Review: new Chinese takeaway Tai Zi in Ross-on-Wye

Tai Zi has replaced China Boy Jo in Gloucester Road and has an extensive menu of Chinese staples like salt and pepper chicken and egg fried rice.

There’s a lot of choice for all tastes, including a vegetarian section of the menu and some English dishes for those who fancy something a little less spicy.

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China Boy Jo had previously been a popular choice in Ross, being based in the town for 25 years. Although many were sad to see it go as it was reopened under new ownership, some of the staff have remained working at the new takeaway.

Immediately after ordering our food, we found that the quick serving time was a big plus as they told us it would be ready for collection in just 15 minutes.

Tai Zi does also offer a delivery service, but it’s in a convenient location if you do choose to collect. It is in the town centre, a short walking distance from the town’s market house, or for those driving into Ross, there’s plenty of space to pull up along the road and park near the former Chase Hotel for a quick and convenient pick-up.

When we got home and opened the bag, the smell was wonderful. 

Bridie tried the sweet and sour king prawn from Tai Zi, with some classic Chinese sides (Image: Ryan Parker) We went for some Chinese classics - I had sweet and sour king prawn, while my partner Ryan had salt and pepper chicken, and my grandma Hazel had aromatic duck.

To share between us, we also got some fried rice, crispy seaweed and chilli salt and pepper chips. Plus, we were given free prawn crackers.

Chicken fried rice from Tai Zi (Image: Bridie Adams) We found that the portions were very generous. I was given about eight king prawn balls with my order, which was more than I could manage and left me with plenty of leftovers. 

The sweet and sour sauce they came with packed a good flavour, and the king prawns tasted lovely dipped in the classic bright red sauce. 

Tai Zi has a large amount of salt and pepper offerings, including chicken, king prawns, crab, ribs, shredded beef and tofu. Needless to say, they have you covered if this is your favourite flavour from the Chinese.

Ryan went for the chicken and said it was crispy and flavourful, with a bit of a kick. He said he liked the fact that you got plenty of chicken in the portion, without being bulked out with a large amount of vegetables, as can be the case at some other takeaways.

The chips also had a great taste, but were spicier than salt and pepper chips I’ve had from other takeaways before.

My grandma had the aromatic duck, which was chopped into nice-sized pieces and was a good portion considering it was only a quarter.

The quarter duck was a good portion size (Image: Bridie Adams) It was served with lettuce, cucumber, spring onion, pancakes and hoisin sauce.

She said it was clearly lovely and fresh, and the duck was tender yet perfectly crispy.

We also added some fried rice and crispy seaweed to share between the three of us, as these are some of our favourite Chinese dishes and we couldn’t pass them up.

They were both classics done well, with ground fish accompanying the seaweed adding a good flavour. We went for a chicken fried rice, which had a nice balance of meat to vegetables to rice, and was a great accompaniment to the meal.

For three people, our bill came to £48, which we thought was reasonable for a Chinese.

Overall we thought the new takeaway offering was of a high standard, and we will certainly return.