Whilst we know Manchester’s Chinatown isn’t short of great restaurants, there’s a (relative) newcomer in the city centre that hasn’t quite been shouted about as much as it deserves.
We’re talking about Yum Cha, the Liverpool-born eatery quickly building a reputation for its quality bite-sized dim sum, affordable large plates and beautiful roast meats.
First opened by brothers Adam and Neil Wan in July 2020, (in the midst of what was an all-around terrible year for hospitality, might we add) Yum Cha has become quite the happy success story.
First taking over the former Meat Factory unit on Liverpool’s Lark Lane, it’s since expanded into Manchester with a second site at Kampus – and has been busy tempting diners across from nearby Chinatown favourites ever since.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Part of a new generation of Chinese dining spots, eschewing family-style banquets in favour of comfy booths, trendy neons and graffiti, the restaurant itself is deceptively large.
Much more important, though, is the food, which happens to be both cheap and delicious. A hard thing to find of late.
As the name suggests, dim sum is a big seller here. Unlike many of its competitors, Yum Cha sells its bite-size dim sum (which loosely translates to “touching the heart”) all day and all night – and has built up quite a following as a result.
Made by a specialist chef who trained in Hong Kong (under two top-class dim sum chefs who later went on to be awarded Michelin stars in Singapore, no less), all dim sum here is the creation of the wonderful Jack, who has himself spent the best part of thirty years perfecting his recipes.
Cheung Fun (steamed rice rolls seasoned with soya sauce.) and Sesame Xia Qiu (sesame-rolled prawn balls). / Image: The Manc Eats
Yum Cha’s Crispy Belly Pork. / Image: The Manc Eats
Here you’ll find traditional soft dumpling favourites like Har Gau, Sui Mai and Xiao Long Bao, alongside its famous Cheung Fun rice rolls and some Insta-worthy ‘Traffic Light Dumplings’ (a mixture of har gau, jiaozi and so choi), from £5.
Split into two sections, the menu focuses on texture with soft bao, gelatinous dumplings and steamed parcels separated from crispy morsels like Sesame Xia Qiu (sesame-rolled prawn balls), crispy belly pork and spiced pork spring rolls.
Served in stacks of bamboo baskets or glazed ceramic plates, the hand-folded parcels at Yum Cha are a revelation – especially with many places increasingly choosing to switch to factory-made dim sum in order to save money.
Elsewhere, large plates (and trust us, they really are large) can be bought for around a tenner. Fiery dishes like Singapore vermicelli and king prawn or char siu firecracker sit alongside the likes of sweet and sour chicken,, dan dan noodles and grilled chicken satay.
The prices are good, and the meat content is generous too – with plump, meaty prawns, large chunks of chicken and stacked slices of char siu proving that you really do get your money’s worth.
The bustling kitchen is packed out with specialist equipment ordered especially from China so that the team can roast their own meats and steam dim sum to their heart’s content on site.
Duck, char sui, belly pork and chicken are freshly roasted each day in a custom-made oven, and can be ordered with a choice of either rice or noodles and pak choi , with a choice of classic soy, BBQ or curry sauce on the side.
Roasted meats can also be enjoyed loaded on top of noodle soup, thinly sliced and served over a meat or vegetable broth with noodles, wontons and pak choi – another dish that has earnt a special place in our heart on our visit.
Comforting and delicious, we’ll be back here again soon – no doubt about it.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
News
Manchester Youth Zone reopens following impressive £1.6m transformation
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Youth Zone has officially relaunched following a significant £1.6 million investment and months of transformation.
Designed hand-in-hand with the young people of Harpurhey, where the centre – which is proudly a member of the OnSide Youth Zones – is based, the revitalised space represents a bold new chapter for Manchester Youth Zone (MYZ) and the new state-of-the-art facilites offer an exciting range of opportunities and experiences for young people to enjoy.
MYZ is open all year round to provide a ‘safe space’ for young people across North Manchester aged eight to 19, or up to 25 with additional needs.
Football, basketball, podcasting, music, cooking, boxing, dance, and dedicated wellbeing spaces are just some of the activities on offer for young people now that the refurbishment is complete.
The refurbishment is a major milestone for MYZ and its renewed mission to help young people discover their ‘purpose, passion, and pathway’ in life.
Manchester Youth Zone has reopened following an impressive £1.6m transformation / Credit: Supplied
This means that the newly-refurbished centre also offers space and facilities for meaningful support – with one-to-one navigators and youth workers working closely with the children and families to help ‘break down barriers’ and ‘unlock potential’.
MYZ is one of 140 youth centres in England to benefit from a Youth Investment Fund grant, announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Youth Investment Fund was granted to MYZ as part of the Government’s National Youth Guarantee to ‘transform and level up’ opportunities for young people in England.
“We’re delighted to unveil our newly transformed Manchester Youth Zone,” commented Heather Etheridge, who CEO of Manchester Youth Zone.
“It’s a significant milestone for MYZ and we’re extremely proud of the new space and what it has to offer the young people of Harpurhey.
“From its state-of-the-art facilities to dedicated wellbeing spaces we are a shining example of how investment, vision, and youth-led design can create lasting impact, and how truly transformational spaces can change lives.
“We can’t wait to see it develop as a thriving hub of activity, creativity, and opportunity, for young people and the wider community.”
Featured Image – Supplied
News
Relaunch date revealed for majorly revamped Altrincham Leisure Centre
Danny Jones
The opening date for the relaunch of Altrincham Leisure Centre, which recently underwent a serious revamp, has officially been announced.
Yes, Alty Leisure Centre – or rather, ‘move Altrincham’, as it will be known moving forward – is finally set to reopen in full following a significant rebrand and redevelopment.
Works on the local Trafford leisure centre and community hub actually first began way back in January 2023, but now, over two and a half years on from its closure for refurbishment, it’s just weeks away from being reopened to the public.
Now officially relaunching on 26 August, move Altrincham comes three years on from the opening of a fellow fitness facility in the borough, with move Urmston debuting in 2022.
Much like how the pandemic delayed the unveiling of their counterparts, it’s taken quite a while to complete the Altrincham Leisure Centre (ATC) overhaul.
The Urmston venue saw over £7 million pumped into resurrecting the old 1980s building back but in the case of ATC, more than £20m has been invested into this latest project overall.
Featuring a new, bigger and better fitness suite, state-of-the-art swimming pools, ‘The Cove Spa’ post-workout recovery and wellness assessment room; a brand-new purpose-built gymnastics hub, an expanded sports hall, as well as lots more, the place is set to be virtually unrecognisable.
As well as a rejigged changing room set-up, catering to men, women, groups and crucially inclusive, there’ll also be an enticing new cafe, featuring a resident in-house bakery from native artisans, MOST.
They really have put everything you could hope for into this major regeneration.
Local authorities have already dubbed this move Altrincham the “most sustainable sports facility” in the region, ahead of its opening later this month.
Sure to be a busy Alty outlet, Trafford Council has also confirmed that the building will use huge air source heat pumps and solar panels, saving upwards of 400 tonnes of carbon per year, with the remaining electricity imported off the grid pulled from a 100% green, renewable supply.
“More than 8,000 tonnes of carbon will be saved over the lifecycle of the pumps and panels, addressing the Council’s priority of addressing the climate crisis and becoming Carbon Neutral by 2038″, they go on to add.
Fixtures like this have been funded with support from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the UK government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with over £2m of funding secured to bring the scheme to life.
Even the ‘purer’ pools will cost less money and water to run, not to mention the bonus of safe storage for bikes, nearby travel links to the Bee Network and EV charging points in the car park.
Speaking on the impending opening date, Cllr Aidan Williams – Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change – beckoned the reborn leisure centre as a shining example of the borough’s commitment to crucial environmental change.
“move Altrincham is a great example of how we’re setting new standards in Trafford that will help the Council achieve its zero carbon goals and send a powerful message to our communities that we treat climate change seriously and are working hard to create a greener, cleaner future,” says Williams.
Once again, the new and improved Alty Leisure Centre opens its doors on Tuesday, 26 August, and we can’t wait to see what the neighbours make of it.
Georgina Pellant -
4th November 2022 
