London’s most popular ramen restaurant is teaming up with the chefs at New Wave Ramen in Mackie Mayor for a one-off takeover next week.
Kanada-Ya specialises in authentic Tonkotsu ramen and is generally considered one of the best of its kind in the capital.
First founded by Kanada Kazuhiro in Yukuhashi Japan back in 2009, the restaurant is known for its signature ramen bowl, which features a top-secret sauce imported from the original restaurant and hand-made by Mr. Kanada himself.
The signature tonkotsu ramen at Kanada-Ya features wood ear mushroom (kikurage), finely sliced spring onion, chashu pork belly, a sheet of nori, and firm but bouncy noodles / Image: instantonium
Based around an extremely time-consuming signature tonkatsu broth, the rest of the signature bowl here is built from wood ear mushroom (kikurage), finely sliced spring onion, chashu pork belly, a sheet of nori, and firm but bouncy noodles.
There’s also an option to add a hanjuku (soft boiled) egg to either dish for an additional £2.
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The dining event will run at Mackie Mayor across two days, with tickets to reserve a bowl priced at £10 each.
Dishes will also be available for walk-ins on the day, but it’s recommended you don’t chance it based on how popular New Wave Ramen’s previous takeovers have been.
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The restaurant offers whole host of delicious ramen bowls including a truffle bowl, but at the Manchester takeover there will be just two on offer: their signature Tonkotsu and Chicken Paitan / Image: Guan Cha
As well as their signature Tonkotsu ramen, Kanada-Ya will also be offering their signature Chicken Paitan ramen at the takeover with toppings like beni shoga (red pickled ginger), nori, sesame seeds and takana (pickled crunchy mustard leaf).
Ramen-making is definitely a marathon, not a sprint – but it’s the time-consuming preparations that set good bowls like Kanada-Ya’s above the rest.
“Myself and the team at Mackie Mayor are delighted to bring Kanada-Ya to Manchester,” said Philip Cook of New Wave Ramen about the upcoming takeover.
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“Their bowls are amongst those that first ignited my own passion for ramen, and an exciting U.K. ramen scene has grown alongside their own expansion over the last seven years. They have to be considered the originators, and our customers in Manchester are in for a real treat.”
Aaron Burgess-Smith of Kanada-Ya added: “New Wave Ramen has given us an incredible opportunity to share the ramen that we’ve been making for the past seven years in London with Manchester.
“Our broth is incredibly rich and overflowing with umami and I’m excited for Mancunians to finally experience it, too.”
With three sites in London to date and plans to open two more in the autumn, who knows – we might even be so lucky as to see one announced in Manchester later this year.
For now, though, this could be your only chance to try their bowls – so we recommend putting 11 and 12 August in your diaries immediately.
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Find Kanada-Ya popping up in the New Wave Ramen kitchen at Mackie Mayor next week. Grab your tickets here.
Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
Daisy Jackson
Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it.
The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure.
Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap.
And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.
Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub.
As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots.
There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet.
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pubDelicious spring drinksInside The Tavern at The Black Friar
A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals.
Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta.
And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut.
Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce.
“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar.
“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”
Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather!
“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”
To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE.
You can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal
Danny Jones
If you ask us, a big key to a happy life is all about celebrating the little wins as much as possible and in this case, when we heard that you can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal, we nearly did a cartwheel.
Are we exaggerating? Only a little bit, to be fair. Is this still kind of a big deal (pardon the pun) for the millions of Brits whose lunchtime meal regularly consists of a Tesco butty, beverage and perhaps some crisps? We think so.
We only heard the joyous news through word of mouth, but it looks as though the rumours are true after being not-so-quietly confirmed via the official Pot Noodle social media channels last week, revealing that you can indeed get your flavour of choice as part of your meal deal.
That really is the headline here, let’s be honest; the fact that you can now get a Pot Noodle – something many people have for their tea or a more than satisfying late-night snack – as the bonus side along with your main item at Tesco it an absolute result.
With meal deal prices having steadily crept up across the nation over recent years, no matter which supermarket, Tesco Extra, Asda Express, Sainsbury’s Local, convenience store and so on you seem to look in, getting an extra bit of value for money like is a big win for those on a quick dinner dash.
This is just like when we figured out you could get a proper Ginsters sausage roll, Cornish pasty or steak/chicken slice as your snack too. Just as buzzing then as we are now.
The brand also recently revealed what the UK’s most popular meal choices were last year, and some of the selections might surprise you.
Once again, it’s all about enjoying the little things, and put it this way, if we’re overreacting, then so are plenty of others.
Now accepting donations so One Drunk Redneck can get to the #UK and experience a #Tesco meal deal. I only need to raise enough for a one way ticket. I'm not too worried about how I'd get back home.
Oh, I probably should take my spouse. Ok, enough for two, one way tickets.
The only slight downside is that right now, as you might have spotted in the Instagram post above, this offer has only been rolled out at select Tescos.
As for those in Greater Manchester, there are just two local shops: the Tesco Extra in Walkden in Salford, as well as the Extra on Huddersfield Road in Bolton; the next closest after that is Warrington.
Nevertheless, you would expect that if the popularity of this new deal takes off – Tesco’s lunchtime package being one of the most popular in Britain – it’s likely that they will expand their plans up and down the country at large.
Speaking on the launch in an official press release, Pot Noodle’s senior brand Madeleine Boulton said: “We know our fans are always looking to get the most bang for their buck, so our move into the Tesco Meal Deal as a side is our way of giving customers the ultimate ‘snackisfaction’ and for some, the perfect hack that will ensure their meal deal sees them through the day.”
Can’t lie, we do rather fancy a Bombay Bad Boy now.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd August 2021 
