Tampopo Goes Large

TAMPOPO is spreading its food wings.

The result adds up to a fine equilibrium of flavours and textures with chunks of monkfish as the headliner and jasmine rice as a bolster.

The well-known and much-loved Mancunian bastion of Far Eastern food is putting more on the plate. 

I've had a couple of dishes there recently from the new range, the Pad Makham (£13.95), a Thai dish of duck breast in a sharp tamarind sauce, and a glorious monkfish molee curry (£13.95). 

The first of these came with excellent rice and was enhanced by fried onion flakes. The flesh was magnificent and the sauce perfect when soaked into the rice and bunched on a fork with the meat. It looked a picture too.

Duck delight

Better again was the molee curry, which Tampopo describes as Singaporean (main picture above). Rammed full of tickle the tastebuds ingredients this dish reads like the jars on an apothecary's shelf: galangal, tamarind, green mango, cherry tomatoes, curry leaves, tumeric, coconut milk and so on.

The resulting dish adds up to a fine equilibrium of flavours and textures with chunks of monkfish as the headliner and jasmine rice as a bolster. It's a very fine and very lovely thing. 

Other larger courses include a katsu from Japan, chicken breast deep-fried in panko breadcrumbs and Bo Luc Lac from Vietnam, diced rump steak infused with sesame oil, dark soy and oyster sauce. 

There are around ten or so such dishes on the new Tampopo menu. These are more in line with a classic 'main' in restaurants and the menu is all the better for it, gives it extra depth. Prices range from £9 to £13.95. 

Of course all the old favourites are still present, Pad Thai, Ramen, Pho, Nasi Goreng, but this extra dimension enhances the whole Tampopo experience. 

Tampopo has three restaurants in Manchester, Albert Square, the Corn Exchange and the Trafford Centre. Click here for locations and details.

Tampopo Albert Square

New dishes