May Flower Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Chicago

LOVE THIS PLACE, sooo underated!!! 😋

I've been coming here for over 10 years. It is one of the oldest restaurants in Chinatown. And I'm finally going to give them the review they deserve. I'm a total foodie and I always write reviews and this one is long overdue. I don't give five stars easily but they deserve it.

The food quality is excellent, the customer service is great, portion sizes are generous and the prices are unbeatable.

We came on a Friday evening around 8:00 p.m. and we ordered the clams in the black bean sauce, the beef tenderloin on the sizzling skillet, snow peas with garlic (veggie), and the egg white beef soup.

Everything came out piping hot and super tasty. The beef tenderloin could have been cut a little bit more thinly because they gave us a thick cut of it but it was definitely tender just like it is described. It comes with sauteed onions on a super hot sizzling skillet and the sauce is very savory. The clams in the black bean sauce are very tasty too highly recommend. And I was pleasantly surprised at the egg white beef soup It tasted very light and very well seasoned. I love the addition of cilantro it really made the soup have a fresh taste. It wasn't overly salty like other Asian restaurants make their soups. I highly recommend trying. We also ordered a veggie dish the snow peas with garlic which was flavorful and light, good veggie side dish.

I've also had their walnut shrimp in the past which is great and their pork and preserved egg congee is excellent!!! I've also had their dim sum here several times and it's delicious as well.

You can't go wrong here with any dish. My favorite go-to is their congee on a cold day, they have different congee but you have to get it during the day as they don't serve it during dinner time. And now their egg white beef soup will be added to my list!! It was so good.

The customer service is excellent, you're seated immediately, they serve your food promptly and they're constantly checking on you to see if you need anything. Great customer service like it should be. 💯

The portion sizes for every dish are better than standard and very generous!!!! Great quality tasting food for the value. You can feed a lot of people with just three entrees and not spend a lot of money like you would at other restaurants in Chinatown.

The decor inside may not be the most updated like other restaurants but this restaurant is definitely a hidden gem tucked in between other restaurants right in the center of Chinatown.

Will definitely continue to come here! Customer...

First, I want to say, "you can't judge a book by its cover". Sadly, in this situation, you can. It was our first time in China town in Chicago checking out the sites. I wanted to have brunch and we were starving. We walked to many places but noticed they weren't open. Finally, we stumble across the Mayflower restaurant, where it looked like many locals ate. A young Asian couple was coming into the restaurant just as we were, and they got seated right away without hesitation; we waited for a good 9-10 mins. The waitress walked around us and didn't greet us at all. She just grabbed a piece of paper from the register. My husband waved to the manager, and she finally sat us. Walking to the table, I got some looks like we weren't welcomed, but again, we were hungry and didn't care. Being seated, I noticed everyone was eating off paper plates and cups, which I get it they were taking precautions because of covid. I saw the locals were talking loudly, laughing, and just talking about their day. They brought in their alcohol, so I guess they helped with the loud banter. Finally, being waited on, we order the duck and three appetizers. The duck came to our table cold. After eating the duck, I looked at the Asian couple that came in the same time we did, and they had a table full HOT of food. 20 mins and still waiting for the apps, my husband had to put more money in the car meter. I asked the waitress what's taking so long, and she said, let me check. Later, she came back to me, looking down, saying it's on the way. 5 mins later, two appetizers came. They were hot. I also had to track down our host and inform them that we ordered another app by that time. The young Asian couple already paid and left. We finally got the app, and I was just ready to go. I get if they were busy and forgotten, but it was a Monday when the place wasn't super packed. They made it very clear our business was not needed. I have never been treated like that ever. I would say I would never go back to Chinatown due to the experience, but honestly, I think that's what they wanted. They wanted to keep the area just to the Asian community. So, I won't give them that pleasure. I will be back. I probably won't go to that restaurant, but I might be back in China Town. Mayflower do better, treat every customer as your last, and respect every customer the same regardless of color...

We stopped by after the Bears game, drawn in by the fact that there were still people dining inside. A gentleman wearing a black Adidas shirt seated us promptly. However, before even handing us menus, he asked what we wanted to order. We requested a few minutes, as my husband and son had stepped away to use the restroom.

As we prepared to sit down, I noticed a hair on top of an upside-down white ceramic cup on the table. When I pointed it out, the server casually picked it up along with the bowls and walked away without acknowledging the issue. Given how tired and hungry we were, we chose not to make a scene.

When the food arrived, the presentation seemed fine, and the temperature was good. However, the taste was disappointing. The chicken fried rice contained pieces of plain boiled rice mixed in—white and unseasoned—which made it feel hastily prepared. The Mongolian beef was extremely salty, tasting overwhelmingly of soy sauce and lacking balance.

We also ordered a large bowl of soup, which was generous in size. Even after four of us had some, more than half remained, so we asked for a to-go container. As my husband was about to transfer the soup, we noticed another hair floating in it. At that point, we decided to leave it altogether.

Now, about the service. When ordering soup at most restaurants, condiments like soy sauce and black pepper are typically brought out proactively. Here, the server simply left the soup and walked away. We had to specifically call him back to request condiments. When the rest of the food arrived, there were no utensils or water, so we had to ask for those as well.

Adding to the experience, while we were eating, the servers were clearing nearby tables extremely loudly—clanging and tossing dishes into bins with no regard for the atmosphere.

By the end, we noticed the total seemed slightly off, but we were too exhausted to dispute it. With an hour and ten-minute drive ahead of us, we let it go.

Overall, this experience was extremely disappointing. Hygiene seemed to be an afterthought, which is even more concerning given that the owners were present. It’s heartbreaking because we initially came to Chinatown hoping to visit Won Kow, our favorite spot, only to realize it had closed. May Flower seemed like the only viable option at the time, but it fell far short of...