The Nameless Restaurant, A Cozy Cooking Fantasy by Tao Wong, is the first book in the Hidden Dishes series. It is set in a magical restaurant in Toronto that is hard to discover, almost requiring magical intervention. Those who are sincerely looking for it can find it. If not, then one must have access to magical spells. Frequented by regular humans and those with magical powers, the restaurant is famous for its amazing cuisine. The entire story happens over a single day when the Chef is preparing Malaysian dishes.
Wong’s world-building and setting are quite magical. He creates a wonderful world where food appears magically and tastes beyond the world. I loved the various dishes served over the evening and plan to prepare a few of them too!
Having said that, the story failed to impress. It read less like a novel, and more like watching a cookery program. There is too much emphasis on ingredients and dishes and, unfortunately, it took away from the major story.
There are way too many characters for the limited length. And despite the various characters, I could not connect with any. The descriptions and character arc are majorly lacking.
The story lacks the typical narration structure, and I was just waiting for the main story to begin.
Even though I did not enjoy the story much, the audiobook narrated by Emily Woo Zeller acted as the saving grace.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for the arc of this book. My review is honest and voluntary.
Despite interesting themes and setting, The Nameless Restaurant fails to impress.
Wordsopedia Rating 2.3/5
| Title: The Nameless Restaurant | Author: Tao Wong |
| Publisher: Dreamscape Media | Publication date: 01 Jun 2023 |
| Genre: Fiction—General / Sci Fi & Fantasy | Format: Audiobook |
| ISBN: 9781666638608 | No. of Hours: 3 Hours, 11 Minutes |
Buy your copy here on Amazon
About the author
Tao Wong is a Canadian author based in Toronto who is best known for his System Apocalypse post-apocalyptic LitRPG series and A Thousand Li, a Chinese xianxia fantasy series. His work has been released in audio, paperback, hardcover and ebook formats and translated into German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and other languages. He was shortlisted for the UK Kindle Storyteller award in 2021 for his work, A Thousand Li: the Second Sect.
You can reach the author on his website.
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023