A Manchester food hall is serving up a new ice cream flavour that it claims is the stinkiest in the world.
For those unfamiliar with durian, it’s essentially the marmite of the fruit world. Famous for having a truly terrible smell that’s been unfavourably compared to cat p*ss, it’s so pungent that it’s actually been made illegal to eat it on the subway in Singapore.
No such restrictions apply here in Manchester, though, where Hello Oriental, the new(ish) three-storey Asian street food hall on Oxford Road, is causing something of a stir with its stinky but delicious new addition to its soft serve menu.
Served in cute little bear and taiyaki fish-shaped cones, typical flavours on offer through the week here include ube (purple yam), pandan leaf, charcoal, mango and vanilla.
Credit: The Manc GroupThe durian soft serve Credit: Supplied
But now, alongside those brightly-coloured, exotic soft serve flavours you’ll also find something a little bit more controversial. Durian soft serve.
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Whilst no one seems to disagree on the terrible stench, when it comes to how the fruit actually tastes there are a mixture of comparisons.
Managing to be sweet, creamy and savoury all at once, some say it tastes like “diced garlic and caramel poured into whipped cream”.
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The new supermarket at Hello Oriental. Credit: The Manc Group
Others have referred to “subtle hints of chives mixed with powdered sugar”.
Described by Hello Oriental as “one of the most addictive flavours to ever cross your tastebuds”, it’s safe to say that South Asia’s durian fruit ‘isn’t for everyone’ but, if you can get past its uniquely ferocious pong, you are in for a deliciously wild ride.
Available from Hello Oriental on weekends only, the durian batch of soft serve is specially prepared by the team fresh on Saturday and Sunday mornings and available to enjoy from 1pm.
Located just off Oxford Road, around the corner from Hatch, Hello Oriental offers uncensored East Asian street food across three storeys.
Comprising a restaurant, bar, cafe, events space and fully stocked supermarket, it recently received a rave review in the Times, with Marina O’Loughlin calling it a “northern powerhouse of Asian street food”.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s much-loved restaurant bars is doing a free sausage roll giveaway next week… but there’s a catch.
The catch being you have to have a certain name in particular.
It was only last week that popular high street chain Pret A Manger announced it would be slinging out free sandwiches to any Mancs with ‘Nic’ in their name over the late May bank holiday weekend, and now Tariff & Dale is getting it on the giveaway action, and it’s all to celebrate the iconic event that is National Sausage Roll Day.
In case you didn’t know – which is very likely, let’s be real – next Thursday (5 June) is the day dedicated to all things sausage roll.
So what better way to mark the occasion than with free portions of Tariff & Dale‘s legendary meaty treat?
The popular Northern Quarter restaurant bar is known for its creative comfort food, craft beers and cocktails, and laid-back industrial vibe, with one of the cult-classic dishes on its menu having always been the honey pork sausage roll – which just so happens to be a whopping 15-inches long, by the way.
Resembling something more of a pork wellington than a sausage roll, if you will, the dish is crispy, golden, and glazed with honey on top.
But to celebrate National Sausage Roll day, instead of parting with £9.50 for a portion or £48 for the full 15-inch thing, people with one specific name can actually get a slice for completely free of charge.
Tariff & Dale is giving away FREE sausage rolls to people with this name next week / Credit: Supplied
And that name is ‘Greg’, because if we’re honest, when it comes to sausage rolls, we all tend to think of Greggs.
So whether your surname is Gregory or Gregson, or you’re simply just called Greg, then all you need to do to claim your complimentary slice of sausage roll heaven is head on down to Tariff & Dale next Thursday 5 June from 12pm up until 9pm.
Make sure you show your valid ID proving your name when you order at the bar, and get ready to stuff your face.
Failing that, anyone not called Greg will just have to pop into actual Greggs instead.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Eats
Plans to open a brand-new pub on the site of the Rovers Return
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new pub is set to open in Manchester city centre net month, with treats in store like complimentary bowls of crisps, an outdoor terrace, and a games parlour.
The Stables Tavern is taking shape in the St John’s district, poetically on the same site that was once home to Coronation Street’s iconic Rovers Return pub.
They’re promising this will be a ‘historic tavern reimagined for today’s lover of a proper pint’.
The pub will come from Shiko Group, which is also behind Courts Club, where you can play tennis or basketball followed by court-side pints, and Side Street, a bar-restaurant-events space with a mid-Century interior.
Neighbouring the Bonded Warehouse, The Stables Tavern will join this rapidly blossoming new creative district, just across the yard from Caravan, The Trading Route and Aviva Studios.
Inside, punters will find multiple beer taps with local beers, served with complimentary bowls of crisps as well as a menu of pub snacks like handmade sausage rolls and local pies.
The pub will be split into three sections – an outside terrace, a main bar, and a parlour area at the back of the pub for live entertainment, old school games, and rounds of whiskey.
This might be a new district but it’s a historic area for the city – the same building was a busy watering hole back in the early 19th century for workers, merchants and visitors who made use of the nearby canals and cobbled streets.
It was then the home of the Rovers Return, back when this area was the home of Granada Studios.
Hayley Sammé, Marketing Director, said: “We’re so excited to bring The Stables Tavern back to St John’s. The area’s extensive historical backdrop and burgeoning hospitality scene provides the perfect landscape for a traditional British pub.
“It’s the perfect addition to the existing scene, and we hope it’s going to become a popular spot in our new creative district.”
The Stables Tavern will open at St John’s on Friday 6 June.
Georgina Pellant -
12th August 2022 
