No Clowning Around at Coco Noodle Bar

And no funny tummies the next day

We reported on Coco Noodle Bar's closure on hygiene grounds some months back so not an obvious choice for a family Sunday lunch with three youngish children...

So the oriental restaurant was fined for £10,000 after greasy rat infested kitchens were uncovered. But look at it this way – where now would be cleaner in Ealing after such a public and costly wrist slap? And anyway, it was on our way and it was cheap.

In terms of décor Coco Noodle Bar could have been planned with kids in mind – vibrant orange walls and bench dining are part of their world order – a cross between Cbeebies and the school dinner hall.

We ordered a lot, because as I have said it was cheap and we are greedy. We had an inkling that this was food they were going to like and that we wouldn't be able to rely on their fussiness to secure our large platefuls remaining ours.

The rapid arrival of the food was a joy to behold. Other parents will understand the significance timing takes on when you have children. Without them you can relax, sit back and sip wine while you wait. With them, the time bomb is set the moment you enter the door and no amount of alcohol will dampen the sense of panic this invokes.

Spare ribs, the obligatory quarter of crispy duck, the most delicious prawn toast, and pan fried dumplings arrived swiftly and we were finished soon after. Everything was fresh (and I'm making a direct comparison with The New Leaf visited recently. Put it this way - “This is the best Chinese food in the whole world,” observed my ever-so-slightly lacking in objectivity young reviewers.

At this rate they would be eating far too much of our next dishes... but we had that covered, throwing a few spicy numbers into the main course mix, so doing our bit to prevent childhood obesity. I should add that our food was washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice, so whilst we weren't living the organic dream we had provided one of the five a day

The next round of dishes was brought out as and when – while starters were still on the table. No time for fooling around and a visual feast to keep the kids distracted. Spicy prawns, noodles, sweet and sour chicken, thai spicy rice. It might not look much on paper but the portions were vast.

The final judgement from the kids? Can we eat here every weekend? And since we did live to see another day and there isn't a funny tummy in the house I won't be ruling it out.

October 5, 2007