Our writers and staff choose their favourite meals from July
ANOTHER month, another round of dishes that held our taste buds to ransom. The Manchester Confidential writing staff (and lesser-spotted species from the likes of social media and technical) share their favourite dishes from July.
Chicken karaage ramen, Suki Suki (£12.95)
Sometimes you just crave the comfort of a nice, warm bowl of ramen. Suki Suki have got theirs down to a T.
You build your own, starting with one of four broths for the base and adding your choice of protein and toppings. I chose the karaage chicken; a beautifully battered portion of chicken thigh that comes in a heaped bowl full of: fragrant and fresh spring onions; a hearty handful of pak choi; a boiled egg, halved with a gloriously orange yolk that’s just the right amount of runny; and some seaweed squares for good measure. Not forgetting the mountain of noodles that lay below the surface, of course.
Like a soupy blanket the pork tonkotsu broth swaddled the noodles, warming the cockles and complimenting each component of the dish with its rich and creamy umami flavour. If you’re a fan of salty-sweet dishes that are full of texture and are really reasonably priced, take a trip to Suki Suki. You won’t regret it.
Harley Young @Harley__Young
Wagyu Steak Toast, Fold (£16)
Manchester might as well be Planet Zog for Times critic Giles Coren, but a decade ago he famously deigned to descend upon the city to check out Simon Rogan at The French. Result: mixed feelings about sous vide fish and rose veal fillet studded with pork fat but then BINGO. “I tell you what, I would walk to Manchester barefoot in the rain for one more mouthful of the chopped raw ribeye of ox in coal oil.” He never did, as far as I know. His last forays “oop ‘ere” were to celebrate floppy injera flatbread at an Ethiopian cafe and mock Manc lasses’ dress code at the Dakota.
Though you can still pick up coal oil from Simon Rogan online at a tenner for 250ml this smoky rapeseed oil infusion has rather fallen from favour. To couple it with over-hyped wagyu beef on toast felt at odds with Fold’s playful menu that encompasses langoustine scampi fries and chip shop croquettes, while its March launch introduced Marple Bridge to squid bolognese.
Not sure. But Sean Finnegan, co-founder of this smart ‘bistro and bottle shop,’ insisted we try the beef and DOUBLE BINGO. It was a glorious surprise. Charred thick sourdough slices, smeared with mustard mayo, scattered with radish discs, IPA pickled gherkins and those tiny capers that explode on your tongue. The wagyu? I was expecting an ashtray element from the coal oil marinade, but, no, the flavour was all subtler mesquite. Its spicy match was an old bush vine Grenache from South Australia’s McLaren Vale. A Fold plus that sets it apart from many other casual small plate rivals is that bottle shop wine list.
Neil Sowerby @antonegomanc
Braised pork belly in soy, Home Chinese Manchester (£15.80)
When trying somewhere new, I always look to go for something I wouldn’t normally order. In the spirit of keeping things interesting, it’s good to leave your culinary fate in the lap of the gods sometimes.
While I did do that when visiting the new Chinese in the gay village, Home Chinese Manchester, I also went for the tried and tested classic - pork belly braised in soy.
After all, food is about being comforting as much as it is challenging.
The braised pork belly was soaked in soy and bronzed to a suntan brown, managing that balance of delicately cooked meat with a thick band of belly fat that simply dissolves away on eating.
Coupled with egg fried rice, there’s few things more comforting, even if keeping them pinned between the chopsticks can sometimes be a challenge.
David Adamson @davidadamson123
Lamb chops, Scene (£7.75)
Us Mancs are specialists in lamb chops marinaded in spices and grilled over charcoal. We’ve had one of the most vibrant areas for this Asian speciality in Europe for over sixty years, The Curry Mile. It’s like stepping into Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad, only colder. And wetter. But great fun.
The food has gone from brown stuff to pretty authentic down the years. And the lamb chops, which we all order if there’s a good grill, have got better and better.
There’s no point in trying to get the lamb pink in the middle. These lamb chops need de-nuding of fat, the bone trimmed (not too much guys, please, that’s the best bit for nibbling) and they should have been marinaded for well over a day. The meat takes on a new texture, and flavour, not just because of any one spice, but how practised the chef is with his (or her) own mix.
And the other day I had a plateful which gave me a very solid buzz. The delightful Kasia at Scene, not in The Mile but on the river on Spinningfields left bank, made me take a plateful. Griddled onions and peppers floated on top. I picked up a chop, obvs with fingers and bit in. The meat was so tender my Grannie Farrell could have eaten them with her teeth out. The flavour was extraordinary; the heat just right. No macho bullshit here.
Loved them. I’m getting Deliveroo to drop off a sack of the little beauties to the office next week.
Mark Garner @Gordomanchester
Texel lamb and Jersey Royals, Nord (£29)
Nord is top quality. People from the North West should travel to Liverpool to experience it. The food is excellent, the staff great. I especially liked the Texel lamb rack with a salsa verde and fresh onion (£23). The meat was almost sweet, yet rich too. The salsa verde could have been a distraction, it wasn’t. The whole ensemble was a cracker. But let’s write poems for the sheer simplicity of the roasted jersey royals (£6) with café de Paris butter. The herby mustardy butter was the perfect accompaniment for the sublime skin of spuds.
More than anything else these reminded me of pilfering potatoes from home as a kid, making a camp fire, wrapping the spuds with butter in foil and chucking them in the embers. One of three things would happen, an incinerated mess or an undercooked tooth-breaker, but every now and then a perfectly cooked and thoroughly smoky spud would emerge. There was something of that smokiness about these little wonders.
As I say, make the effort and get to Liverpool and enjoy Nord.
Jonathan Schofield @JonathSchofield
Jerk chicken, Henry's Takeaway (£7.50)
Sometimes in the pursuit of different content as as other media, I set off from the city centre, choose a direction and walk, tram or bus in that direction (£2 buses help with this so cheers, Burnham).
This month I only got as far as Hulme, when I chanced upon the gem that is Henry’s Takeaway. A smoking bbq outside literally had smoke signals luring me in to this Jamaican takeaway of dreams.
Now I’ll be the first to point out, I don’t know much about Jamaican cuisine but it’s one I’m very fond of and this was potentially the best Jerk I’ve had in a long time/ever. You could taste that this Jerk chicken just came off the bbq in all the right ways, the char, the light smokiness, the steam. after speaking with one of the guys that ran this place you could tell he just wanted to feed people, his food and I would have happily had more of it wasn’t for the fact that one portion of Jerk Chicken with Rice and peas made me feel fed for half an Ashes test match. Before you knew it there was a lunchtime queue out the door with people shouting orders in like they’d been ordering from here for years. Whilst in fact, Henry’s has only been open two months and is steadily converting people to its excellent food.
Ps. If you get a ginger beer from here, it’ll blow your socks off.
Hayden Naughton
Minced beef & Boddington's pie, The Black Friar (£18)
This was my first time dining at The Black Friar and it did not disappoint. They are known for their pies, but I didn’t think I would be ordering one in July. However, it was a miserable day and I needed cheering up with some good hearty food.
Sat close to the kitchen I could smell the pies coming out of the oven. It sold me. Pie of the day - minced beef and Boddington's, one of my favourites. Pastry was perfect and with a very generous filling, accompanied with creamy mash and veg. I would definitely be returning. Well worth the money and the service was great too.
Lucy Allen
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