Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 44 and Version 43 of Oriental City

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* sumixammai asks: Does anyone know where are they now, the wonderful Malaysian Chinese stall, the one that is nearest to the toilet/exit? Been trying in restaurants after restaurants, but they made the best curry laksa in town, among others. Really missing it. - They;'ve reopened just up the road in the Hyde, on Edgware Road as Feringgi Bay (just next to Barclays Bank)
 * sumixammai asks: Does anyone know where are they now, the wonderful Malaysian Chinese stall, the one that is nearest to the toilet/exit? Been trying in restaurants after restaurants, but they made the best curry laksa in town, among others. Really missing it. - They;'ve reopened just up the road in the Hyde, on Edgware Road as Ferenggi Bay (just next to Barclays Bank)

Oriental City was a large South-East Asian mall and community centre in North London, reasonably close to Colindale Station. It closed for redevelopment on 1 June 2008. It's expected to be closed for at least three years, and many of the traders have nowhere to go, so are unlikely to still be around when/if it reopens.

Below is a partial list of where the Oriental City traders have moved to; please let us know if you know of any others.

Places already confirmed and reviewed on RGL:

Places not yet confirmed:

  • China City (restaurant upstairs) is moving to the Wing Yip at Staples Corner/Cricklewood, according to a comment on dimsum.co.uk. They also have other branches at Leicester Square and at Russell Square
  • Hamazaki Bakery may have moved to 82 Totteridge Lane, N20 8QG, near Totteridge and Whetstone Station, according to Wikipedia.
  • Oriental Garden restaurant has moved only a short distance away, to 255 Edgware Road, NW9 6LU, and is now known as Feringgi Bay, according to a comment on dimsum.co.uk and an anonymous commenter on this page. There's a review of the new incarnation here.
  • The jewellery shop has moved to 8-10 Princess Arcade, SW1Y 6DS, according to a comment on dimsum.co.uk.
  • The roti stall is now called TasteMalaysia and is located at 32 High Road, Willesden Green, NW10 2QD. Their email address is tastemalaysia@yahoo.co.uk and their website is http://www.tastemalaysia.com/ — thanks Su-Lin!
  • Royal Lido, one of the dim sum places in the food court, has reopened as Taste Of China, 172-174 Station Road, Harrow, HA1 2RH according to a comment on dimsum.co.uk.
  • Wonderful Patisserie will be moving to Hyde House, Edgware Road, West Hendon (according to Wikipedia)

Moved outside London:

  • Lemongrass (Malaysian stall) has been renamed to The Malaysian Restaurant and has moved to 100 High Street, Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, MK11 1AH. Phone 01908 260 026, fax 01908 260 024, opening hours 10:30am-10:30pm Mon-Sat, 11:30am-10:30pm Sun, from Monday 9 February 2009 — thanks Su-Lin!

Probably not coming back:

  • Utsuwa-No-Yakata (the crockery shop) — according to an email reply from their USA office to Kake, as of October 2008 they have no plans to reopen in the UK

Still unknown:

  • the durian stall
  • Yong Tofu
  • sumixammai asks: Does anyone know where are they now, the wonderful Malaysian Chinese stall, the one that is nearest to the toilet/exit? Been trying in restaurants after restaurants, but they made the best curry laksa in town, among others. Really missing it. - They;'ve reopened just up the road in the Hyde, on Edgware Road as Ferenggi Bay (just next to Barclays Bank)

By August 2008 nothing had happened to the site. Development Securities were due to sell it to Peter Virdee on 30 June 2008. The date was extended to September 2008 and then until November due to lack of money, and Property Week say it is likely to be extended into 2009.

The info below is retained for people who want to know what Oriental City used to be like.

Food court

The (covered) food court on the ground floor is a proper food court, with stalls arranged around the edges, and chairs and tables in the middle. You can have Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Indian, you name it. Select your favourite dishes from as many stalls as you like, and collect them when your number comes up.

Specific recommendations: there are two dim sum places, and the one that's called "Dim Sum House" has a better selection than the other, the "Royal Lido". (Although their "Shanghai style" pork dumplings are not in fact soup dumplings; my quest continues. --Kake)

Highlights

  • The food court, of course!
  • Other food places, including a cafe that does bubble tea, and a sushi bar.
  • The Japanese crockery shop.
  • The Japanese supermarket — all kinds of interesting vegetables, sushi-grade fish, meats, noodles, rice, spices, oils, vinegars, exciting things in packets.
  • The durian shop. Located outside the main building, for reasons that will be obvious to anyone who's ever come within smelling distance of durian.

Getting here

Colindale Station is closest; Burnt Oak Station is also within walking distance, but as it's one stop further out than Colindale it's probably less useful. If you're driving, it's worth knowing that they have a free car park.

See also

Other people's writeups, news reports, etc:

Last visited by Ewan, Sarah and others, 1 June 2008. Food court opening hours verified from notice outside, September 2007.

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