Spinningfields Thai restaurant Thaikhun is giving out free meals in Manchester tomorrow to welcome new undergraduate students.
It will park its signature tuk-tuk at the University of Manchester between 12-5pm offering freshers free rides and a private tour around the city, ending at the restaurant.
Students will be dropped at Thaikhun on Hardman Street, Spinningfields, to enjoy a pad thai on the house – a famous national dish made with your choice of protein, Thai rice noodles, egg, spring onions, sweet turnip, bean sprouts, tofu, peanuts, vegetables and a tamarind sauce.
Protein options meanwhile include chicken, pork belly, roast BBQ pork, prawn, beef, tofu and plant-based chicken, leaving plenty of choice for meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans and pescetarians alike.
Normally priced at £10 a dish, for one day only students in the city will be treated to a freebie on the house.
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Kim’s pad thai recipe has stayed the same for nearly 2 decades and has won awards. / Image: Thaikhun
At the age of just 15 with big dreams and an entrepreneurial spirit, Kim left her village to set up her own Pad Thai cart. / Image: Thaikhun
Simply by taking a picture of themselves dining at Thaikhun, groups could also be in with a chance to win a complimentary meal for four.
Becky, Restaurant Manager at Thaikhun Manchester, explains: “We’re so excited to be bringing this exclusive and totally unique experience to Manchester Freshers Week, offering students a free ride in a tuk tuk and a complimentary Pad Thai at Thaikhun. We can’t wait to welcome students and freshers into our restaurant to enjoy our signature dish for free, for one day only.
“They can also win a dining experience for four guests by simply uploading a photo of themself either at the restaurant or with the Thaikhun tuk tuk, which will be based at the University campus, using #ThaikhunTakeover on Instagram. We will select a winner at random after the event and contact them the next day where they can redeem their prize within 30 days.
“We encourage all students in the city to enter, no matter what University you’re at. It certainly won’t be one to miss!”
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Image: Thaikhun
Image: Thaikhun
Located on Hardman Street, Spinningfields, Thaikhun offers Thai street food inspired by the food markets of Bangkok.
Pad thai is a dish especially close to its heart, being one of the first dishes its founder Khun Kim ever perfected .
At the age of just 15 with big dreams and an entrepreneurial spirit, Kim left her village in rural Khiri Mat for the busy streets of Bangkok. Kim’s main passion has always been food and so, in 1993, she set up her first Pad Thai cart.
Through pure dedication and hard work, she expanded the business to run several street food stalls and won an award for the delicious flavours of her Pad Thai recipe, which is still proudly used across Thaikhun’s restaurants today.
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Kim almost met her husband Martin whilst working on that stall in 1997 – and shortly after she moved to Leeds, Martin’s hometown, to start building her Thai restaurant empire.
Feature image – Thaikhun
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Manchester’s free summer picnic is coming back to Oxford Road
Danny Jones
Manchester’s free ‘Summer in the City Picnic’ is returning to the Oxford Road Corridor later this year, promising plenty of live music and entertainment, family-friendly fun, outdoor activities and lots more.
Coming back to Circle Square for the second time, the now annual and completely free city centre festival will set up for its sophomore edition right on Symphony Park.
Surrounded by numerous local businesses located within the thriving Bruntwood SciTech and Vita Group neighbourhood, this mini-district is once again set to draw in crowds from all over Manchester.
With that in mind, get your coolers, picnic baskets and blankets ready: it’s time for some alfresco fanfare.
Kicking off next month for one day only, Circle Square‘s ‘Summer in the City Picnic’ 2.0 will get underway pretty much from the outset, with the organisers promising a full day of festivities.
Visitors can look forward to an even more jam-packed schedule than last year, with creative workshops and interactive experiences, DJs right through to the evening, alongside roaming steel drum performances and even silent disco adventures, just to name a few.
Other events include: sip and paint sessions, pop-up mini golf and basketball shoot-outs; ‘foot pool’, a seasonal bouquet bar, as well as a dedicated picnic space for dogs, complete with bespoke pup portraits. Adorable.
2025 saw plenty of furry friends steal the show and become local celebrities for the day, and we’re sure ’26 will be no different.
The long picnic tables will once again take centre stage, creating a relaxed space for families and friends to come together over great food from Circle Square’s wide mix of indie restaurants and cafes, such as Gooey, Onda, Hello Oriental, Half Dozen Other, Saffa Soul, North Bar, Monkey Trio and more.
Punters are, obviously, to bring along their own picnic bits, packed lunches and favourite scran, but it’s nice to have the option of treating yourself to stuff on-site.
Better still, Circle Square’s proximity not only to Oxford Road train station, but the St Peter’s Square tram stop and various bus routes (even Piccadilly isn’t really that far) means that this is super accessible for anyone interested – not to mention that it’s completely free and open to all members of the public.
Taking place on Saturday, 8 August, we hope to see you there and hopefully with the sun shining.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures/Jody Hartley (supplied via SH Comms)
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UK set for another ‘potential’ heatwave next week after warmest June on record
Emily Sergeant
England could be heading towards another potential heatwave early next week, the Met Office has revealed.
While it’s obviously true that temperatures this week have returned to average for the time of year, bringing largely settled conditions for many, once next week rolls around, some parts of the country could be heating up once again – with the Met Office revealing what Greater Manchester residents should prepare for.
For the early part of next week, temperatures will definitely rise and perhaps reach what are considered heatwave conditions for some.
But if this is the case, the forecast suggests that it’s ‘unlikely’ to reach the high temperatures and humidity of last month’s heat, and the North West won’t be getting the worst of it.
The potential of next week’s heatwave comes after last month was officially declared the UK’s warmest June on record.
After a week of respite from the heat, high pressure moves in this weekend, dominating many southern and central areas for the next 10 days.
A defining feature of the month’s heatwave was the ‘exceptionally warm’ overnight temperatures, with frequent ‘tropical nights’ helping to drive the highest average June minimum temperatures on record.
Giving an insight into what’s to come as we head into the weekend, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, Tony Wisson, explained: “Toward the weekend, high pressure will continue to build in across most of the UK as it extends from the Azores. This will lead to more settled, warm or very warm conditions for many, especially across England and Wales, though some rain may still affect the far north.
“The forecast for this weekend suggests that temperatures could approach high 20s°C across parts of England, perhaps 30°C in parts of the southeast, with values of mid to high 20s°C in Wales.
“Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.”
Georgina Pellant -
21st September 2022 
