Food & Drink

The new Manchester fried chicken roast dinner with ‘skin crackling’

The bar for Sunday roasts in Manchester has been raised.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 3rd August 2021

There’s a new fried chicken roast dinner breaking onto the scene in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and it sounds absolutely incredible.

Consisting of a giant Yorkshire pudding, sweet potato mash, roasties, veg, crispy chicken skin and Kong’s signature fried chicken thigh, all this then comes topped with chicken gravy to provide hungover Mancunians with the ultimate Sunday cure.

Using thigh meat, the chicken here is brined for three hours, rolled in a secret spice mix, then double-dredged for a crispier texture. And if that’s not enough to tempt you, did we mention that the fried chicken roast also comes with a game-changing extra layer of fried crispy chicken skin ‘crackling’?

Phwoar.

A close up of the fried chicken roast dinner from Kong’s Chicken Shop / Image: Kong’s Chicken Shop
The fried chicken roast in all its glory with Yorkshire pudding, sweet potato mash, roasties, veg, crispy chicken skin and Kong’s signature fried chicken thigh / Image: The Greek Eats MCR

The fried chicken roast is the latest creation to come out of Kong’s Chicken Shop – the brainchild of Tom Potts (bar manager at CBRB and all-around fried chicken mastermind).

The fried chicken roast premiered last weekend and seems to have been a hit, as he’s now decided to run it again this Sunday 8 August – albeit in limited numbers.

Sharing the news to Instagram page yesterday, Kong’s said: “Don’t know if you heard but we dropped a fried chicken roast yesterday. A lot of you have been asking if we’ll do it again next Sunday…

“Well, we are yeah! Obviously! And hopefully every Sunday maybe forever?

“If you’ve been following up from our humble beginnings as a collection pop-up at CBRB you might remember that we asked you to pre order and book a time slot through our DM’s.

“If you want to secure a roast on Sunday, drop us a DM with what you’d like and if it’s a chicken or veggie! Walk-ins will be available but we’re only doing very limited numbers so if you don’t wanna chance it slide into those DMs.”

Kong’s ultimate chicken sandwich / Image: Lous Brews

Up until now, Kong’s has been all about the wings, burgers, and tater tots, so this new fried chicken roast makes an exciting new addition to the lineup.

The fried chicken passion project, which first started life as a pop-up out of CBRB, is currently operating out of Northern Monk’s kitchen on weekends. If you want to get a fried chicken roast this weekend, that’s where you want to head.

They’re serving up their regular menu across the weekend too, but if you want to head down on Sunday for your fried chicken roast dinner fix, it’s worth dropping them a message first to secure your plate as the numbers are going to be limited this weekend.

You can hit Kong’s Chicken Shop up on Instagram here.

Food & Drink

The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed

Danny Jones Danny Jones new food hall opening in Ryland building old Debenhams department store Manchester

The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.

Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.

Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.

Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.

market place food halls london
A look at Market Place Peckham.
market place food hall manchester city centre
A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.

Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.

Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.

Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.

In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.

This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.

rylands building market st manchester
Credit: Supplied

Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.

With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.

AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…

“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”

It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shots/CGIs (supplied)

Food & Drink

Drake-backed fried chicken brand Dave’s Hot Chicken is opening in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Dave's Hot Chicken is coming to Manchester

The huge LA-based fried chicken brand backed by Drake is heading to Manchester for the very first time this summer.

Dave’s Hot Chicken is set to open in the Printworks this August – the first UK branch outside of London and Birmingham.

The cult chicken brand has said that its new venue will feature an ‘industrial design inspired by Manchester’s rave scene’ (if we had a pound every time a new venue used that design style, we’d be as rich as Drake…).

Dave’s Hot Chicken is famed for its signature Nashville-style hot chicken, which is served in seven different spice levels from No Spice to Reaper.

Expect sliders, tenders, ‘next-level’ top-loaded shakes and slushes.

It’s grown so quickly that in 2021, it caught the eye of none other than rapper Drake, who is a ‘significant investor’ in the brand.

The fried chicken spot will be moving into the large corner unit at Printworks, which has previously been Busaba Thai, and Floripa, with 139 covers.

Dave's Hot Chicken is coming to Manchester
Dave’s Hot Chicken is coming to Manchester

Inside, it will feature towering ceilings, exposed steelwork, and laser lights, claiming to be a ‘full-on sensory trip, where music, light and fried chicken will come together to create a high-voltage experience’.

There will also be custom graffiti inspired by L.A.-based street artists Splatterhaus and Dehm.

Dave’s Hot Chicken still has hour-long queues down in London, several months after opening on Shaftesbury Avenue – next up will be a Birmingham branch in July before Manchester opens later this summer.

And this is just the start of a nationwide expansion.

Jim Attwood, Managing Director of Dave’s Hot Chicken UK, said: “Printworks Manchester is the ideal setting for our next UK site – right at the heart of one of the country’s most exciting cities.

“The new restaurant pays homage to Manchester’s legendary warehouse rave scene, with an industrial-inspired design and bold, high-energy atmosphere to match our signature flavours.

“We can’t wait to bring something fresh to this iconic venue and its vibrant mix of entertainment, food and culture.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken will open at Printworks Manchester on 8 August.

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

More Food & Drink

Vegan Royale

Eats

Burger King is giving away FREE vegan burgers to meat lovers to prove how ‘tasty’ they are

Audio

Popular noodle bar Chopstix to host ALL-NEW live music event in Manchester

Business

Kala announces closure after more than half a decade in Manchester city centre

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches