The Ravenous Taotie 川铺

Tonight, I wanted some Chinese food, so I found a place in west London. The little eatery is called The Ravenous Taotie 川铺.

I noticed something peculiar right off the bat. This place was full of cosplay figurines, and one of the servers was dressed up in a cosplay costume.

When ordering, be careful. Some dishes are served cold.

I began my dinner with ice jelly. This was strange but good. In a bowl, there were blobs of jelly completely transparent. It came with four toppings. These included chopped peanuts, another type of sliced nut, dried berries, and something I’ve never seen before (they looked like Flinstone vitamins).

I chose a hot pot in a sesame sauce for my main. They let me choose up to five ingredients. I went with black fungus, fried tofu, crab sticks, a lobster roll, and a fried gluten ball.

Since my appetite was still not quenched, I ordered one more dish. This was their Sichuan Ground Pork Dried. It awesomely had a quail egg, noodles, marinated ground pork, scallions, chopped peanuts, bean sprouts, and lime juice. The only thing I would change are the cold bean sprouts and lime juice.

This dinner was superb! All I can say is that I want to go back.

It's not bad, the owner and all the people who work there are very nice. Love the atmosphere and what they did to the place. However, the food is kinda overrated, still good

Unapologetically Chinese restaurant with delicious food with good portions.

They don't skip on the spice level but you can choose which level you want. I've ordered multiple dishes but the standout for me is the dandan noodles with no broth, it's called Sichuan Ground Pork Noodles (Dried) on the menu. The noodles are perfectly chewy with a good accompanying sauce. Other tasty items I've ordered include hot pot with sesame sauce, stewed chicken and mushroom noodles, ice jelly and spicy beef tripe.

When you walk in you're greeted in Chinese but English is also an option. The place is decorated with anime and Asian memorabilia. And the floors have that signature Chinese restaurant build-up grease feeling.

If you pay cash, there's a discount.

MASSIVE portion with good prices. Authentic Chinese noodles with generous beef added.
However, make sure to book in advance at dinner hours as seats are limited.

Only sad cause I haven’t tried this place sooner!! We ordered 3 dishes and not one lacked flavour and all were made with fresh ingredients. Our favourite was definitely the braised beef over the spare ribs! It was more tender and we’d order that again, the sauce was so yummy and with pockets of tofu. Great portion and they don’t make you feel like you’re missing out on meat! 🍖
They have many other options- I plan to try a noodle dish next. Also with how it was served, not only looks great but kept our food hot even though it didn’t take long for us to finish cause it was so yummy. In the winter I can imagine this place would be great too with such comforting dishes😋.

The atmosphere may not be for everyone but I found it unique and fun but if it’s not your cup of tea, you can always order takeout!

The staff was super patient and friendly as we didn’t know what to order and had questions. They answered kindly and were very helpful! Even gave us a better booth when they noticed a new one opened up, was very appreciated😊 Thank you!!