Indian street food favourite Bundobust has given its menu an Indo-Chinese lift with a host of exciting new specials, set to launch next week.
Four new dishes will launch at the restaurant on 18 July, as Bundobust celebrate the historic culinary craze of crossing Chinese cooking styles with classic Indian spices and vegetables.
Inspired by the fiery fusion of Indian and Chinese flavours that began in Kolkata and swept worldwide, the new specials are informed by the cuisine’s hybrid origins – with a special Bundobust twist.
Image: Supplied
Think salt and pepper okra fries, ‘prawn’ gobi toast (deep-fried garlic and ginger minced cauliflower sesame soldiers served with a Coconut Korma dipping sauce), hakka noodles and battered tofu pakoras in a spicy sauce.
The Bundobust take on Kolkata’s key Indo- Chinese dishe, named after the Hakka-speaking Chinese immigrants that established India’s first Chinatown, promises soy-sauce coated Indo-Chinese spiced noodles with red and green peppers, cabbage and mushrooms.
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Meanwhile the new tofu dish – a big first for Bundobust – offers a modern Chinese re-imagining of the classic Chennai Hotel Buhari 1965 recipe, served in a sauce rich with Chinese Five Spice, curry leaves, garlic and mustard seeds.
The Leeds-born indie eatery now has two sites in Manchester, one on Piccadilly Gardens and another at its brewery on Oxford Road, both of which will serve the special menu starting from Monday 18 July.
All four specials can be ordered alongside existing Bundobust staples and are best enjoyed with Bundobust’s very own beers – served exclusively in their restaurants via the Bundobust Brewery.
Housed in a unique 100-year-old space within the iconic Grade II listed St James building, the brewery is a custom-built 10-hectolitre facility capable of producing 20,000 pints a month.
Beer fans are encouraged to try the house-brewed Bundobust coriander lager, masala chai porter and tropical pale ale, all of which have been designed to complement Bundobust’s dishes.
Feature image – Supplied
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Glitzy Spinningfields bar famed for its bottomless deals shuts down
Daisy Jackson
Popular cocktail bar group Banyan has suddenly closed its glitzy bar in the heart of Spinningfields.
The restaurant and bar, which is part of the Arc Inspirations group that also operates Manahatta and Box, has shut down with immediate effect.
A sign has been posted in the window of the Spinningfields site of Banyan confirming its closure.
Banyan opened in 2018 and was the second site for the brand, which has been operating out of the Corn Exchange since 2015.
Inside, the huge 7,000sq ft space was split into spaces for drinking, dining and dancing, including a large mezzanine and a huge white marble bar.
Banyan is famed for its bottomless deals, whether that’s a classic bottomless brunch or their bottomless Sunday roast (endless Yorkshire puddings, gravy, wine, and roast potatoes).
It also offered two-for-one cocktails, all day every day.
The bar stands on the side of Spinningfields, directly opposite The Ivy and alongside The Alchemist.
Banyan in Spinningfields has shut downThe note in the window of Banyan
But now it has permanently closed its doors, thanking people for their custom over its almost-decade in Manchester.
The sign on the door says: “Banyan Spinningfields is now permanently closed.
“Thank you so much for your custom over the years, we’ve loved being part of this wonderful city and have made so many friends.
“Don’t be a stranger, we’d love to continue to welcome you to our Banyan bar in the Corn Exchange. Team Banyan.”
Council seized £4.3m worth of counterfeit goods from Manchester’s streets in 2025
Emily Sergeant
A whopping £4.3 million of counterfeit goods were seized from Manchester’s streets in 2025, the Council has revealed.
Now that 2025 has come to end, Manchester City Council has announced that its Trading Standards Team seized and destroyed more than 43,500 counterfeit items in the last year – ranging from everything like fake handbags, trainers, and jewellery, to electronic items, sportswear, children’s toys, sunglasses, and much more.
Through ‘exemplary partnership work’ with Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the Council says this criminal industry has taken a ‘substantial hit’ over the past 12 months.
It’s also estimated that the goods seized would have lost the industry up to £43 million.
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, who is the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council, said the Council hopes this action ‘sends a message that we will not tolerate this harmful trade.’
The Council seized £4.3m worth of counterfeit goods from Manchester’s streets in 2025 / Credit: GMP
“The counterfeit industry was substantially embedded in our communities, but through their diligence and the support of our valued partners we have driven away some of the worst offenders and are beginning the process of regenerating the areas of Manchester that were long blighted by this sort of crime,” she added.
It’s not just counterfeit goods that’ve been targeted either, as a substantial push was also made throughout the year to crack-down on the sale and distribution of illicit tobacco.
In total, 316,625 cigarettes – which is equivalent to nearly 16,000 individual packs – were seized by the Council and police.
258kg of hand rolling tobacco was also seized, as well as more than 18,000 illegal vapes that don’t comply with UK laws or regulations.
Detective Chief Inspector Melanie Johnson, who is the lead coordinator of Operation Machinize for GMP, says the police takes any information it receives about counterfeit trading ‘very seriously’.
“We will continue to investigate all aspects of this criminality to protect our communities from the harms of illegal products.”
Georgina Pellant -
15th July 2022 
