This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it basement restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown serves the ultimate yum cha feast
Mei Dim serves up everything from Shanghai soup dumplings and custard buns, to three roast meats and chicken feet as part of its daily yum cha offering.
Mei Dim might not look like much from the outside. Nor, indeed, from the inside. No matter, though – good restaurants shouldn’t be judged by their proliferation (or lack of) neon lights and selfie traps.
This is a restaurant where the food is so excellent, the owners don’t need to bother with expensive refurbs and Instagram-friendly colour schemes.
Tucked beneath Manchester’s Chinatown, its interior likely hasn’t changed in decades – and it’s still busy at 3pm on a weekday.
Round formica tables are topped with paper tablecloths, whilst a fish tank full of exotic creatures languishes in the corner. Taped to its front is a stern handwritten note, written in all caps, warning you not to bang on the glass – or else.
Tripadvisor warriors should be warned now, the overall first impression here isn’t exactly welcoming. If you can get beyond that, though, you’re in for a ruddy good meal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Just don’t expect any sort of fawning service, keep your focus on the food, and remember to pay directly at the cash desk as you leave to get the most out of this Cantonese small plates offering.
Salt and pepper pork ribs at Mei Dim. / Image: The Manc Eats
Dumplings at Mei Dim. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cheung Fung and vermicelli noodles filled with prawn meat, salt and pepper pork ribs at Mei Dim. / Image: The Manc Eats
Long hailed by Mancs in the know as one of the best places for dim sum in Manchester, the sui mai here are always bulging and the house-roasted meats more than give rival restaurant Happy Seasons a run for its money.
ADVERTISEMENT
Our advice is to skip the regular fare and ask to see the dim sum one. Cheap and cheerful, an extensive list – so extensive that even our resident Hong Konger Giggs didn’t know them all – spans pages and pages of different steam, fried and deep-fried small plate dishes.
Read more:
We dug in as towering stacks of bamboo steamers brimming with dumplings filled up the table alongside plates of giant salt and pepper ribs, beef ho fun noodles, and birds nest-looking bundles of vermicelli stuffed with fried prawn meat (a messy highlight).
ADVERTISEMENT
Beef ho fun noodles at Mei Dim. / Image: The Manc Eats
Three roast meats at Mei Dim. / Image: The Manc Eats
Plump sui mai, ha kau, soup and vegetable shoots dumplings disappeared first, and were quickly replaced with huge plates of crispy salt and pepper squid, beef ho fun noodles and satay chicken skewers.
Washed down with lashings of hot tea, the plates just kept on coming. A plate of triple roast meats, perfectly lacquered and crispy, had us salivating whilst Mei Dim’s pan-fried peppers stuffed with seafood managed to be spicy, salty and fresh all at once.
The crispy duck pancakes here also deserve an honourable mention. We might’ve had to wait ten minutes to get some hoi sin sauce to go with them, but it was completely worth braving the restaurant floor to flag down a server.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
A no-frills canteen-style diner, Mei Dim is very much part of the old school of Chinatown restaurants.
ADVERTISEMENT
Whilst at the other end of Faulkner Street you’ll find newer, younger eateries like Pho Cue installing flower walls and giving diners a smiling service, the focus here is on the food – and the food alone.
If you’re planning on visiting, get ready for steaming pots of tea and a vast range of dim sum that puts other spots in the city to shame. Just don’t expect to be gushed over, and you’re sure to come away feeling full and happy.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Manchester
Greater Manchester’s ‘clean taxi’ plans backed by government funding
Danny Jones
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) ‘clean taxi’ initiative has been officially backed by the UK government, with an extra boost coming from a leading electric vehicle brand.
Millions of pounds are set to be pumped into the scheme over the coming years as the North West at large strives to become greener.
The Mayor himself, Andy Burnham, has made environmentally conscious travel a core part of his plans for the city region ever since he took up the post back in 2017; now he and his team are helping link up with connections in the capital to secure further investment.
With the new £8 million Hackney Support Fund being put into action as we speak, a further £2m is now set to go towards Manchester city centre and its surrounding boroughs via LEVC.
LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) have done away with classic petrol and diesel engines in their particular corner of the automotive industry, setting a more eco-friendly example for metropolitan cities up and down Great Britain.
As a result, Manchester City Council and the GMCA as a whole are looking to take a leaf out of their book as part of their wider carbon reduction targets, with local authorities having recently reaffirmed their five-year ‘climate change action plan’.
For context, the Hackney Support Fund in question is a series of government-backed grants aimed at helping taxi drivers replace older black cabs with more modern, zero-emission capable vehicles.
Not only that, but LEVC will also be offering licensed carriage drivers extended warranties on new and used TX cabs – like their new ‘eCity powetrain’ pictured above – as well as taxi scrappage allowance on other models.
Like any part of the country, our region itself has its own clean air goals, and with the continued expansion of the Bee Network continuing to advance that progress, we’re heading in the right direction.
It goes without saying that adding a fully-fledged fleet of cleaner, more energy-efficient EV taxis into that mix could help benefit these greener pursuits.
Managing Director at LEVC, Chris Allen, noted that the company has “helped the capital achieve legal air quality targets for the first time” and strongly believes that they can do the same up North.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Our taxi trade is a vital part of Greater Manchester’s transport network and supports the local economy.
“That’s why we’re working hard to secure funding and practical support to help drivers upgrade to cleaner, greener vehicles – improving air quality for everyone, while protecting livelihoods. By backing our taxi trade, we’re building a fairer, healthier city-region for all.”
A big battle of the bands is happening in Manchester this week – and it’s all for charity
Danny Jones
A massive battle of the bands event is happening in Manchester this week, and it’s helping raise money for crucial grassroots organisations.
Better still, it’s happening at one of our favourite venues in the city centre: Band on the Wall.
Now, the beloved Northern Quarter institution hosts all kinds of live music throughout the year, so they’re no strangers to events like a battle of the bands competition. Teaming up with homegrown charity Forever Manchester and some other well-known faces, this is set to be a big one.
This brand new event will see local businesses and employees come together to form a band for one night only, to see who is the best of the best up on stage. Who knows? You could be about to see the best-kept secret…
Yes, Manc worker bees are banding together (quite literally) to form the exclusive super group and will be judged by a panel of audiophile aficionados.
It doesn’t matter whether you work in the industry, you do office admin or work in a cafe all day long; at the debut ‘Forever Manchester Rocks‘ competition, consider yourself a music god in the making.
The live on-stage battle is open to pre-existing bands who have already played together, but we’ll confess, we’re looking forward to seeing what those cobbled together specifically for this contest are going to sound like.
Finalists not only have the opportunity to perform at the most iconic venues, but the winners of this year’s competition will claim the inaugural ‘Manchester Business Rocks Legends’ trophy, as well as being invited to play the annual Forever Manchester Birthday Party at the Kimpton Clocktower in February.
Once again, the best part of this new battle of the bands event at Band on the Wall is that it’s all for the greater good, with important funding being generated for local community groups – a cause that both pursue with 24/7, 365 days a year.
If you’re interested in a last-minute sign-up, the rules for entering the competition are as follows:
A majority of band members must work at the same company or in the same industry
Covers or originals welcome – just bring your best 15-minute set
You bring the instruments and tunes – the backline, PA and sound engineer will be provided
Acts will be judged on talent, energy, crowd reaction, showmanship and amount of money raised.
Nick Massey CBE, chief exec at Forever Manchester, said: “As a region famed for its musical prowess, entrepreneurial spirit and its sense of community, Forever Manchester Rocks just made total sense to me as our next big occasion.
“It is a battle like no other, and we’re calling for businesses across the region to trade their KPIs for killer riffs to show us how they shine on stage… And it’s all in support of a fantastic cause, with the money raised helping to fund vital community initiatives in the Greater Manchester region.
“We can’t wait to see colleagues from across the region unleash their hidden talents and bring that Manchester energy to Band on the Wall on 10 December!”
For those looking to come along this Wednesday (10 Dec), you can grab your tickets HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
20th July 2023 
