Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall

On the site of Oriental City in Colindale which closed in 2008, Bang Bang, a new Asian foodhall, has just opened and we couldn’t resist checking it out last weekend.

Like most of us, I adore Asian food and, sadly, I never got to experience Oriental City, so, having kitted out our girl out at Brent Cross for her new senior school, we stopped off at Bang Bang for early dinner. Bang Bang shares an underground car park with Morrison’s supermarket and, once we ascended the lift, we were confronted by what felt like most of North London. (Morrison’s shoppers probably had to park further afield.)

There is masses to choose from with 33 kiosks offering 27 pan-Asian cuisines including those from Korea, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, but it’s particularly strong on Chinese and Japanese. So, while we scanned the hall for free seats we zoned in on Café La Viet for cha nem (crispy) and goi cuon (fresh) rolls and home-made lemonade, and Yaki Ya Japanese grill for chicken gyoza, chicken and prawn katsu rice, chicken thigh skewer and beer. We loved their special machine for dunking the skewers in the yakitori sauce. Taking into account the current discount of 20 percent of all food, our orders came to less than £40. As most food it cooked to order at Bang Bang, you place your order, take a buzzer and return to the kiosk once it’s ready.

We’re looking forward to going back at a quieter time and being able to calmly make our choices and sit back and fully admire the stylish light, airy, sustainable building. It was designed by architects Stiff + Trevillion and features a bio-fuel cylinder recycling food waste for energy, reducing carbon emissions. There’s a whole lot more food to try and it’s great for people watching. However, until the this initial buzz dies down, it’ll keep drawing big crowds.

As long as you get there early, Bang Bang is ideal for the school holidays and it’s obviously great for a bite after shopping at Brent Cross before driving back to Barnet through Mill Hill. It’s also worth noting the 300-seat Golden Dragon restaurant on the ground floor if you’d prefer somewhere a little more formal. Colindale tube is about 20 minutes’ walk away and it’s on several bus routes.

Bang Bang translates as “Good Good” in Mandarin, and it certainly is.

The 20 percent discount on food continues until 24th July.

Opening hours
Monday to Sunday: 11.30am to 9.30pm