A new shop and cafe selling Filipino, Malaysian and other ESEA (East or South East Asian) dishes is being opened in Didsbury this year by two brilliant Manchester street food chefs.
Mama Z and Woks Cluckin, aka Zos and Yen, will be bringing pan-Asian food and drinks, retail, workshops, and supper clubs together all under one roof with a new opening called Yes Lah.
The pair first met at Hatch in 2018. whilst both undertaking street food residencies and quickly developed a strong friendship and professional bond.
Working together hosting supper clubs and helping at each other’s events, the idea of opening a space together was always on the cards. Now, it’s finally coming to fruition.
Having been some five years in the making, the pair were ecstatic to finally reveal the plans for and location of their new site this weekend after being ‘messed about’ for six months by a different venue they had been considering.
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Sharing the news with followers on Instagram over the weekend, Zos wrote: “Gosh I can’t believe I can finally reveal what I have kept my gob shut about since last year. It’s true.. Yen and I have now found our forever home and are opening our new venture in the heart of Didsbury!!
“Everyone kept asking me what my plan was or what I was doing next work-wise and since Sept last year we had seen a venue that we wanted to take.
“Unfortunately they messed us about for 6 months and really we had envisioned we would be in there by now. Alas, we had to start all over again but all things happen for a reason and we feel that this new space is the one we have been waiting for. We are ecstatic to have you at our new shop and café called Yes lah!
She continued to explain that the new cafe will celebrate local makers and people the pair have had the pleasure of working with along the years, ‘bringing together our passions under one roof.’
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“Expect delicious Filipino, Malaysian and other great ESEA dishes, drinks and groceries. There will be supper clubs, workshops and great local events too. It is so exciting to finally have a base and our permanent home!!!”
“I am finally free of this big secret which was SO hard to keep to myself for ages but I am now pinching myself that we can finally share it with you all. See you all very soon at Yes lah and maraming salamat to everyone who has supported us both through these past 5 years! EEEEKKKK!!!”
To help get Yes Lah up and running, the pair are getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign with a number of different pledges – likely to include meals, supper club tickets, workshops and more.
To follow their journey in the meantime, you can follow Yes Lah on its new Instagram page here and sign up for Kickstarter notifications here.
Feature image – Mama Z
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
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Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
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Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.