Manchester restaurant and food hall Hello Oriental has introduced a new dessert dish to its menu this month, and it’s been steadily dividing opinions since.
Comprised of a large bowl of salt and pepper chips, topped with piped-on vanilla ice cream, crispy onions and multicoloured party sprinkles, it takes inspiration from a cult McDonald’s trend that sees customers dip fries into their McFlurries or milkshakes.
Yes, that is (apparently) a real thing that people enjoy, so much so that McDonald’s even spoofed its customers with an April Fool’s advert in 2019 promising the introduction of a new series of banana, chocolate and strawberry ‘milkshake dips’.
Now, the bizarre fast food craze has taken an even stranger turn as Hello Oriental co-owners Ricky Yip and Azim Kourah introduce their own Eastern-inspired twist at their Oxford Road side.
Priced at £6.95 a tub, owners said that staff were initially divided over the concept but came soon round when they had tried it for themselves.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Now, it appears that the salty-sweet fast food treat is taking Manchester by storm with people flocking down to Hello Oriental to get their hands on a tub.
It’s not the first time that the food hall has divided opinions with its desserts. Earlier this summer, operators started mixing up ice cream made from durian, widely known as the world’s stinkiest fruit.
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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.
Served in cute little bear and taiyaki fish-shaped cones, alongside typical soft serve flavours like ube (purple yam), pandan leaf, charcoal, mango and vanilla, on weekends you will also find a limited amount of durian ice cream here.
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Managing to be sweet, creamy and savoury all at once, some say it tastes like “diced garlic and caramel poured into whipped cream”.
Others have referred to “subtle hints of chives mixed with powdered sugar”.
Multi-storey ‘super-venue’ Hello Oriental was built beneath Symphony Park at the new Circle Square development just off Oxford Road in February this year.
Inspired by dining destinations like Bang Bang Oriental in London and 1800 in Miami, at its heart sits a vast market hall with a fast-paced open kitchen, UK-first supermarket and Hello Bakery.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Manchester
Top Northern Quarter vintage shop Gone Fishing is closing – with one final, massive sale
Daisy Jackson
Gone Fishing Vintage, one of the Northern Quarter’s top vintage shops, is closing for good after one final weekend in Manchester.
The popular shop will be going out with an almighty sale, offering 50% off everything in store on 10 and 11 January.
Gone Fishing has carved out a niche thanks to its menswear-focused, curated range of second hand fashion, often sourced from Italy.
You’ll always find a quality selection of brands including Stone Island, CP Company, Burberry, and Moschino.
And it’s caught plenty of eyes during its time on Oldham Street – just last year, Drake popped into Gone Fishing to buy himself a vest.
But now owner Seb Dixon has confirmed he’s closing down the shop – and soon.
He said it’s been a ‘f***ing tough decision’ but Gone Fishing has ‘outgrown the space’.
In a video shared to Instagram, he announced an ‘everything-must-go’ sale with half-price clothes this weekend, kicking off from 11am on Saturday 10 January.
Seb said: “Quick announcement – I’m closing down the shop. This might come as a bit of a surprise to you, but unfortunately it’s true.
“After doing this for so many years, it’s been a f***ing tough decision.
“So I started it as a passion project and it’s not the fact that I don’t have passion for it anymore or have fallen out of love with it or you guys. I just want to take it in a slightly different direction.
“I just feel like we’ve outgrown the space a little bit and how creative we can get in there, and creativity was the main reason why I started the business.
“So this weekend is our final weekend in the shop and we need to get rid of everything. So we’re doing 50% off all items.
“I reckon it’s gonna be a little big mad – we’ll open at 11 but I’d say get there a little bit earlier.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who shopped with us, supported us over the last few years. Especially the customers, we wouldn’t be here without you.
“Stay tuned as we release our new location where you can shop with us. Until then, see you on Saturday.”
A new design-led hostel with rooms from £41 has opened in the Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
A new hostel has launched in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, with rooms starting from just £41.
The staggeringly affordable new accommodation comes from Malacuna, which already has similar sites across Spain and Portugal.
The European brand has now taken over a prime building in the Northern Quarter, just off Stevenson Square, which used to be home to Hatters Hostel.
The Hilton Street hostel features 37 rooms and 132 beds, from private rooms to shared dorms with four, six or eight beds.
These spaces at Malacuna are promising ‘design-led accommodation that doesn’t compromise on style, location or social atmosphere’.
With Manchester now attracting 2.6 million overnight visitors annually, demand for accommodation is surging – especially around major events such as Parklife festival, gigs at Co-op Live and the AO Arena, and football.
And now visitors will finally have somewhere to stay that won’t break the bank, with beds from £41 per night in one of the most sought-after corners of Manchester.
Malacuna is set directly above Wilson’s, a 200-capacity bar and restaurant, and is open now.
Georgina Pellant -
20th September 2022 
