noodles are much thicker. Any Chinese restaurant that says they are Cantonese or Hong Style serve chow mein with thin egg noodles, and they are always very crispy. I think this is why I love the Cantonese style chow mein so much. You can get crispy chow mein at other Chinese restaurants, but you have to specifically tell them you want Pan-Fried Noodles, but they won’t use these thin egg noodles though.
May Mei
639 W Duarte Road
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 574-1318
By Pauline (see more of her posts).
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SoCalorie says:
December 15th, 2005 at 5:09 pm
My oh may mei, Pauline. Great to have you back in town.
Jonah says:
December 16th, 2005 at 8:33 am
Delicious to have you back Pauline! Thanks for the clay pot technique tips.
Pauline says:
December 16th, 2005 at 8:40 am
It’s ever so good to be back. Thanks for such a warm welcome!
Vany says:
December 16th, 2005 at 3:24 pm
I’ve never been so I will put this place on my to-go list. Thanks!
Deb says:
April 6th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Their fish fillet and tofu stir fry in black bean sauce is amazing as well as salt and pepper wings!
Pauline says:
April 6th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
The fish fillet in black bean sauce is one of our family member’s favorite dish! He’ll be happy to know that you enjoy it, too. Thanks, Deb!
katie says:
June 27th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
this place is really great. got the chicken & mushroom hot pot rice (ie claypot), soft tofu shrimp, & chicken with bean sprouts. i loved all of it, and went back two days later. might be somewhat difficult if you don’t speak mandarin/canto, but not totally inaccessible.
katie says:
June 27th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
ps thanks for the tip, i loved it!!
Kat says:
June 28th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Taipan Kitchen (1629 S Azusa Ave, Hacienda Heights, 91745; (626) 581-8531) actually has better rice clay pots I think. They’re an authenic Hong Kong style place. It’s a 15-20 minute wait for rice clay pot because they really cook the rice fresh in the pot when ordered so I always order as soon as I sit down (some places cheat you and cook the rice first and just dump it in the clay pot when you order it). I’ve tried all of varieties and they’re all very yummy: Assorted meat (aka Lap Mei), Chicken & Mushroom, Frog & Mushroom, Ground Pork Loaf with salted fish, Pork and Mui Choi, Chicken & Ginseng, and Black Bean Pork Ribs. When I’m done, I pour hot tea on the crusted rice in the pot and that’s a perfect ending to the meal. I go there almost every week to get my clay pot fix. Their wonton and all-shrimp wonton noodles are also delicious - fresh and the noodles are chewy, not too soft. And I can never resist ordering more food than I can eat because all of their other dishes are so good. And they have great desserts like red bean soup, black sesame, honeydew tapioca, sweet tofu, and tapioca pudding and all are made from scratch - NO canned stuff man (ugh, hate those). Ha, I never got to Sam Woo because Taipan is way better.
Pauline says:
June 28th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Glad you enjoyed it, Katie. If you go when it’s not too busy, the servers will tell you the specials that are written in Chinese.
Too funny, Kat. My favorite clay pot spot was the Taipan Kitchen in Arcadia, within walking distance of May Mei, before it closed! It’s now called Good Time Deli, which is decent but not as good as Taipan. If the Hacienda Heights one is as good as the one that was in Arcadia, I’m sure it’s a fantastic place to go for authentic Cantonese food.