Wing Wah, Oldbury

Arriving at Wing Wah in Oldbury on a Saturday night, it was like coming across a swarm of people leaving a football ground.

The place was packed to the rafters and you could barely get space just to stand at the bar. The result was jostling between loads of party groups trying not to spill drink on anyone.

However, despite the rather overwhelming start, crowds of people usually mean the food is good so we both remained upbeat.

Fighting my way to the restaurant area I was told, despite having booked in advance, there would be a five-minute wait. No too bad but it did mean more time spent in the cramped bar.

However, it wasn't long before the wait was over and we were led to a table right at the back of the much quieter restaurant.

And the place is deceptively large. We went back for what seemed like ages to a small table for two, given some cutlery and told to help ourselves.

The restaurant takes inspiration from the hundreds of traditional Oriental boats which sail in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. The Junk is the centrepiece - an enormous buffet table with numerous Asian dishes on board.

Wing Wah, as you may know from the recent TV adverts, is very popular for its extremely well-priced, all-you-can-eat buffet for around £13 a head. And when we got to the serving area there was a baffling array to choose from.

Being Wing Wah novices and not knowing which queue to join, in the end, we had to ask one of the other diners for help.

But once we knew where to find the starters we settled into the routine, snaking a course to collect some tempting nibbles, which included prawn toast, seaweed and sushi.

Not wanting to feel too full, I refrained from scoffing too much. I had seen the unbelievable choice of main course dishes in the self-serve area - there must've been 20 or more.

I think the idea is to relax between courses, but the smell of all that food meant we pretty much ate our starters and were off again to go in serach of the next Oriental wonders on offer.

As a non-meat eater, there was plenty of options which included prawns, salmon and vegetable dishes, and a host of noodles and rice combinations.

There was a very impressive amount of green vegetables cooked Chinese style, including green beans and even sprouts.

Heaping up my plate, I started to wonder how on earth I would get through all this. James had even more of a battle of wills on his hands as he had even more tochoose from and pile on his plate.

Somehow it's almost impossible to exercise any restraint when confronted with a set-price buffet. My selection inevitably looked like like something a kid would choose at a party with some bizarre combinations.

Despite my mismatched choices, I really enjoyed the food. It tasted fresh and, even though it is self service, I didn't think the quality was compromised at all.

James enjoyed his meatier selection and thought there was a lot to choose from, especially when all you have to pay is just over £13 each.

He decided to hold back for the teppanyaki section. This is where the chefs cook a selection of fish, meat and vegetable in front of you on a hot plate.

I abstained from this, but James joined the queue with a plate of raw prawns, mushrooms and vegetables ready to be transformed into an Oriental feast.

There is a bit of waiting time when the restaurant is busy, but it was quite enjoyable watching the chef set to work with her steaming hot plate, seasoning and turning over the food many times, until it was declared good to go.

JamesÊsaid this was the best part of the meal saying it was both fresh and tasty.

Both of us turned down dessert although for the sweet-toothed, there was another impressive array with plenty of chocolate and something that looked like what can only be described as Chinese trifle.

The service was unfalteringly polite but the only niggle was that we had to sit and watch our leftovers being thrown into a black sack near our table. I think this should haveÊbeen done away from the dining area.

All in all, it was a budget triumph and one of the bestÊchoices of Chinese food I've ever seen, and may be even better on a quieter weekday.

Rebecca Jones

188 Causeway Green Road, Oldbury, Warley

Tel: 0121 552 0041

www.wingwah.net/chinese-restaurant-oldbury-warley.php

email: oldbury@wingwah.net