Liverpool’s dim sum and roasted meats kitchen Yum Cha has revealed plans to open a new restaurant here in Manchester.
Known for its richly lacquered roasted meats, dainty dim sum and Chinese small plates, the restaurant will move into the Kampus garden neighbourhood later this spring.
Already well established on Liverpool’s Lark Lane, the move marks owners Adam and Neil Wan’s first move out of their hometown.
Set up by the brothers 11 years ago, Yuma Cha has built an enviable reputation in its home city for its bold dishes and delicate Chinese teas.
Pushing the burgeoning modern Chinese food trend, chefs here are known for taking traditional dishes and dragging them, boldly, into the 21st century.
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The menu features a dedicated roast meats section, with choices like crispy belly pork, char sui, duck and chicken – all roasted for 24 hours in Yum Cha’s custom-made roasting oven on site.
Served from 2pm with a choice of steamed rice or noodles and curry, soy or bbq sauce, it’s affordable too – priced at just £9.50 a plate.
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The dim sum list is pretty extensive, with a good choice of steamed dumplings and bao buns, as well as a crispy section featuring classics like spring rolls and bbq ribs, alongside more adventurous options such as crisp fried cuttlefish cake.
Image: Yum Cha
Image: Yum Cha
Image: Yum Cha
Elsewhere, you’ll find a decent selection of large plates spanning a range of different curry and noodle dishes, and another section dedicated entirely to noodle soup. There’s plenty for vegans, too, with a good selection of plant-based alternatives on offer.
Yum Cha at Kampus will be open seven days a week, with a relaxed atmosphere. Think industrial chic with polished concrete, softened with lanterns, wood carvings from China and neon lighting.
Adam Wan, Yum Cha Co-founder, said: “People can expect honest, authentic Chinese food, packed with flavour and made for sharing with friends and family.
“More than ever, people are craving spending quality time with loved ones. Yum Cha is the tradition, passed down over centuries, of gathering to swap stories over tea and food.
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“We’re bringing a piece of that ancient culture, to a laid back but stylish space in the heart of Manchester.
“We’ve always had big dreams to expand Yum Cha and bring our delicious, home-cooked Dim Sum to new communities and Kampus couldn’t be more perfect. We’ll be among a family of foodies in one of the most amazing places in the city.”
Yum Cha is the latest in a long line of new and expanding independents joining the community, including recently announced Madre, The Beeswing, Cloudwater Brewery and Great North Pie, alongside Nell’s, Pollen and General Store.
Adam Brady at HBD said: “Not only is Kampus shaping up to be one of the best collections of indie operators in Manchester, but it’s a really eclectic offering that’ll keep people visiting time and time again.
“Yum Cha are exactly what we’re all about – delicious food, an effortlessly stylish venue and spaces custom built for people coming together as a community. We’re chuffed to be adding another business, born in the North West, to the neighbourhood.”
Image: Yum ChaImage: Yum Cha
The Kampus collection of old and new buildings offers a melting pot of architectural styles and builds on a rich cultural heritage, making use of historic buildings that lay derelict for years, right next to the famous Canal Street in Manchester’s Gay Village and just minutes from Piccadilly Station.
The Kampus gardens and Bungalow are the central feature of the community and are permanently open to the public, with the Bungalow operating as a village hall for pop-up events and community groups.
The neighbourhood is alive with events and will be home to local independent bars, restaurants, cafés and retail from brands.
Feature image – Yum Cha
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Georgina Pellant -
24th March 2022 
