Ottawa Foodies

I went here for lunch alone today. Lunch special is reasonable for $6.95 and included hot and sour soup. There are a couple of veggie options on the lunch menu which is nice.

After going to both here and Ging Sing I'd rather go back to May's. Ging Sing is incredibly clean, but it is also not that busy. May's has a bit of character and a nice view onto Somerset (whenever they finish the construction it will be even nicer).

Will try again and see if it is consistently good.

I came here for a quick supper alone. Had a small bowl of Chicken and Fish Maw soup, a plate of Yu Choy stir-fried with garlic, and some boiled shrimp and pork dumplings. It was all right, but I've had tastier elsewhere. The dumplings were only slightly better than the frozen ones I boil at home and the steamed rice was kind of mushy. The stir-fried yu choy was fine. The fish maw soup was actually quite nice -- with lots of pepper.

May's Garden has a parking lot, which is convenient especially during the current heavy construction on on Preston and Somerset.

I didn't notice Xiao Long Bao on the menu. Have they stopped selling them? I forgot to ask.

I really have to start bringing my digital camera when I eat out.

We tried the jumbo salt and pepper shelled shrimp dish. It's very good! The shrimps have shells, are lightly battered and deep fried. You can eat everything, including the shells which become crunchy. I really enjoyed it and will have it again.

Tried it with my family.

Liked the steamed and deep fried buns.

Liked the shrimp with snow peas.

Like the paintings and calligraphy on the walls.

Good portion sizes.

Did not like tofu and broccoli (too sweet).

Did not like spicy stewed fish (tasted very fishy).

My kids liked the curried chicken. I don't eat chicken so I didn't try it.

If one wants to have the soup buns, they are good at Cafe Orient. But expensive.

The pot stickers and boiled and steamed dumplings, only the old owner's wife at Northern 2 makes a decent one. They sell it frozen. But he has since sold the restaurant and I don't know if he has passed on the recipe.

For northern style beef noodles....no where in Ottawa, but I will make a note of Ding Tai Fong in Toronto.

My mother was hubei, so know dumplings very well.

May's has a bamboo dish that's very interesting. Chicken or beef in a bamboo like coffin. Doesn't sound great, but taste good. The fondue is not bad...only place in ottawa that seems to have an idea of how to make a dip sauce, which you probably know is the secret of chinese fondue....

I almost forgot May's Garden until LiveToEat mentioned it here.

I went there to have dinner twice.

First time there, we ordered the dishes that they are supposed to be their speciality:

- Xiao long baos (小籠包) or soup dumplings in English (it is won ton soup in reverse and I will explain it later)
- Shanghai-style pork dumplings (鍋貼) or Potstickers
- Shanghai noodles in soup bowl with stewed beef
- Fried chives cake (蔥油餅)

We went there with high expectation since this place was recommended by our friend. But we were disappointed. My kids told me they preferred the pork dumplings I made at home. (I am Shanghainese and was brought up to eat potstickers.) See the potstickers I made www.ottawafoodies.com

Some background about soup dumplings before I continue. A proper xiao long bao should have very thin skin, about spoon sized and soupy on the inside. The skin is such an integral part of the dish that no restaurants in Ottawa can get it right. The best xiao long baos have skins so thin that they are practically translucent. As you carefully pick one up with your chopsticks and have a bite, the soup will come out (sometimes the soup will spill off to your face if you are not careful). The delicate balance of dough, soup and meat then all melt in your mouth. When my sons first bit one, they said "how come there is no juice?" - This was our first disappointment!

The Shanghai noodles in soup bowl with stewed beef wasn't exciting.

Even my husband's favourite "fried chives cake" wasn't as good as we want it to be.

At the end of the meal, my husband said "let's just don't bother in Ottawa and stick with Ding Tai Fong (鼎泰豐) in Toronto when we want to eat soup dumplings." Okay Okie! We can go to Toronto more often in the summer. But what about winter time? This doesn't seem to be realistic.

Second time there was with friends. I can't remember what we ordered. I only remember I only like one dish (something spicy). Other dishes were okay, but not outstanding.

Note: The photo shown is Soup Dumplings. But it is not from May's Garden. I got it from the Internet somewhere.

here a nice pic of the place.... I went with a bunch of friends and they had a nice time...

but for a foodie..... it's ok.... if you know what you're looking for....

This is a picture I had a while ago for their sweet and sour fish, which is an authentic Northern style dish. (Actually I think it's originally from Szechwan province as with all sweet and sour dishes). In any event, they do this as well as any other place in Ottawa...in fact probably the best... and it's been a long time since I have had it in Toronto that is as good or better.

This is not really a southern chinese style restaurant (Cantonese). The cook specializes in Northern style cooking (Peking Duck, fondues, breads, thick noodles, dumplings…).... and is well, not bad.... probably the best in Ottawa... except for the dumplings... which used to be the best at Northern 2, which by the way has had a change in ownership and there are really no decent places for dumplings and noodles, northern style, in Ottawa now.

This place has reasonably good northern style dishes, like Peking duck, the fish, Chinese fondue, etc.... Hunan Beef is better at Mekong and now Ging Shing. ‘Pork neck BBQ’ a southern dish…also Ging Shing.

Their dumplings and noodle soups are average... Kong Pow chicken is also a spicy Szechwan dish that’s available and not bad here. Haven’t had it as good as HK anywhere in Canada. And they don’t kong pow everything…

In Ottawa a lot of Szechwan dishes are mistaken for northern style dishes… Szechwan is in the east… and not all sweet and sour red and spicy!!!... Smoked duck is a Szechwanese dishes and it is nothing like anything made in Canada!

The restaurant is not the cleanest around….so if that bothers… don’t bother… Cook/chef/owner was one of those mainlanders that emigrated on a cook’s visa from China…..somewhere… and well….. we don’t accept chinese doctors’ licenses here!

You'll find May's in what used to be a crummy old Canadian diner of questionable repute at the bottom of hill in Chinatown/Little Italy. The owners are genuine and know how to cook up authentic Northern and Southern Chinese food. There are lots of veggie options here, including the best fried lemon tofu in town. The menu is long with lots of variety, and prices are modest.

Here's May's seperate Hot Pot Menu.

For a clear copy, send me a message, at my profile, with your email address and I'll send ya the full size scan.

BTW: Had lunch special there today.... Hot and Sour Soup with Kung Pao Chicken on Rice. Not too shabby.

May's husband, the head chef, is really friendly. He'll come out of the kitchen and talk to diners, at a drop of a hat.