London's largest Asian food hall, Bang Bang Oriental sits on the Edgware Road in Colindale and packs nearly 30 specialist food kiosks into 32,000 square feet, spanning everything from Cantonese roast duck and Korean bibimbap to Indian street food, Japanese ramen, Filipino grilled pork and Taiwanese bubble tea. The format is simple: grab a table, split up, and work your way around the stalls. Worth the trip out to Zone 4 for any serious fan of Asian food.
A long-standing and much-loved pan-Asian restaurant on Kensington High Street, Hare and Tortoise has been serving fresh handmade sushi, ramen, curry laksa, roast duck and noodle dishes since 1996. The bright, airy space is relaxed and unpretentious, the portions are generous and the prices are considerably kinder than most of its neighbours, making it one of the best value Asian restaurants in west London.
Southern Thai canteen Plaza Khao Gaeng takes its name and inspiration from the informal curry over rice restaurants that fill every street corner in Thailand. The strip lit, close packed room with its laminate print tablecloths nails the atmosphere, and the food is ferociously good: deeply spiced curries, sour and fiery stir fries, and a kua kling dry curry with enough heat to make you sweat, all washed down with icy Singha. Not for the spice averse, and all the better for it.
