A year in Manchester

After an all too brief year I have just left Manchester and moved back to Leeds (well, Wakefield actually but most of my eating and drinking will be done in Leeds). I enjoyed my time in Manchester so thought I'd sum up my favourite things with a list. I like lists and this is the first opportunity I've had to write one on my fledgling blog.

I could have veered completely off topic here, and created a Manchester Top Ten of all the things I love about the place. But this is a food and drink blog, so you don't want to hear me banging on about industrial architecture or trams or cycle paths or whatever. Instead I've included some nice photos of sunny Manchester. Here are five food and drink things I love about Manchester:

1.  Pubs
There are absolutely loads of fantastic pubs in central Manchester (and Salford). The key things I look for in a pub are a good selection of beer and a convivial atmosphere. Add interesting buildings/interiors and good food into the mix and you're really on to a winner. In vaguely pub crawl related order here is my lucky 13: The Marble Arch; The Angel; Bar Fringe; Crown and Kettle; The Castle Hotel; Port Street Beer House; The Britons Protection; Peveril of the Peak; Knott Bar; The Lass O'Gowrie; The New Oxford; The Kings Arms; The Mark Addy.

2. Chinese restaurants
In my opinion Manchester has the best and most varied selection of Chinese restaurants in the UK outside London. I have barely started working my way through all of them, but I have eaten very well at the following: Red Chilli, Middle Kingdom (both Szechuan); Hunan (Hunanese); BBQ Handmade Noodles King (hand made noodles!).

 
3. Curry cafés
The curry cafés of Manchester appear to be a unique phenomenon. I've certainly never come across anything similar in this country (although strangely I do recall them having the same sort of thing in Australia, but with really rubbish curry). The premise is simple. The curries are pre-cooked and kept warm at the counter. You get to pick any three curries on rice for a fixed price, which is always under a fiver. The quality can be a bit hit and miss, the decor is invariably scruffy, but you are guaranteed to get a decent feed for a low price. Sometimes they really surprise you with a corker of a dish too, one of them does a lovely keema with whole hard boiled eggs in it. Great stuff.

There are loads of the places scattered around the Northern Quarter and various other parts of the city. I'm not going to bother listing them all here. Instead I shall refer you to the comprehensive and excellent Flavours of Manchester blog.

4. Traditional caffs
Manchester seems to be well stocked with places to get a good fry-up or some other home cooked and ridiculously cheap meal. Perhaps the same applies to most towns and cities in the UK, but I just seem to have noticed it more over the last year or so. In the city centre I like The Koffee Pot and Abergeldie Cafe.  In the suburbs my favourite spot is in the grotty precinct in Prestwich. Can't remember the name of it (not sure it has one), but they do a competent and comforting corned beef hash followed by crumble & custard for about £3.50.

 
5. Markets
This might seem a strange one, particularly for Manchester itself. Central Manchester hasn't even got a proper market, either indoor or outdoor. What impresses me is the way the council has made the most of its meagre resources. The only permanent central market of any size is the Arndale Market, which is essentially a small, spare corner of the shopping centre. About half of the space has been given over to traditional market stalls, and the other half turned into a thriving food hall. There are a good selection of stalls, including an ale bar and the excellent Pancho's Burritos. Glass of ale and a spicy, porky burrito for lunch. Don't mind if I do. In addition to this is a rapidly expanding number of street markets that are spreading all over the suburbs as well as the city centre.

A special mention is also due to some of the markets in other Greater Manchester towns. Bury and Ashton-under-Lyne have particularly good examples. If you'd heard rumours that the good folk of Bury like to eat entire black puddings, on their own, with a dab of relish, mustard or ketchup, they are true. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, it's actually rather delicious.

 

Middle Kingdom, Manchester

Middle Kingdom is one of a growing band of restaurants in Manchester showcasing regional Chinese cuisines. The focus here is on food from Hunan and Szechuan provinces both of which have big, bold flavours and lots of spice. A good thing if you ask me.

The menu is extensive and doesn't specify which dishes are Hunanese and which Szechuan, but if you avoid the Cantonese section (usually there to keep any unsuspecting punters after a 'normal' Chinese happy) you should be fine. Here's what we ate:

Fried Dumplings

A platter of fried dumplings to start were fine specimens, quite thin skinned with a chunky pork & spring onion filling and good crispy edges.

 Lamb Skewers

I'm familiar with lamb skewers from eating at Silk Road, a London restaurant serving food from Xinjiang province in North-West China, and one of my favourite restaurants anywhere, ever. The meat on their skewers is interspersed with chunks of lamb fat that keep it moist, both meat and fat coated in a moreish dry rub of cumin, chilli and salt. You have to eat them fast while they're hot, as the fat is not so lovely when cold. Middle Kingdom's skewers were meat only, but still rather good. The dry rub was similar, with the addition of szechuan pepper to the mix. Delicious.

Aubergines with the flavour of fish

Aubergines with the flavour of fish (I think this dish is more commonly known as fish fragrant aubergine) doesn't actually contain fish, I believe it's so named because the seasonings used are the same as for cooking fish in Szechuan cookery. Whatever you want to call it, it's not a dish for the faint-hearted. The aubergines had been fried in a substantial quantity of oil, to which more oil had been added. The flavour was actually quite mild; sweet and garlicky with just a hint of chilli heat. The aubergines were nicely cooked, lovely and soft without being mushy or slimy. I probably wouldn't order this dish again though, as we struggled to make much of an impression in the portion due to the colossal oil quotient.

Duck on the bone with chilli and taro in chinese beer

This, for me, was the high point of the meal. Duck on the bone with chillis and taro in chinese beer. The duck had been braised long and slow in a beer based stock laced with generous amounts of chilli, szechuan pepper and garlic, rendering it beautifully tender and deeply flavoured. The level of chilli heat and the numbness from the szechuan peppercorns was just right and the mild peppers, pickled peppers and spring onions added a vibrant, fresh contrast. Not really a big fan of the taro pieces though, they're sort of like grainy, floury potatoes in texture, and added little to the dish flavour-wise.

A wonderful meal, and another great Chinese restaurant to add to the list with Hunan and Red Chilli. This sort of food is always great value as well. Prices on the menu can look expensive, but are anything but as the portions are always huge. Main courses in the £7-9 pound region will serve two, and anything costing over a tenner is probably family sized. Our bill came to £50 for two including service and three beers each. Stick to water and a feast will set you back about £15 per head. Service was also friendly and efficient throughout. Thoroughly recommended.

8/10

86 Princess Street
Manchester
M1 6NG

http://www.middlekingdomuk.com

Hunan Restaurant, Manchester

After a couple of pints spicy chinese food always makes a nice change from a curry. Having already been to Red Chilli twice since Christmas I didn't really fancy Sichuan. Still can't make my mind up whether I love or loathe sichuan peppercorns. A home cooking disaster resulting in a mouth-feel something similar to a trip to the dentists for root canal surgery may explain my ambivalence (Tip: when cooking with sichuan peppercorns don't measure them out in tablespoons). A quick search suggested Hunan in Chinatown. A review on Manchester Confidential was generally positive except on the matter of desserts. Having never ever chosen a chinese restaurant on account of pudding we decided to give it a try.

We loved it. The following dishes were ordered:

Countryside style green chilli stir-fried pork
Tender lamb belly hotpot
Stir-fried chinese leaves with chopped salted chillies
Pork and chinese leaf dumplings
Boiled rice

Being ravenous we opted for the 'as it comes' method, rather than starter/main. First up the green chilli pork. Searingly hot, salty, meaty, delicious. The lamb or beef version would probably be equally good. The chinese leaves followed swiftly and were also great. The salted chillies were obviously fermented to some extent, lending a slightly funky edge to the dish that worked well with the crisp leaves. The lamb hotpot was splendid, a rich meaty broth with the belly strips and various veggies floating around in it. Some of the belly fat must have been strained off as it wasn't overly fatty.

The dumplings arrived last but not least. Of the sturdy, chewy skinned variety rather than the delicate sort (like the Beijing dumplings at Red Chilli) they were spot on with the accompanying dipping sauce. I usually expect vinegar with this sort of dumpling, which is fine but never adheres to the dumpling. This was thicker and darker (roasted chilli paste, dark soy, vinegar?), giving the skins a fantastic tangy glaze with every dunk.

With boiled rice, 2 beers apiece, chinese tea and a generous tip the total was £50 for two. Service was a bit surly at first but lightened up and was almost chatty by the end. The room is quite smart looking and was fairly busy on a Thursday night.

9/10

Hunan Restaurant
1st Floor, 19-21 George Street
Manchester
M1 4HE
http://www.hunanrestaurant.co.uk/



p.s. photos to follow on future posts