Beloved veggie food brand and beer hall chain Bundobust has just launched their desi Christmas menu for the festive season and it’s genuinely so good we’re not sure we’ll be able to go back to standard roast dinners.
From banging Bundo bhajis and mince pie parathas, to chai spiced mulled wine and clever twists on classic seasonal cocktails, they’re doing their best to make this Christmas a memorable one.
It can be very easy to just stick to the classics when it comes to the holiday season — pigs in blankets, turkey and stuffing sandwiches, a ridiculous amount of roasties and gravy — but Bundobust genuinely makes us feel like we want to pull our finger out and reinvent Christmas food every now and again.
Serving their wintery menu right up until 31 December, the Indian street food stars aren’t just reworking familiar festive dishes with an extra bit of spice and native ingredients, they’re giving veggies a genuinely viable option when it comes to their dinner this holiday season. Sod that bloody nut roast.
Credit: The Manc/The Hoot
From sprout bhajis packed with crispy onion, broccoli, fennel and chilli — a festive favourite that has been dunked in their incredible spiced cranberry chutney umpteenth times since 2014 — to their spiced sprout butties on vegan brioche and mince pie paratha (yes, you heard us right), there are some seriously clever creations on this menu.
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The newly rebooted biryani balls, which were a favourite from their first-ever menu, are back for 2023 and are tastier than ever, with each crispy rice ball spiced with mint, saffron, ginger and rose, before being served with crispy onions and a rich tomato sauce. Phwoar.
If you’re looking for a more substantial take on a Yuletide main, you won’t anything more warming this winter than a cosy pot of festive dhal and rice: a warming, earthy lentil curry which is smoked and spiced with black cardamom, clove and cinnamon. Good grief, we might have to do this every Christmas.
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And then you’ve got your puddings. The sour cherry kheer is a creamy rice pudding flavoured with cardamom, sour cherry and rose gulkhand, and the Bundobust’s Kulfi has also received a Christmas makeover spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and orange peel. Either is the perfect sweet treat to end on.
There’s no lack of choice when it comes to drinks either, as whether you want to try their brand-new Python beer, the returning ‘Bundo Snowball’, a decadently smooth sloe gin sour, their take on a ‘Grasshopper’, or the alcohol-free ‘Ginger Tom’, you’ll be smacking your lips and begging for more.
God, we’re dead thirsty all of a sudden — and bloody starving, come to think of it. It’s a good job any Mancs can go and get their hands on some of the incredible desi food on the Christmas menu at either of Bundobust’s two city centre sites now, with parties of up to 50 of you available to book in.
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All this talk of digesting something different this holiday season has got us thinking about all the other cuisines doing festive twists on Christmas classics over the next month or so. Believe us, there’s plenty of them.
Inside Voyeur, a mysterious new post-punk 80s-inspired cocktail bar
Daisy Jackson
A brand new cocktail bar is set to open in Manchester this week, with dark and mysterious interiors, 80s inspiration, and a raunchy theme.
Voyeur is opening in the heart of the Northern Quarter, and here it’s all about modern drinks in a post-punk 80s setting.
The walls are decorated with beautiful voyeurism photography from the 80s, including artists like David Hockney, Nick Taggart, and Malerie Marder.
Even the menus celebrate the artistic side of voyeurism, with drinks presented within a book of photography.
Those drinks include creative twists on drinks dating back more than a century, from the Kaleidescope of Lies (a two-in one cocktail inspired by a pina colada, with a strawberry daiquiri foam top) to The Voyeur (made with coriander-infused tequila for a savoury punch).
There’ll be monthly themed specials, kicking off with The Breakfast Club, where seasonal drinks take inspiration from Lucky Charms cereal, chai latte and an acai bowl.
Cocktails inspired by The Breakfast Club at VoyeurCocktails at Voyeur in the Northern QuarterInside Voyeur, a new Manchester cocktail barInside Voyeur, a new Manchester cocktail barVoyeur on Oldham StreetThe cocktail menu is presented as a photography book
The dark space is lit by marble table lamps and a glittering green disco ball (and not much else), perfect for an evening spent sipping cocktails into the early hours.
Between Thursdays and Sundays, Voyeur will have DJs spinning vinyls.
Voyeur is opening this week on Oldham Street and will be open from 5pm to 2am between Tuesday and Sunday.
A brand-new dessert, ice-cream and doughnut shop in a former Manc food spot
Thomas Melia
Sweet lovers and dessert connoisseurs alike, a brand-new dessert, ice-cream and doughnut shop is opening in Manchester city centre this month.
Titled ‘Baby Mayhem’, this sweet-filled shop has been teasing its arrival for the past month with videos showcasing everything from new instalments to their graffiti-style logo.
This brand-new opening will be located on Radium Street, not too far away from Chinese superstar Wing Yip and fellow sweet treat specialists, Flat Baker, right in the heart of Ancoats.
The interior has been given a very nice and bright facelift too, going from an all white four-walled site to a bold and distinctive baby pink-covered site.
Manchester seems to have quite the sweet tooth at the moment, as it was only last month that our Northern Quarter was christened by cake gods, Get Baked.
As for this new dessert shop, they’re starting from scratch, with a temporary wooden window frame with their branding spray-painted onto it fitted ahead of their soft launch later this week.
Baby Mayhem is taking up residence in the much-loved Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria shop, and it really is out with the old, in with the new, as the familiar neon ‘No Lasagne’ sign has been traded for a sweeter read of ‘Fresh Donuts’.
It may be Yank spelling, but this still feels Manc through and through.
Case and point: all their signage, stamps and stencils have been done by local laser cutting service and neighbours, Drawn By The Light – also on Radium Street.
Enough salt, let’s have a serious amount of sugar. (Credit: Baby Mayhem via Instagram)
Baby Mayhem are taking sweet treats to the complete extreme, serving up everyone’s beloved combo of coffees and cakes, while also creating our soon-to-be-favourite indulgence: doughnut sandwiches. 10/10, no notes – genius.
There really are no complaints here; what’s not to love?
Baby Mayhem is taking up residence in the former Lazy Tony’s site, 23 Radium Street in Ancoats, and will be serving up their sweet treats for all to try from this Saturday, 26 April.