Mai's Garden is located within McCaffery's Supermarket in Lower Makefield, Pa. It is strictly a Chinese take out joint alongside several other hot food vendors in a very attractive setting designed and executed on the right hand side of the store as you walk in. It benefits from the neighborhood.
I just became aware of its existence while looking for an Asian alternative to all the usual suspects in the area. It surprised me being next door to Gold Coin II, and directly behind Little Dragon, yet without any exterior signage. For $6.99 I loaded up a to-go container with General Tso's Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Chicken & String Beans, Fried Rice, Dumpling and Egg Roll.
All food tastes best when right off the stove, and clearly I was not tasting the optimal dishes by the time I was sitting at my dining room table. Still, those are the cards Mai and I were dealt. In each case, the sauces were a thickish goo, with flavor varying little between the General and Sesame. The former was very mildly spiced, but predominantly sweet; while the later was unabashedly sugary. The String Beans were steamed and retained a slight snap, which I appreciated. The Egg Roll was not good, as it seemed dominantly shredded cabbage, and not hot enough to keep its skin crispy. The Pork Dumpling was fished out of a soy/ginger soup that was absorbed into the thick skin, and the stuffing was ample; yet the taste was lacking.
All in all, for strictly take out Chinese/American, the offerings were adequate, but not nearly as good as most surrounding sit down restaurants, which in and of themselves are at best only Okay.
Mai's Garden has a lovely setting for being an in-house vendor, but the actual victuals leave a lot to be desired.
Nice idea. Poor execution. read more