There are some restaurants in Manchester that have been here for so long, it’s hard to remember life without them.
One such restaurant is Red Chilli, which has been on its corner of Chinatown for two decades, the neon red chilli sign above the door very much part of the Portland Street furniture even as the area has developed around it.
The clue for the food offering at Red Chilli is in its name – they really, really like spice. If you leave your dinner here without a sheen of sweat and a ringing in your ears, you’ve done it all wrong.
From its huge menu, there are those dishes that will be most familiar to British palates – sweet and sour, black bean, and lemon sauces, chow mein, crispy duck, spare ribs, salt and pepper wings.
But Red Chilli is best-known for its home-style cooking and its authentic Sichuan cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine is best-known for its obsession with all things spicy.
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In this south-western province of China, the cooking is bold and fiery, laced with Sichuan pepper, chillies, and garlic.
In Red Chilli, you’ll find casseroles, braised meats, and stews, with ingredients like beancurd, frog’s legs, and pig’s feet.
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An alarming portion of the menu is bullet-pointed with chilli icons – and when they list something as three chillies on the spice scale, they mean it.
Spicy pig intestines from Red Chilli. Credit: The Manc GroupRed Chilli. Credit: The Manc GroupCold poached chicken in chilli oil at Red Chilli. Credit: The Manc Group
In fact, if you search the restaurant’s Deliveroo page for ‘spicy’ or ‘chilli’, you get more than 60 dinner suggestions. It’s a lot.
That might be the Sichuan Dandan noodles with minced pork and chilli sauce, or the hot poached fish fillets in chilli oil, or the nerve-testing whole seabass grilled and served in a blanket of dried chilli.
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For our lunch on a recent episode of our Takeaway Champions series, we start off mild (ish) with wasabi prawns. You know you’re in for a spicy time when wasabi is the mildest dish on the table.
These huge, butter-soft prawns are deep-fried and then served in a pale green creamy wasabi sauce, which dials the heat of the horseradish right down but still allows that signature sinus-clearing magic to do its thing.
Next up is home-style poached chicken, served cold and swimming in a fiery red chilli oil.
The first thing that hits you is the perfect texture of the chicken itself – but then in marches the heat from the sauce.
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It’s so spicy that it makes you talk faster in a panic, words tumbling out of your tingling mouth – ‘I quite like pain so this is good, actually’.
Even licking a drop of the sauce off your finger is enough to make your eyes widen and your nostrils flare.
Much more gentle is a sautéed pork dish, with rings of intestine coated in a tangy and peppery sauce. Put aside any squeamish thoughts and think of this as what it is – one of the most flavourful and tender parts of a pig, cooked to perfection.
And really, whatever your spice tolerance is like, there will be something at Red Chilli to suit you. There’s a good reason it’s been here for so many years.
Beloved Manc butty shop Bada Bing set for a sensational return to the city centre
Danny Jones
Sandwich lovers rejoice because one of the finest butty shops to ever grace Manchester is returning: that’s right, Bada Bing is bada-back!
The Sopranos-inspired deli and sandwich shop that took its name from one of the central locations featured in the iconic US drama (yes, the strip club), was a huge success when it first opened in Manchester a few short years ago, so it was a huge blow when it closed in February 2022.
Starting out by serving sandwiches out of a window at The B Lounge pub on Paton Street near Piccadilly, before moving to a small kitchen on Radium Street and eventually setting up their stall inside Ancoats General Store, they would regularly have lines around the block every lunchtime.
These Italian-American sarnies were so popular you’d often struggle to get your claws on one – and believe us, they really are a two-handed task – as they’d sell out on what felt like most days. But now, whether you were a regular or someone who missed out, there is hope once again:
Announcing their sensational return to a new site over in the Northern Quarter, which will now mark the fourth premises they’ve popped up at, Bada Bing is back with a bang and, as you can, they dropped the news with one of the best reveal videos we’ve ever seen.
If you know, you know…
Set to take over 125 Oldham Street, owners Sam Gormally and Meg Lingenfelter haven’t yet graced us with an opening date but the new unit should hopefully be open sooner rather than later.
The duo, who previously worked at fellow NQ favourite Another Heart to Feed, came up with the concept during lockdown and it didn’t take long for the idea to take off, nor for them to earn their spot amongst the very best sandwich places in Manchester.
Seriously, these things were so big and unwieldy (in the best way possible) that they even used to come with eating instructions: both hands and the trademark Tony Soprano hunch recommended, though the slightly stained wife-beater, boxer shorts and open dressing gown look is optional.
From slices of provolone cheese, all the thinly sliced Italian meats you could think of and the closest thing to actual ‘gabagool‘ as you’ll find in Greater Manchester, the menu was fitting of being served up to the iconic characters that once sat outside Satriale’s and a big approving grin from the man himself.
Simply put, we cannot wait and we will certainly keep you posted when we find out exactly when Bada Bing confirms their official reopening date.
Burger King is giving away free burgers to new drivers today
Emily Sergeant
Burger King will be giving away burgers to drivers who have recently passed their tests for free of charge today.
In case it wasn’t on your radar, tomorrow (Thursday 24 July) is actually National Drive-Thru Day, and in a bid to properly celebrate this unofficial holiday, Burger King has decided to hand out a bunch of freebies to newbies today.
The fast food chain is asking all new drivers to “buckle up”, head on down to their nearest Burger King drive-thru, and help themselves to a free burger.
All newly-qualified drivers will be able to take their pick from either the Whopper or Chicken Royale without parting ways with a penny, and all they’ll need to do the claim their freebie is simply show off their learner’s ‘L Plates’ to the staff at their local Burger King restaurant.
/ Credit: Burger King UK (via Instagram) | Supplied
Hundreds of Burger King drive-thrus across the UK are taking part in the one-day promotion – including several across in Greater Manchester.
Although it might seem a little too good to be true, there’s a reason Burger King has chosen to dish out the freebies, and that’s because the company says it knows that one of the first activities newly-qualified drivers like do once they’ve passed their test is make a pit stop at a drive-thru with their mates to show off their new wheels and skills.
Sometimes though, navigating a drive-thru for the first time can be tricky, and this leaves new drivers feeling a bit like a rabbit in the headlights.
Luckily with this one-day Burger King offer, new drivers’ first drive-thru trip couldn’t be any easier.
The offer is available nationwide today (Wednesday 24 July) at Burger King drive-thru lanes only, while stock lasts, and newly qualified drivers must verbally mention “BK Plates” at the drive-thru lane to unlock their free burger.