Back with a Bang Bang
TOURISTS flock to London’s Chinatown to eat, shop and enjoy its New Year celebrations. It’s a vibrant slice of London colour sandwiched between the street performers of Leicester Square and thewest End theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue.
But there’s a second Chinatown in London that’s authentic, certainly less touristy and is part of the increasingly talked about north-west suburb of Colindale.
The regeneration of Colindale will bring 10,000 new homes to the area by 2021 and create a totally new neighbourhood in the borough of Barnet but for many it will always be a mecca for Asian food shops and restaurants.
Once the site of Oriental City, popular for its vast food hall and specialist shops, Colindale is now home to a new retail and restaurant space called Bang Bang Oriental, that has the feel of an Asian food market.
It has the widest range of specialist Asian restaurants in the UK with kiosks, stands and restaurants serving Chinese, Japanese, Korean,vietnamese and
Indian dishes.you can even get speciality dishes from Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore and the more formal Golden Dragon Restaurant seats 360.
Weekends are particularly lively with free community events, such as a Diwali Festival and Halloween family fun in October, as well as live music sessions.
Even the new-build apartments at U+I’S flagship development, 399 NW9, are named to reflect the area’s Asian heritage: Eastern Point, Bonsai Point, Bamboo Apartments and Oriental Square, which will have a row of town houses.
The 399 NW9 homes are towards the end of the Edgware Road in north London that starts a mile or so south of Lord’s Cricket Ground and is known for its Middle Eastern shops and restaurants before reaching Colindale and its Oriental offerings.
“That part of Edgware Road has always had a strong Chinese community,” says Michael Stone, CEO of Stone Real Estate, who enthuses about the Bang Bang Oriental food hall. Stylish oriental revamp of London’s second Chinatown will bring 10,000 new homes, says DEBORAH STONE
“The upstairs part is a load of pop-ups, it is really different,” he says. “There are about 50 restaurants all serving different types of food and there’s a really nice atmosphere. It is packed over the weekend and is a very, very, popular area.”
Many of 399 NW9’S buyers are from the local community, rather than overseas investors, says Stone: “They are mainly young professionals, probably first-time buyers or young couples. But because of the town houses at Oriental Square we do have families interested.
“The fact that it has an underground car park and so many good shops on its doorstep – such as Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Asda – has also increased interest.”
Colindale Tube, on the Northern Line, is a 10-minute walk from the development but the area has an “off the beaten track feel”, according to Stone.
Prices start from £350,000 for one-bedroom apartments with twobedroom townhouses from £540,000 up to £775,000 for four bedrooms (0207 043 8888; 399nw9.com).
“The nice thing about this development is that it is quite small compared to other developments in Colindale.the others are quite large regeneration schemes.
“There is so much building going on by the Tube station but 399 NW9 is more by the Edgware Road, so that is quite nice. It feels secure and there are parks nearby, pedestrian walkways through the scheme and you are just within touching distance of the Chinese supermarket too.”
Stone says the developers are very keen on making sure the development is part of the community that has always been there.
“It is one of those locations that has everything: good schools nearby; it’s not far from the Tube station – you can get to Tottenham Court Road in 25 minutes – and it is relatively affordable.”