Bang Bang Oriental (Bar, Restaurant)

Top 10 things you need to know about Bang Bang Oriental:

1) How far are you willing to travel to eat Asian food? Would you go all the way to Tokyo for a bowl of ramen? To Beijing for Peking duck? Colindale may not sound as inviting as Calcutta, but it’s only a leisurely Tube ride to zone 4.

2) Bang Bang Oriental Food Hall is there to satisfy your cravings, with the widest range of Asian restaurants in the UK. You can find anything, from Indian to Vietnamese, Chinese to Thai and Japanese, all under one roof. With 27 different food vendors, you’re truly spoilt for choice.

3) The huge dining space is made of long communal tables. On the weekend the hall is bustling with all sorts of people. It’s great to see how a place like this can become a regular destination for locals. You’ll see happy families with up to four different generations sharing big plates of scrumptious food.

4) So how does it work? The hardest part is, of course, choosing what to have. You’ll over-order, that’s beyond certain. Once you’ve placed an order at your chosen restaurant, you’ll receive a buzzer, which will ring when your food is ready. If you’re greedy, as we were, you’ll end up with a mountain of buzzers at your table, which will inevitably start shaking all at the same time. Food’s ready!

5) Bang Bang Oriental’s highlights include flavourful chicken ramen from Ramen Samurai Ryu; Royal China One 68’s wonderful dim sum delicacies; and, Taiwan’s favourite drink, bubble tea from Chatime. Hakka offers an array of regional Chinese dishes: we weren’t fully convinced by our fried chicken noodles, but there are so many other dishes we wished we could try. Pho lovers should head to Café La Viet: we loved the steamy broth, but the quality of the meat could have been better.

6) Treat your sweet tooth to Wonder Bake’s irresistible egg tarts and cheesecakes. Monster Bites offers the now-notorious egg waffles, filled with ice cream: not the best in town, in our opinion, but still very Instagrammable.

7) The quality of the food varies from restaurant to restaurant, so make sure you ponder your decisions. The offer is so overwhelming that you’ll end up wanting to pay a second visit, to try all the things you missed the first time.

8) It helps if you come with a good bunch of hungry friends. Order loads and share the love.

9) For those looking for a less casual dining experience, the Golden Dragon restaurant downstairs boasts classic Chinese cuisine, and a huge 360 seating capacity.

10) Check out the venue’s website for special events throughout the year, from live music to traditional dance performances and eating challenges....read more