Basement Chinese bakery in Boston's Chinatown. Buns, mousse cakes, rice rolls. Cash only.
May's Cake House is a family-owned bakery that has served Chinatown's south end for decades, appearing in Boston Magazine's Best of Boston archive as far back as 1998. It sticks to the traditional Cantonese bakery playbook: low prices, cash at the counter and a little room for a cake order. It also appears on a City of Boston legacy business listing, and locals treat it as a regular stop.
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Walk down Harrison Avenue past the busy blocks of Chinatown, toward the Tufts Medical Center end of the street, and you will find May's Cake House in a basement-level shop. It is a family-owned Chinese bakery, and the quieter location is part of the appeal. One Wanderlog reviewer likes that it is away from the congested part of Chinatown, which makes picking up an order easier.
Start with the buns. WGBH's tour of Chinatown bakeries called out the roasted pork bun, the ham and egg bun, the hot dog bun, the red bean bun and the pineapple bun, all around a dollar apiece when they wrote it in 2018. The Boston Globe pointed readers to May's for the cocktail bun, a sweet coconut-filled bun whose Chinese name literally means chicken tail. Yelp reviewers add the BBQ pork bun and the coconut mochi to the list.
Then the cakes. The Food Lens guide to Boston's best cakes notes that May's sells mousse cakes and Swiss rolls by the slice, along with pineapple, red bean and mango versions. The mango mousse cake in particular is the one people mention first, and one Yelp reviewer loves the sponge cake and the Chinese fruit cake. Whole cakes are available for birthdays, and a reviewer reports calling in and picking up within a day. That same reviewer added egg tarts and fried sticky rice to the order and said they disappeared fast.
For breakfast, Boston Magazine highlighted the rice-noodle rolls, a double-carb combination of rice noodle wrapped around fried dough, finished with cilantro and dunked in soy sauce. Its photo of the shop's takeout also showed a matcha cake, a pineapple bun and a pork floss bun. Milk tea and coffee are available too.
This is grab-and-go. The space is small, and you point, pay and leave with a bag. The most important rule is cash only, which every guide to the shop repeats. Bring enough bills, because buns add up quickly when you start adding cake slices and rolls.
May's is not new. The shop appears in Boston Magazine's Best of Boston archive from 1998, which describes the double-parking risk along this edge of Chinatown, and it appears on a legacy business listing on the City of Boston's website. Chinatown Main Street's executive director named it among her favorite bakeries when she described her perfect day in the neighborhood.
Call (617) 350-0210 for hours or to order a cake ahead. If you are buying for a group, a box of assorted buns is a cheaper way to feed people than almost any sit-down option nearby.
When is May's Cake House open?
Reliable hours were not available. Call (617) 350-0210 before you go.
Is it cash only?
Yes. Reviewers and guides consistently note that May's is cash only.
What are the best items?
Try the cocktail bun, roast pork bun, pineapple bun, rice-noodle rolls and a slice of mango mousse cake.
Do they make cakes to order?
Yes. A reviewer reported calling and picking up a cake within a day. Call (617) 350-0210 to confirm timing and flavors.
How do I find May's Cake House?
It is at 223 Harrison Ave in a basement-level space near the Tufts Medical Center end of Harrison Avenue.
