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
A huge free festival is coming to Kampus with frozen margaritas and canal-side pizza
Georgina Pellant
A huge free festival is coming to Kampus over the Glastonbury weekend, bringing the party vibes to the heart of the city centre.
Promising canal-side pizza from NY slice bar Nell’s, also famed for their 22″ pies, plus a prosecco van, a cocktail pop-up from Manchester Gin’s Three Little Words in the Bungalow and loads more, it’s set to run from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 June 2023.
With huge outdoor screens in amongst the lush Kampus gardens broadcasting Glastonbury’s sets live throughout the weekend, the party will kick off on Friday with pizza slices and cocktails from Kampus’s waterside spritz bar.
Saturday will take things up a notch with live music from Manchester’s talented The Untold Orchestra, who will celebrate 40 years of Glastonbury headliners with their own orchestral renditions of classics from Bowie to Jay Z and Diana Ross.
Sunday will end on a quieter note, promising a day of family fun with Born To Be Wild Child decamping to the garden with craft tables and festival headband making, all set to the soundtrack of rock and roll hits.
There will also be free prosecco samples from the Delevigne sisters’ brand Della Vite, served direct from their pink vintage car ‘Penelope’.
Image: Nell’s at Kampus
Image: Nell’s at Kampus
Speaking on the upcoming festival Antonia Lallement, from Nell’s, said: “This is our first Kampus Fest and it’s all about bringing true festival vibes to the heart of Manchester.
“We’re decking out the Kampus garden to capture the bohemian magic of the UK’s favourite live events and flooding the space with music for the whole weekend.
“Manchester is full of music lovers and we want to give people a fun, city centre alternative to the real thing! We’ll be serving up slices to keep people going throughout the weekend and can’t wait to see people getting involved.
“Kampus has got to be one of the best outdoor spaces in the city. We felt it only right to put on a big summer block party come rain or shine.”
Abbie Duthie, from Three Little Words, added: “Glastonbury is an icon of the cultural calendar and we’re beyond excited to be staging Kampus Fest, bringing all the highs of the festival experience to Manchester, minus the mud of course.
“We’ll be serving our signature drinks canal-side for those whose ‘go to’ is summer spritzes and cocktails in the city over warm beer in a field! Kampus will be alive all weekend with great food and drinks, live music and festival vibes taking centre stage.”
Kampus Fest is free to attend from Friday 23 June – Sunday 25 June.
The Family Fun Day event on Sunday for youngsters requires reservation, with £2 tickets available to book in advance here.
Featured image – Kampus
Eats
You can get half-price fish and chips for just £3.49 at all Morrisons cafes today
Emily Sergeant
Morrisons is giving hungry customers the chance to tuck into a hearty helping of fish and chips at half the price for just one day only today.
And it’s all to suitably celebrate National Fish and Chip Day.
A popular annual event in the British foodie calendar, National Fish and Chip Day falls on Friday 2 June this year, and to mark the special occasion, Morrisons has slashed the price of its usual chippy offering at hundreds of its in-store cafes nationwide.
The major supermarket has more than 400 cafes inside stores right across the UK, and the half-price food offer is believed to be available at all of them.
You can get half-price fish and chips for just £3.49 at all Morrisons cafes today / Credit: Morrisons
Adults can enjoy Fish, Chips and Peas for just £3.49, while the children‘s Mini Fish, Chips and Peas meal has also been reduced to £2.74.
Not a bad bargain at all, right?
The only catch is though, you’ll need to be signed-up to the supermarket‘s loyalty scheme and scan your Morrisons More card at the cafe checkout if you want to claim the half price offer.
There’s more than 400 in-store cafes at Morrisons stores across the UK / Credit: Ian Stratton (via Morrisons)
Morrisons’ half-price fish and chips offer also comes after it relaunched its popular ‘Ask for Henry’ initiative towards the end of April after a successful run when it was first introduced amid the rising cost of living crisis in 2022.
‘Ask for Henry’ saw the retailer team up with Heinz for scheme that’s aimed at helping those struggling with their finances get themselves a free hot meal.
Georgina Pellant -
12th August 2022 
