Shoryu Ramen

As you enter Shoryu Ramen (which has just opened on Piccadilly, Manchester), you're greeted with a loud gong and the staff cheer your arrival... which was great for us, as we were running 20 minutes late and so were quite thankful that they were so happy to see us!

The place was teeming with people (a great sign), and the atmosphere was stylish, but very relaxed, with white wash stone walls, low hanging lights, gold detail; not to mention being bathed in natural light thanks to its two glass walls.

If you're from Manchester then you'll know that the Piccadilly area really struggles with its reputation (and if you've visited Manchester it's probably the bit in the city centre that made you wonder why you came..), so I'm really pleased it's getting names like Shoryu to tempt people back to spend time there.

Before I get on to the good stuff (spoiler alert: the ramen is incredible), one thing James and I both commented on was how friendly all the staff were. Not just to us, but to every table - chatting away, offering friendly advice and generally being lovely and attentive. They were really busy but always made time to put a smile on people's faces, and that created such a nice atmosphere. Big shout out to Duncan too (Shoryu's answer to Michael McIntyre?!), who was really funny and a great host.

For drinks, James went for the manly Okinawa Sunrise (mint, mango puree, orange, maraschino, red rum and grenadine), and I had the Avocado Nikkei (blended avocado, namazake, pisco, agave syrup and lemon) (FYI I have no idea what namazake or pisco are but the drink tasted lush so there we go).

They both hit the spot perfectly and weren't sickly sweet like some summer inspired drinks can be.

When Duncan was talking through the menu, the wagyu beef bun jumped out at me, as did the pork belly bun... this picture does not do the soft, fluffy bun justice. It was heaven. The pork belly was thick and so tasty - the bun came with a spicy sauce which was just to my taste. The wagyu bun stole the show though, with a gorgeous flavour and really 'light' feel.

Wagyu beef bun

Pork belly bun

Us being us, we also ordered the Duck teriyaki from the jumbo hakata yakitori menu, and the king prawn tempura.

Oh my gosh, I don't know what to start with, duck or prawn. The duck was absolutely amazing - skewered and coated in a gorgeous teriyaki sauce with a slightly crispy skin, it was incredibly moreish.

The tempura on the prawns was lovely and light, not too heavy and worked so well with the big juicy prawns - I was so impressed.

When it came to ramen, we knew we had to get a Tonkotsu - Shoryu specialise in Tonkotsu - a rich pork broth that cooks for 12 hours, and is topped with barbecue pork belly, nitamago egg, kikurage mushrooms, spring onion, sesame, ginger and nori seaweed.

We got the Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu, which came with fried shallots, and it was gorgeous. The soupy broth is soo tasty - you could eat that on its own and be satisfied! The portions are huge and it's a lot of fun watching the person you're with not splash broth everywhere...

I really liked the shallots and spring onions in the pork dish, they brought the flavours to life for me - it's incredible how the noodles pick up all the different flavours.

As I'm a huge (huge huge) fan of Thai inspired cuisine, we also got the Green curry ramen - a really spicy, coconut-y soup with king prawns, chicken karaage (fried), menma (bamboo shoots), nitamago egg, red chillies and of course, loooads of noodles.

My green curry ramen (and teriyaki duck in the chopsticks)

This was my absolute favourite dish and I was gutted at how full I got towards the end as I couldn't finish it! If you like Thai green curry, I promise you you will love this dish.

After a good twenty minutes or so of letting our food go down, more drinks (this time, Asian beer!) and chatting, we were offered dessert. Despite being so full, Duncan persuaded us to try a tiny little Japanese pudding called Mochi (Japanese icecream balls, essentially). James chose salted caramel and I went for sesame. These were the perfect size for having something to satisfy that sweet craving.

Each part of our meal was absolutely delicious, and come on.. how nicely are those ramen bowls presented?! It's a great spot to with friends after work, or to grab a lush meal if you're out shopping or fancy food and drinks and a genuinely friendly service!

Shoryu Ramen kindly invited me down, but you know I wouldn't ever write about or promote a place that I wouldn't go to again - and I really, really urge you to go and check this place out! We'll definitely be back. Thank yooou Shoryu Ramen. 

PS if you're looking for more Asian inspired recipes and reviews in Manchester - here's a few of my others... here, here, here, and here!

Tuesday @ Y Fabrica

When I first moved to Didsbury, Mudcrab was one of my favourite restaurants. I especially loved their signature burger and fries (perfect hangover cure with friends), but was also a place I brought my parents, and I thought they'd got that balance as an all-rounder down to a T. They've recently re-branded to Y Fabrica: still under the Mudcrab umbrella, but branching out to offer chilled, Cali-Mexican food. Think tacos, stuffed jalapenos, margaritas; sharing plates and cocktails - oh yess.

I got invited to come down and sample their tacos & margaritas and so last week, we made our way over for what I hoped would be a spicy, flavoursome affair to warm me up on a cold November evening.

I've got to say the furnishings give the place a lovely vibe - big wicker chairs (a bit like the furniture at the old Grand Pacific?) dominate the front area, and I imagine in the day light it would look beautiful. We were sat a bit further back so excuse the photos as some of them are a little dark (sorry).

The team at Y Fabrica were so lovely, our waiter Orion (I think that was his name!) was chatty (but not 'fake' chatty), made us laugh and feel at home. He recommended a load of dishes and asked us our favourite flavour combinations and how hungry we were... which resulted in this for starters:

Chicken Tinga Taco - pulled chicken soft flour tacos, with crumbled feta, pomegranate slaw and pico de gallo (Mexican chopped salsa, I learnt..)

Pork belly soft flour tacos with apple slaw and pico de pina (fruity salsa!)

Breadcrumbed and fried jalapeno poppers with a salsa verde

I'm known for being over dramatic but these were hands down the best pulled chicken tacos I've ever had. You'd think that the tacos themselves would be nothing to write home about, you know, the meat and filling should be the main affair? But take it from me, I've never tasted such fresh, "homemade" tasting soft flour wraps. You could just tell they'd been made moments before. Their plumpness worked well to scoop up all the pulled chicken (delicious), pomegranate and feta. I was gutted as James and I had agreed to go halves on each others starters, and so reluctantly handed over my plate.

The pork belly was gorgeous too, so swapping really wasn't so bad!

The jalapeno poppers were right up my street too. Whole jalapenos, injected with creamy, warm cheese. SO NAUGHTY but so good. A gorgeous salsa verde accompanied it. I'd highly recommend getting these to share.

When it came to the mains, Orion was really good at advising on portion sizes, and recommended that we get the nachos to share with our mains, as James's dish wasn't huge, he said.

I went for the slow cooked lamb tagine (obviously), with pomegranate couscous (pomegranate's really having a moment isn't it?) and yoghurt. It was delicious; full of flavour - rich and tomatoey, and very generous with the lamb. The size was perfect too, although I couldn't eat all the couscous.

James was content with his fruity choice too; fried chicken on a bed of chunky chilli watermelon - it sounds odd but in all honesty, it really worked! The watermelon was fresh and a perfectly unassuming partner for a plate of crispy fried chicken. It's definitely a good wild card option.

We also got the pulled chicken nachos to share (the pulled chicken was so good in the tacos I was so excited to know we were having more..), and oh my word, they were massive. Our waiter brought out a huge tray of nachos smothered in pulled chicken, avocado mash, jalapenos, salsa and cheese.

We could've just eaten these and been full! They were devilishly moreish and we had a pretty good go at eating them all ("just one more..").

I didn't have a margarita due to 'dry November' reasons, but James got the 'Smokey and the Bandit' - a spicy, oaky margarita with a Maldon salt rim. He said it tasted delicious, so I'll have to take his word, and try them for myself in December.

We really didn't need it, but we got dessert. I saw something with Snickers in and couldn't get it out of my head! Icecream, Snickers, chocolate sauce and torched meringue - it was LUSH.

You can check out the full menu here. I remember seeing a sign outside offering 2-4-1 cocktails during the week before a certain time, so it would be a perfect place for mid-week drinks and dinner.

They invited me down to try just their tacos and margaritas but when we went to pay the bill, our waiter told us that it was all on the house - which sweetened our evening even more. Such a lovely touch, they really didn't need to do that! We were expecting to, and would have gladly, paid for the rest of our meal, but it was a lovely gesture.

I'll definitely be back - I want at least two pulled chicken tacos next time around!

Negroni tasting with House of Peroni @ Harvey Nichols

Well. If ever there's a cocktail that can help solve a sore throat, I think I had it tonight. I was invited to Harvey Nics by The House of Peroni, to celebrate bringing a little bit of Italy to Manchester.

House of Peroni create cool, quirky pop up events around the UK to celebrate Italian lifestyle, culture, food and drink. If you've read my posts on Rome or Elba Island, you'll know how much I'm absolutely in love with the country. The food, culture and lifestyle absolutely resonates with me and I love the quote "buon cibo, buon vino, buoni amici", which roughly translates as good food, good fine, and good friends.

House of Peroni are offering lots of quirky events throughout November, and tonight for us was all about 'The Love Of Negroni' - trying five different negroni cocktails before choosing our favourite.

I'll admit. I don't think I've ever knowingly drank Negroni, so I was intrigued to say the least. I had a stonking cold and headache, and was brought a really warming Winter Garden cocktail upon arrival (their take on mulled wine - Peroni, Brandy, Falernum, lemon, apple and sugar) - and it was lovely.

If like me you aren't too familiar with Negroni, allow me to introduce you... 'sweet vermouth and bitter notes define this bold yet refreshing drink' - a classic recipe would involve;

20ml gin
15ml Peroni Nastro Azzurro
20ml sweet vermouth
20ml Campari
Garnished with an orange peel twist.

It's sophisticatedly sip-worthy and would be the perfect pre-dinner palate cleanser.

After the Winter Garden cocktail, we had some beautiful canapes, including beef tartare, salmon & avocado mousse.

We then moved over to the bar to learn about the history of Negroni and got to try the five variations of the cocktail. Peroni's Master of Mixology, Simone Caporale, talked us through the different notes and flavours in each cocktail.

My favourite two were the Negroni Secco (lime, Peroni, rum, campari & sugar) (pictured below), and the Fruttato (bllueberry extract, Peroni, Vermouth, gin, campari).

It was such a lovely evening, and affirmed my amorous feelings towards Italian culture. Maybe it's the Negroni talking, but regardless - it's definitely worth a visit!

It's not just Negroni tasting though, there's a private dining experience with a 'feasting' menu, Italian brunch (including something called Purgatorio - spicy baked eggs with njud, YUM), a pasta making course and more.

To grab your own slice of Italian action, you need to book on to the events:

The House Of Peroni's Amare l'Italia pop-up from the 9th - 12th November at Harvey Nichols Manchester, here's the link: http://www.harveynichols.com/news/2016/09/27/italian-living/?restaurant=manchester-dining

The guys at Peroni kindly paid for my Negroni experience - but as ever, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

Sunday Roast @ Saison, West Disbury

When I left university and waved goodbye to my student house, Didsbury became home. West Didsbury to be precise. It was the first place outside of Bristol that felt homely and comforting and like the sort of place I would like to live.

I must've liked it, as I lived there for three years and am still a huge advocate of everything it has to offer - Burton Road, the river, the cafes, independent shops and restaurants that keep popping up, I love it!

One restaurant I was particularly intrigued by was Saison, having known it as the Violet Hour when I lived there. Anyway, they got in touch with me via a group on Facebook and asked if I'd like to come down and give them a try - and I jumped at the chance to get back on Burton Road!

It was the day after we'd got back from Portugal and although it was still (surprisingly) warm in Manchester, we were both craving something really hearty and homely, so roast dinner it was.

BUT before we tucked into roasts, we ordered drinks & went to town on the starter menu.

We shared two dishes - the five spice chicken lollipops with a hoisin glaze, and the Didsbury eggs.

I was a little nervous about getting the chicken dish as anything meaty described as a lollipop doesn't quite sit right with me but oh my god these were delicious: just look at the detail in the picture above! The meat was so tender and the sauce was a perfect addition.

The Didsbury eggs were phenomenal; I'm partial to a Scotch egg most of the time but these were fab - crunchy on the outer edge, with a soft black pudding sausage middle, wrapped around a boiled quail's egg, with a runny yolk - ideal!

After some lovely rioja and beer for James, our roasts arrived. I went for chicken, and James went for beef. The beef is cooked medium rare and both come with Saison's 'signature stuffing' which.is.LUSHHH. So so good.

You also get a heap of seasonal veg, crispy on the outside / fluffy on the inside potatoes, and a huge Yorkshire pudding. Oh and an insane red wine gravy.

Now, I love holiday food as much as the next person (fresh seafood, abundance of bright fruit & veg etc), but it was so lovely after a week of eating this to tuck into a warming, wholesome roast; I was craving it massively.

We definitely didn't need pudding, but when we saw the specials board mention a chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice-cream and raspberries, we had it have it.

We dove right in and finished it in minutes (there's always room for dessert!). My favourite bit was the gooey layer on top of the cake, mixed with a spoonful of ice-cream. It was delicious. The perfect way to round off a roast!

We sat in the window and watched Burton Road bustle away; it was a great way to see of a Sunday. The atmosphere in Saison is soo chilled and relaxing, I'd absolutely recommend going for a roast, or a cosy drink in the window. Thanks for having me, Saison!


*Saison very kindly paid for my food. I paid for my drinks. All opinions are genuine and have not been influenced by their generosity - they really do do great roasts!

Feasting @ Bakchich

You might have noticed from my Instagram that I've been to a couple of Lebanese restaurants recently. First, Aladdin's in Withington and most recently, Bakchich just off of Oxford Road. Both serve incredible food, but the vibe in Bakchich is as sleek as it is kitch; you definitely don't go to Aladdin's for the decor, but that's nothing against their culinary skills.

Today though, I'm talking you through Bakchich, as I was invited to come down and review the menu...

So, one Friday after work, James and I ambled down from the city centre to Chester Street. From being someone who practically lived on Oxford Road as a student, I hadn't ventured down 'that' way for absolutely ages - for some reason I'd got it into my head that it was 'miles' out from town, but it's not - a fifteen minute walk from Portland Street at most. So definitely do-able as a central place to grab something to eat.

The decor reminds me of Comptior Libanais; Middle Eastern mosaics, pop art style prints on the wall and colourful chairs. I loved it. We sat in our own booth and watched the place fill up with families, couples and friends out to enjoy food on a Friday night. It was nice to see a restaurant nestled in student town still busy even with the summer holidays in full swing.

We kicked off with a ginger, orange & carrot juice and James had the panache smoothie as a recommendation from our waiter. They were both lush; zingy and fresh and a perfect palette cleanser!

We ordered a selection of hot and cold mezze dishes as well as our mains - and oh my god, there was enough food for four of us!

We had:

• Falafel
• Babaganoush
• Lebanese bread
• Fatat Hummous 
• Lebanese sausage
• Halloumi Meshwi (this had pomegranate molasses on top - a really interesting sweet sauce to have on the cheese, it worked surprisingly well!)

The hummous was so nice - it had crispy pieces of Lebanese bread in a layer at the bottom which offered such a nice texture. I also loved how the falafel and halloumi came with salad - juicy tomatoes, pomegranate and cucumber, lemon and olive oil dressing. 

For the main affair (which is brought out at as and when it's ready; a concept I am fully on board with), I went for the Shish Taouk (chicken skewers cooked in Lebanese spices), which is served with fragrant rice and more of that delicious salad.

James went for the lahma meshawi (lamb skewers) with fries. The lamb was gorgeous, and I'm not going to lie, so were the fries!

Despite being stuffed, our waiter insisted on dessert.. so there was only one thing for it: BAKLAWA! One of the first times I had Baklava was from a middle eastern deli on Gloucester Rd in Bristol, and I fell in love with the sticky pastry, and gooey mix of crushed nuts and honey.

Our waiter also brought over coconut cheesecake (also insane: creamy and perfectly whipped, with a crunchy biscuit base) and mint tea, which was the perfect way to finish off the epic feast.

Everyone was so friendly, in particular the manager and our lovely waiter, so if you want to feel really looked after and valued as a customer, Bakchich is your place.

My only 'err' moment came when I found out they didn't serve alcohol, especially as I fancied a cheeky drink on a Friday. However, with the arrival of the juices it was surprisingly easy to forget about the drink, and focus on the food. So please don't let this put you off, it's an amazing place!

I'd definitely come back, it seems like the perfect place to swing by on a week day for a feast.

Bakchich kindly took care of the bill for this review but as ever, all thoughts and opinions are my own...

Wednesday @ Wagamama

Last week Wagamama invited me to their Spinningfields branch to sample their refreshed menu. It was a really hot evening, so we were looking forward to some light, refreshing food.

I started off with the blueberry spice juice (blueberries, ginger, apple & carrot) and James had a pint. It's great to see restaurant chains offering a wide selection of fresh juices, and hit the spot perfectly to cool me down.

We then went to town on the menu. Edamame beans, shredded crispy duck wraps with a cherry hoisin sauce and pork ribs (if you read my post here you'll know it's a firm favourite of James's...)

The duck wraps were absolutely amazing, perfectly light wraps, sticky but not sickly sauce and crisp veg to go with the meat. We had loads of pancakes and meat each, which was a great amount for a hearty starter.

The edamame was great, but a little pricey (£4.95).

We also ordered the Korean barbeque beef steamed bun to share, which was lovely.

For mains, James went for the Katsu curry (not pictured, but a firm favourite in both our opinions and really tasty). I went for the spicy chicken ramen - spicy noodle soup with red onion, spring onion, beansprouts, chillies, coriander and fresh lime and grilled chicken.

Oh my goodness this was lovely. The gift that kept on giving (i.e. there was loads of it), with layers of sauce, spice and flavours with each mouthful. I would 100% order this again; the chillies really did pack a punch, so not for those that don't like the heat!

The Spinningfields restaurant is light and airy, and a lot bigger than I remember. It suited us perfectly for a quick bite to eat mid-week, and I was so impressed with the food.

I've only recently got into liking Ramen so if there are any other flavour combos you'd recommend, please let me know!

PS. I really love the steam effect on the Wagamama homepage - it looks really cool, check it out...

Wagamama made a very hearty contribution to the cost of our meal but some was also paid for by me, and as ever, all views & opinions are my own!