A brand-new Thai street food buffet restaurant has opened up doors at the Trafford Centre this week.
Thaikhun – pronounced ‘tycoon’ and translating to “your Thai restaurant” – has several branches across the UK, and already has a presence here in Greater Manchester thanks to its popular restaurant in Spinningfields – and now, it’s brought the unique dining concept to the shopping centre’s food court.
Having welcomed its first customers through the doors from yesterday, Thaikhun is aiming to be the first of its kind to offer a Thai street food buffet to shoppers.
“At our first-of-its-kind buffet restaurant, we will offer customers the freedom to make the experience their own by picking exactly what they want and in their own time,” owner Kim Kaewkraikhot told the MEN ahead of the restaurant’s opening.
“We are passionate about providing an excellent quality experience with a combination of top-class food and unrivalled customer service.
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Thaikhun is aiming to be the first of its kind to offer a Thai street food buffet to shoppers / Credit: Thaikhun
“Every recipe on the menu can be found at real Thai street vendors and it’s with these authentic touches that we aim to deliver a taste of Thailand to our customers, helping them fall in love with the cuisine, just like we have.
“Whilst the menu will consist of some firm favourites, we are excited to bring a new and exciting spin to Thai dining, with the opportunity for our guests to enjoy a variety of different dishes and flavours every time they visit.”
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The 144-cover Thaikhun Trafford Centre restaurant – which opened with a Thai Monk blessing to bring luck, purification, peace and prosperity – is decked out in traditional Thai décor, with tuk tuk tables and boat seats throughout, and even a Buddhist shrine for staff and customers to worship too.
The main menus at the buffet-style restaurant will vary daily / Credit: Thaikhun
Main menus at the buffet-style restaurant will vary daily offering Thai classics, such as Pad Thai, Lamb Massaman and Khao Soi Gai soup, and there’s also a fully-equipped dessert station including a chocolate fountain, ice cream machine, popcorn machine, slush machine.
The restaurant has partnered with food app Too Good to Go to tackle food waste in the city, meaning customers will be able to pre-order and collect a ‘magic bag’ containing food that would have otherwise gone to waste.
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“Our attitude is all geared towards creating a fun and inclusive environment for our customers to enjoy great food, and The Trafford Centre will be no different,” Kim concluded.
Featured Image – Thaikhun
Eats
Inside Manchester’s new padel club with a Pot Kettle Black cafe and courtside cocktail bar
Daisy Jackson
Padel is the fastest-growing sport in the world, and it’s really picking up speed in Manchester now too with another city centre club opening this month.
The Pollen Club is a little different to the others, in that it’s fully undercover and protected from Manchester’s less-than-favourable weather.
And another thing that makes it a must-visit is the cafe attached to it – a third site for the beloved Pot Kettle Black.
The Pollen Club and Pot Kettle Black have both taken over a prominent city centre spot just off Deansgate, at the foot of the recently-opened Treehouse Hotel.
There are two state-of-the-art padel courts inside, with a mezzanine terrace for enjoy Pot Kettle Black’s offerings.
In summer, there are plans to launch a bar downstairs too, where you can sip spritzes courtside from loungers and swing seats.
The exciting new Manchester padel club will host pop up events, DJ takeovers and an extended evening food offering.
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel clubInside Manchester’s new padel club, The Pollen ClubPot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
And even if you’re not heading inside The Pollen Club, Pot Kettle Black has a grab-and-go hatch facing onto Blackfriars Street, making their delicious coffees, sandwiches and pastries (from their own bakery Half Dozen Other) even more accessible.
Commenting on the opening of the new site, Pot Kettle Black co-owner, Mark Flanagan said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have opened our third Pot Kettle Black site at The Padel Club. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team.
“After ten years in the city we’ve been enjoying seeing some familiar faces stopping by for a coffee and we can’t wait to get started on our programme of summer events!”
Insomnia Cookies is giving away FREE cookies to anyone with these two names
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s late-night sweet treat spot Insomnia Cookies is dishing out freebies this week… but there’s a catch.
You have to be called one of two specific names to get one.
With the long bank holiday weekend upon us, those in-the-know will also have noticed that this Sunday isn’t just Easter Sunday, it also happens to be 4/20… and that means Insomnia Cookies is back with its ‘blazing’ £4.20 deal, giving you the chance to bag a box of four warm cookies while saving nearly £7 at the same time.
But even better still, if you happen to have either the first or middle name ‘Mary’ or ‘Jane’, then you can also get yourself a warm tasty cookie for free.
To mark both 4/20, and celebrate the launch of its newest strain of mouthwatering cookie, the Mary Jane, anyone called Mary or Jane can pop into either of Insomnia Cookies’ two Manchester city centre sites – Cross Street and University Green – show their valid ID with their name on, and walk alway with a cookie free of charge.
If you want to try the new Mary Jane cookie, then this limited-edition special is made up of a cookies n cream dough base, packed with rainbow sprinkles.
The freebie deal has been running all week, and you have up until 3am on Monday 21 April to take advantage of it.
Customers will be limited to one free cookie per day.
Insomnia Cookies is giving away free cookies to anyone with these two names / Credit: Insomnia Cookies UK
If you aren’t lucky enough to be called one of those two names though, then thankfully you can still make some great savings on a classic four-pack of cookies over the spring bank holiday weekend, and for every four-pack sold, £1 will be donated to Groundwork – a charity helping make Manchester greener for nature and for local people.
“We’re calling for Marys and Janes to join us to live the high life with free cookies all week,” commented Millie Ralston, Head of Marketing at Insomnia Cookies.
Emily Sergeant -
28th September 2021 
