When you're driving northbound on I-395, Mei's is a quick stop off of Exit 22. When driving southbound, to or from its shopping plaza requires a few more turns. Those few more turns are well worth your while. But please be advised that my review addresses only the vegan dishes on Mei's menu, so if you are neither vegan nor vegetarian my review might not be worth your while.
It's surprising to find here in this quiet corner of Connecticut a Chinese-American restaurant with a vegan submenu, and even more surprising to see such a restaurant in grisly Griswold, an unremarkable town, and in a rundown and aging shopping plaza whose anchors are two discount stores, namely a Dollar Tree (where everything, at least for now, still is a dollar) and a Job Lot, with a Tractor Supply Store (where they really do sell tractors) thrown in. What is remarkable is Mei's extensive vegan submenu, here called "vegetarian" even though it's more precisely all vegan. The veg menu half consists of an array of mock meats, so if you like mock meats this place is for you. While I shun mock meats, to my good fortune the veg menu's other half consists of vegetables, either with or without tofu.
Most Asian-American eateries are no more a safe haven for vegheads than any other ethnic eatery. You often can find these fish and other sea animals listed right on their menus in their so-called vegetarian sections. I shudder to guess what ingredients are not listed. But Mei's is different. It's vegetarian menu really is all vegetarian and, even better, all vegan.
The red sauces in Asian-American eateries are either too sugary sweet and or spicy hot for my tender palate, so at Mei's I stick with the veg dishes with brown sauces. Among those, I highly recommend the Mixed Vegetables, the Tofu with Mixed Vegetables, the Sautéed String Beans, and best of all the Triple Green. Note that the Triple Green appears in the Vegetarian section of the printed menu, but in the Healthy Specials section of the online menu. And note that the Healthy Specials (steamed rather than stir-fried) section includes many vegan dishes, too. For the nutritionally minded, be aware that same as at any Asian-American restaurant, Mei's brown sauces are comprised of sugar, salt, starch, and oil. For the truly nutritionally minded, you can always stick with the Healthy Specials section. While I usually shun the aforementioned white food-like substances, I publicly confess to my indulgences once or twice a year here at Mei's.
Also be aware that its squeeze packets of so-called soy sauce are hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), not brewed soy sauce. As a public service, I list here its ingredients: water, salt, vegetable protein, corn syrup, caramel color, sodium benzoate. The company that manufactures it is W.Y. Industries. Note the truth-in-advertising in its name, the word "Industries," not "Foods." So don't grab those squeeze packets of fake foods. Furthermore, when I place my order online, I mention to omit the fortune cookies (made of white flour, white sugar, and white salt).
Here's some real food. Brown rice. Any restaurant that serves brown rice garners my award as a gold (or brown?) standard to elevate it above all others. The nutritional difference between brown and white might be slight, but our shunning white rice and seeking brown makes an important social statement. For one-dollar more, Mei's serves brown rice, simple to prepare, yet easy to ruin. Mei's brown rice is perfect, and packed above the brim in those "traditional" Chinese restaurant white cardboard takeout containers with wire handles. The entrée containers, however, are made of microwavable plastic. They, too, are packed to the brim, so portions all are generous, each entrée enough to feed two people, making the prices not just reasonable, but quite low.
Whether you eat-in or takeout, everything is served as to-go. Mei's hosts a spacious dining area, but of hard resin tables and chairs like in fast food joints. As there is no waitstaff, you must serve yourself, so you might as well do takeout. Consumer tip: when I place my order online and add a generous tip in advance, Ms. Mei always adds to my order two free vegetable rolls. And by the way, Mei (pronounced "May") is an absolute sweetheart. read more