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 ShopThe 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).
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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…
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“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.”
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
A friendly reminder that there’s a takeaway called Jack Grillish in Swinton
Danny Jones
As were swept up in World Cup fever, football seems to be slowly consuming every other aspect of our everyday life, including food. Then we remembered there’s a takeaway called Jack Grillish.
Yes, seriously.
lf you’ve never heard of the pun-based fast-food joint over in Swinton, Salford, Jack Grillish is the late-night grill and cult-favourite takeaway named after the man himself.
Despite only joining Manchester City back in August of 2021, it didn’t take long at all for Grealish to get his own takeaway named after him, as the Chorley Road spot formerly known as Food Station changed its name not long after.
Most football legends have to wait their entire career to have a foodstuff named after them, let alone an entire building. In fact, we went there a couple of months back to see it ourselves.
Jack Grillish‘s menu is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to see at any no-nonsense takeaway in Greater Manchester: big burgers, lots of lovely chicken and plenty of naughty desserts.
Specialising in large trays of baked chicken, cheese and chips, it might not be the kind of thing the man himself can eat whilst away at England camp, but it’d certainly make for a banging tea for anyone watching the France game at home this Saturday.
Put another way, we’re hoping that by ordering from the gaff before the game, we’ll send a message out into the universe and not only will ‘Super Jack’ score but we breeze into the next stage of Qatar 2022.
If you also happen to be a bit superstitious, you can order from Jack Grillish HERE.
Featured Image — Jack Grillish (via Facebook)/Jack Grealish (via Instagram)
Food & Drink
Three Greater Manchester restaurants named in top 100 places to eat in the UK
Danny Jones
Three Greater Manchester restaurants have been named among the top 100 places to eat in the UK.
As per data compiled by food review and booking site, OpenTable, a trio of Manc eateries made it onto their official list of the best restaurants in the UK.
Now, we are by no means surprised to see 0161 represented on this list — we have some of the best food in the world here, FACTS — we were just expecting there to be more local names on it, but it’s still good to see that the picks weren’t just city-centre venues.
Without further ado, after collating thousands of reviews, here are the selections for 2022:
Gaucho is the Argentinian steak house located just off Deansgate on St. Mary’s Street that serves up some of the most perfectly-cooked meat and accompaniments you’ll find anywhere in town. The brand may have expanded to 17 different sites across the nation, but they’re not compromising on quality.
The five-star establishment is a favourite among famous faces like the City squad and according to one reviewer, it is “just the most beautiful experience… first class”. It’s no wonder it won best restaurant in Manchester earlier this year.
Next up is the beloved Kala Bistro located on King Street. The place specialises in combining fine dining with comfort food and never fails to deliver, so it just had to end up on this list. Owned by Gary Usher of Hispi in Didsbury, Kala had a following from minute one.
It’s a favourite among The Manc office, but don’t just take our word for it. One person wrote: “I cannot recommend this amazing restaurant enough. Food was wonderful, the staff were amazing. The overall experience was fantastic. Definitely will be returning”. High praise and well deserved in our books.
And then we come to a pick that really put on a smile our faces: The Cherry Tree at Blackrod over in Bolton. Renovated over lockdown, this place was always lovely but post-makeover its food has been better than ever. Most importantly, reviewers seem to agree.
The independent restaurant promises unpretentious, classic and seasonal cooking, local ingredients wherever possible and a “gorgeous ambience”. Not only do they deliver tried and tested favourites but they always manage to put a modern British twist on things. Give it a try.
Unbelievably, Manchester made up only a sliver of OpenTable’s top 100 places to eat in the UK, with more than 60% of the restaurants picked located in London.
But not to worry, we’re sure all will be corrected come next year.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd August 2021 
