City Centre

An affordable build-your-own Chinese noodle bar is opening in Manchester

Customers can choose their own toppings before picking one of Mr Su's signature secret recipe broths.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 12th May 2023

A new Chinese restaurant is opening at Circle Square this month, bringing its signature ‘secret recipe’ dumplings, noodles and broths to the Oxford Road corridor.

Due to open its doors this month, new opening Mr Su has already been a fixture in Leeds since 2019. Now owners have their sights firmly set on Manchester.

When the new restaurant opens next week, customers will be able to build their own noodle bowls from scratch: choosing their own toppings before picking one of Mr Su’s signature secret recipe broths.

Founded by Jimmy Su, who has over 25 years of experience working in top restaurants in Dubai, China, and the UK, the menu features high-quality noodles, dumplings, and a range of broths all prepared in-house to special secret recipes.

The offering is extensive, but in a good way with multiple variations of what it does best: noodles and dumplings all at reasonable prices.

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Image: Quest4Diabetes
Image: Mr Su

Broth choices include normal, tomato, seafood, spicy, or pickled, whilst the toppings station will offer up a range of traditional and more localised options from veg and chicken, to prawns and beef.

Once toppings have been picked, customers simply take their selections to the counter where they’ll be made up into a mouth-watering bowl of noodles.

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The menu features specialty dumplings filled with a variety of ingredients like lamb and Chinese leaves, priced from just £3.90 for six. Elsewhere, you’ll find the likes of chicken and duck street noodles and mixed veg noodles.

Read more: Northern brewery bans children from taproom after ‘a number of incidents at recent events’

Mr Su is set to open on the ground floor of the Vita Student Medlock Building at Circle Square from Monday 15 May.

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Speaking on the new opening Jimmy Su, co-owner of Mr Su, said: “We can’t wait to officially open the doors to Mr Su Manchester to show the city our specialty noodles and dumplings, that have been 25 years in the making.

“We’re all about great tasting, good-quality homemade noodles and dumplings accessible to everyone which is reflected in our price – traditional Chinese food isn’t meant to break the bank, and we’re incredibly excited to open in Manchester building upon the success of our Leeds store.”

Read more: The UK’s biggest taco and tequila festival is coming to Manchester

Mr Su opened its first store in Leeds in 2019, situated on Blenheim Terrace, the restaurant has gone from strength to strength, cementing Mr Su’s as the go-to place for noodles and dumplings in the city. 

Featured image – Mr Su

City Centre

You can now have a private tour of Manchester Christmas Markets

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Every year, Manchester Christmas Markets hosts its almost two-month long residency on the frosty streets of our lively city, but now you can enjoy the cute huts with an unbeatable luxury experience.

Travel agency, Viator, who are directly connected to TripAdvisor, have launched a one on one guided tour of Manchester and its stunning Manchester Christmas Markets in all their glory.

This private tour of the festivities occurring in the city will last two hours and for the whole duration of your time, a city host will be on hand to offer undivided attention, catering to your every need.

A makeshift itinerary is already awaiting guests and can be tailored according to the individual taking the tour, everything is catered to your preferences.

Anyone who books onto the tour also receives a complimentary hot chocolate and that’s sweetened the deal for me, I’m sold.

Best sandwich at Manchester Christmas Markets.
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The best cheesy things at Manchester Christmas Markets.
You can recreate your very own gigantic cheese pull and your local host can snap a piccie.
Waffle Kart at Manchester Christmas Markets
Scrumptious selection of food available as you venture through Manchester Christmas Markets in style.

There’s also the chance to keep your hands toasty with a free cup of mulled wine or a soft-drink for those who aren’t interested in the warm alcoholic beverage.

Manchester Christmas Markets are a phenomenal day or night-out regardless so this latest personalised opportunity will take your festive fantasies to a whole new level.

This private tour provides a one-of-a-kind exclusive treatment making your stroll down Manchester Cathedral, Exchange Square and Manchester Town Hall that little bit more special.

These tours are a great chance to immerse yourself in one of Manchester’s many selling points as you can choose to focus your time around art and culture, fashion, architecture or our personal favourite – food.

Although the tour doesn’t include the cost for the amount of gifts and presents you’re about to buy while walking round the event, it’s definitely an innovative way to explore everything Manchester has to offer at Christmastime.

This exclusive tour package which highlights the best of Manchester Christmas Markets is definitely a present in itself with tickets costing a hefty sum of £100.

If you want to visit Manchester Christmas Markets while also living the high life with a private tour, ‘Christmas In Manchester: Private Experience With A City Host’ is running all the way until the huts shut shop on 22 December and tickets can be found here.

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Featured Image: The Manc Group

City Centre

A look at Embassy Village as construction on Manchester’s homeless housing project begins

Danny Jones Danny Jones Embassy Village for homeless people in Manchester work started

Work has officially begun on Manchester’s long-rumoured Embassy Village, a new living quarters designed specifically to house the local homeless community.

Set to be the largest purpose-built village of its kind in the UK, the hope is to provide short to medium-term housing for up to 40 rough sleepers in the Greater Manchester area.

Planning permission for the £4 million project proposed by the Embassy Charity was handed down back in 2021 and enabling works have been gradually taking place, with the land now fully prepped for construction to begin.

Officially breaking ground on Tuesday, 19 November, developers and regeneration specialists Peel Waters shared the first images from the site as well as concept artwork for what the district will look like once completed.

The 4.5-acre brownfield site sits beneath 22 railway arches just off the Egerton Street Bridge near Castlefield and the bustling Regent Road which heads towards Salford. Although it was initially said rooms would be made from shipping containers, the units will now be proper purpose-built structures.

Designed to house homeless and vulnerable people living in and around Manchester within individual units, Embassy Village is a joint non-profit venture by both Peel Waters and well-known property company Capital&Centric.

Contractor Vermont Group will be taking on the construction for free, with around 50 organisations offering their services pro bono, including AEW Architects, Planit and Jon Matthews Architects, who helped design the living quarters and wider communal space from the ground up.

Aiming to create a genuinely beneficial community environment, with those staying there able to access green spaces, mini-allotment plots, sports facilities; counselling services, laundry rooms, computer spaces and tonnes more, they’ve come a long way from offering tour bus beds to the homeless.

Residents will also start off on the right path towards getting back on their feet and those staying there will be required to carry out six hours of training per week in things like shopping, cooking, budgeting and other key life skills.

Speaking on the first day of proper construction, Peel Waters‘ director James Whittaker said: “Today’s launch event is an important milestone, marking years of hard work and collaboration to deliver the UK’s first purpose-built community village…”

He went on to thank all of those who have backed the plans so far, including Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham, who has already applauded it as a “fantastic idea.”

With several local organisations either offering their help for free or contribute by donating to the project, the speed at which work can now move is increasing and it is expected that the 24 homes, as well as the central ‘village hall’ space, will be finished within the next 10 months.

The aim is for Embassy Village to be completed in its entirety by the end of 2025 and with more and more businesses being invited to help with the development along the way, the amount of resources and manpower is only looking like it will increase with approximately £1m still needed to fully bring it to life.

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Cooperating with the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, which specialises in helping the homeless through its ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, Embassy are now working on finding long-term funding for the village’s operational costs once it is up and running.

Another key benefactor is The Moulding Foundation, an organisation dedicated to alleviating social inequalities, who donated £3.5m to support the village’s construction.

Co-founder, Jodie Moulding, told Prolific North: “For most people, access to housing, healthcare, and education is a given – but for others, it is a privilege…

“It has taken an unbelievable amount of time, effort, and energy to get to this point, so finally breaking ground is a huge milestone for everyone involved in bringing Embassy Village to life.”

As for Embassy themselves the charity’s director, Sid Williams, added: “Special thanks go to Matt and Jodie Moulding for their financial backing and the teams at Peel Waters, Capital&Centric, the Mayor’s Charity and Manchester City Council for making this happen.”

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Peel Waters (supplied)

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