May's Bangkok Express — Restaurant in Ferndale

I'm really conflicted in deciding how to rate May's Bangkok Express. On one hand, as a value Thai food option in Ferndale, with (ridiculously) fast service and OK quality food, I want to rate it well. On the other hand, it's lacking in a lot of places and I can't in good conscience give it a 4-star review. If 3.5 stars was an option, I'd definitely rate this restaurant 3.5 stars.

A friend and I recently stopped by the restaurant during the Ferndale DIY Street Fair. Because we were in a time crunch, we decided to try the restaurant as it was one of few joints that wasn't completely jam-packed with people. Once inside, I could tell precisely why more people aren't flocking to the restaurant. The interior is very dated, and works for the average person looking to get takeout, but is not exactly what the DIY Street Fair goer wants to experience on their Saturday night out.

The menu itself is very simple and easy to navigate, you'll find all the standard Thai fare here. The most surprising (and perhaps most questionable) thing about the restaurant is how rapidly you recieve your food once you've ordered. From the moment we paid for our order to when our food was given to us, not 6 minutes could have passed. I remarked to my friend that most fast food restaurants are not this quick... Though this was a bit of a red-flag, we were on a schedule and gave the food a shot anyway. I'm not sure exactly how to describe the food, but overall the taste was fine. It seems as though the restaurant uses some ingredients that cause the food to taste good, though they may not be the healthiest. This is totally fine for cheap Thai food, but in the moment, it came across like they had cut some corners and bought the budget brand MSG or something, because the aftertaste was just a bit odd, and perhaps even fishy...

In conclusion, I think I'll say that this restaurant is not a bad restaurant. That said there are plenty of other options in the area (including just across the street) where I think you'll find yourself much more satisfied for not...

Food tasted good. Wish I had asked for a higher spice level. I ordered drunken noodles with chicken and shrimp, a spring roll and thai iced tea. After placing my order, I had to step out to pay for parking because most of the street parking pay booths do not work. When I got back my food was waiting on the counter. If you are dine in, you order at the counter and pay first. The atmosphere is nice. Smooth jazz plays with the occasional talking in between from what I assume to be a radio station. When I retrieved my food I was confused because the noodles aren't wide noodles. They only have thin noodles similar the ones found in Pad thai. I was hoping for wide flat noodles. I got my food and took my seat. The food taste good, but I only recommend the spring roll. It was nice. Classic taste and fried. The thai milk tea was more milky than expected. I'm used to a deeper orange color showing the balance of tea and milk. This is a light orange color as seen in the photo. More milk than tea. Seems most around here don't order spice so the levels are lower. If you like spice like me, I recommend othering hot. It won't be that spicy. The people who work here are really kind and having local connections, so if you become a regular, they will greet you in a more friendly manner and maybe even...

Sadly and once again, all too frequently nowadays, a local favorite has turned into a literal (and I mean literal) s**t hole.

Took the wife and daughter there for lunch there today as we haven't been there in a while and always enjoyed the food. Two orders of Pad Thai with chicken and one vegetable curry with tofu and added potatoes. Net result, 3 cases of intestinal disfunction, cramps and diarrhea. That's 3 for 3 Mama May! Good work.

Can never recommend or return to this restaurant. Lucky we're not all in the hospital.

My vegetable curry, which has always been my reference dish that I compare all curry dishes to at others places, was so poorly prepared, I ate it only because I was starving. The potatoes that used to be perfectly cooked in the past, were like potato chips. The tofu was so overcooked, I could have shot out light bulbs with a large rubber band from across the room. Very few vegetables at all. Used to have fried eggplant, carrots, tomatoes, lots of bay corn, bamboo shoots, etc. and I was staring at a plate of curry drenched potato chips and soy briquettes.

What a cool little favorite place this USED...