A few weeks back, Manchester City and England star Jack Grealish gave another vintage interview where he delighted fans by revealing he orders a big, dirty Chinese takeaway after every game.
In the era of footballers having dedicated dieticians and personal chefs waiting for them at home, it kind of warms the cockles of our hearts to hear that some players don’t always take food as seriously and still like to channel the Jamie Vardy vibes of port, pizza and Red Bull.
With that in mind, although we might not know how Grealish fuels himself before a game, we do know what he rewards himself with after every single match: a massive five-item order from the one and only Wing’s Restaurant in Spinningfields.
This has been a regular haunt for footballers and famous faces for decades now, with the legendary dining spot collecting countless autographs on their signature plates dotted around the room, but this Brummy baller likes to get a special order to take home with him.
Wing’s never used to do takeaway, but they started dipping their toes in during the pandemic and since Grealish arrived at Manchester City, he’s been ordering the same thing after every game: Singapore chow mein, salt and peppers prawns, salt and peppers chips, egg fried rice and curry sauce. Bosh.
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I mean, as far as Chinese takeaway orders go, it’s a pretty strong choice and certainly similar to the kind of thing we’d have ourselves, the only difference is that since he’s ordering it from a restaurant that has regularly featured on the Michelin guide, his costs a whopping £56.20. Good job he’s a footballer, eh!
Now, we don’t know if Pep and the fitness coaches necessarily approve of the 27-year-old’s carb-heavy post-match meal, but we certainly did when we ordered it this past week.
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Piling the plate high with the tried and true staples of egg fried rice and salt and pepper chips — both of which are as simple but delicious as you’d expect — before dumping on a big helping of the chow mein, packed with flavourful sautéed veg, spicy prawns and more carbs, this thing was spilling over the sides.
The Jack Grealish takeaway order (Credit: The Manc Group)
The maddest part was that we weren’t even close to being done; ‘Super Jack’ supposedly scrans this whole thing and we still had the enormous juicy king prawns to get through, the curry sauce, a mix of classic and Thai-style prawns crackered, as well as more of everything else we’d already plated up.
All that said, once we tucked in, it was pretty easy to see why Jack keeps coming back. The rice noodles were light, glassy and lovely, soaking up every bit of seasoning; salt and pepper chips are undefeated, the big prawns were bursting with flavour and the whole thing was smothered in a spicy curry sauce.
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How can you possibly go wrong with that?
When we took further inspiration from the Wings-loving winger and started mixing the whole thing together in a “big free-for-all”, we’ll admit the plate looked pretty messy, but every mouthful tasted of delicious chip-shop style curry sauce and that is never a bad thing.
As we described it on the day, it became a big, saucy Chinese orgy.
After finishing a whole heaping plateful, we still somehow had about half a tub of every item left — including even more curry sauce — and while some of us put more of a dent in it than others, it ended up taking four people to finish off every last scrap.
We don’t like waste in The Manc office.
So, although we certainly couldn’t manage the Jack Grealish takeaway order before 90 minutes of running around, we can totally see why it’s his go-to treat after a game.
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And who knows, perhaps the secret to luxurious locks, big calves and playing for one of the best teams in the world is to just grab yourself a big, naughty Chinese for tea.
Featured Image — The Manc Group/Jack Grealish (via Instagram)
Eats
Inside Portfolio, the UK’s first ‘champagne boutique’ and bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new ‘champagne boutique’ is opening in Manchester this week, boasting more than 250 different champagnes to our city.
Portfolio will be a new bar and ‘immersive wine experience’, which will have one of the largest and most diverse champagne collections in the UK.
Mancs will be able to order champagne by the glass from just £12.50, along with plenty of accessible bottles.
To kick things off, Portfolio will open with a bar food offering that includes Welsh charcuterie, British cheeses and accoutrements, created by co-founder Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and the Edinburgh Castle.
But later down the line, there’ll be a fun, relaxed tasting menu, ranging from a few bites to a full dining experience, obviously paired with the best champagne list in the country.
Inside Portfolio, you’ll be greeted by a striking champagne wall of 100 different bottles, plus a wall of photos from the team’s trips to Champagne in France.
Every drink will be served in exclusive Lehmann glassware imported from Reims, with more than 10 different glass styles and a strict no flutes policy.
There’ll be an open chef’s pass and sommelier station with bar seating, plus a working champagne cellar that will function as a private dining room and event space.
Portfolio champagne boutique opens in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Julian Pizer has created Portfolio with Cameron Foster, founder of Duex Six which specialises in providing exclusive grower champagnes to the UK.
They’ll be joined by Wayne Baxendale as food and beverage director, who has more than 30 years of global wine experience including from Michelin starred restaurants, and Nikolai Kuklenko as general manager, who previously held a role as Head Sommelier at Mana.
Portfolio will be a wine boutique packed with rare grower bottles and vintage prestige cuvées and hopes to ‘strip away the snobbery and make champagne accessible’.
As well as well known names, guests will be able to enjoy rare and highly sought-after cuvées, including Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Jérôme Prévost, Cédric Bouchard, Larmandier Bernier and Egly Ouriet.
There will also be vintage prestige cuvées from Cristal, Philipponnat, Pommery, Jacquesson, Pierre Peters and Bollinger, some dating back to the 1990s.
As Cameron Foster explains: “We want to strip back the snobbery of Champagne and make it a wine for everyone, whether that’s a quick glass after work, a special celebration, or discovering grower champagne for the first time.”
Portfolio will open on 9 December at 67 Bridge Street, Manchester, with the full restaurant experience launching in February 2026.
Popular American fast food franchise Shake Shack is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester is getting another big global franchise as Shake Shack is finally set to make its Northern debut.
With so many good burger joints and a million and one great places to grab a good portion of chips in town alone, they’ll have to hit the ground running to fight off the competition.
The well-known transatlantic multinational is nothing short of massive in the States, vying with the likes of In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys, Carl’s Jr. – also eyeing up multiple UK sites over the next few years – Whataburger and Wendy’s, just to name a rather large handful. Oh yeah, and Maccies, of course.
Yanks will debate until the cows come home (pardon the pun) about which is best, and many believe Shake Shack is right up there, so Manchester foodies have every right to be excited. Consider this a belated Thanksgiving contribution.
The New York-founded company already has multiple locations on this side of the pond, such as several in London, which is where we first sampled it for ourselves.
Other venues include Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford and Cardiff, as well as one inside Gatwick Airport; as for the brand’s first Manchester branch, Shake Shack UK no. 18 will be coming to the borough of Trafford and one of the biggest shopping destinations in the region.
But what sets this burger and milkshake-driven brand apart from the others?
Well, for starters, you could argue they’re not even most famous for their patties, buns or shakes; the first time we ever heard about Shake Shack was regarding their fries – specifically, the crinkle-cut shape and that very American-style cheese sauce.
They have long proved divisive among the masses, but those who love them go NUTS for the stuff, and you’ll find all manner of fakeaway recipes online of people trying to make their best imitation of the side and sauce, specifically.
Put it this way, Colonel’s gravy on KFC chicken is what cheese sauce is on Shake Shack fries. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but fans will stan this scran to no end.
Case and point:
My first time at Shake Shack 👌🏼💚 The cheese fries might be my new hyper fixation 🍟 pic.twitter.com/3HVwAgxRtD
Honestly, you’ll find countless examples of this kind of post on social media…
Richard Franks, Business Director at Shake Shack UK, said: “Manchester’s a city that does things proper; it’s full of heart, graft and great taste. We’re so pumped to be growing Shake Shack across the UK, and to be opening our first Northern Shack at Trafford Centre. We can’t wait to be a part of this city.”
The major mall and North West tourist attraction’s Centre Director, Simon Layton, added: “We’re really excited to welcome Shake Shack’s first Northern restaurant to the Trafford Centre.
“We know our visitors are going to love getting their hands on those iconic ShackBurgers and crinkle-cut fries. It’s a huge moment for the North – and we can’t wait for everyone to experience it with us in 2026.”
Opening in place of the Costa in the Great Hall, the opening of Shake Shack Manchester at the Trafford Centre is scheduled for next March. Exciting times.
Danny Jones -
8th April 2023 
