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.
Image: Yes Lah
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!!!”
Image: Yes Lah
“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
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Fontaines D.C. announce massive return to Manchester on new European tour
Daisy Jackson
Fontaines D.C. have just announced their biggest headline tour to date, including a massive arena gig here in Manchester.
The wildly popular Irish rock band are set to play a whopping 20 arena shows across Europe and the UK this autumn.
The tour has been announced in celebration of their upcoming fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, which is set for release this October.
Fontaines D.C. will hit the road just five days after the album drops, kicking off their European tour in Lisbon on 21 October.
Then they’ll make their way over to the UK, with shows in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Fans in their home country of Ireland are told to stay tuned for live news very soon.
As we speak, Fontaines D.C. are warming up to play one of the country’s biggest festivals, with headline slots at Reading & Leeds Festival.
They’ve already released Marianne, the first single from their new album, and frontman Grian Chatten says of the album: “The album itself is a dopamine chamber. You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
The new record has been recorded between London, the English countryside, and Palermo, where Chatten recorded vocals in a makeshift booth built from mattresses and cushions.
He said: “There’s a poignant sense of us being on the brink of some other kind of form of humanity, or non-humanity.”
Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Thursday 3 September, with pre-sale live from 10am on Tuesday 1 September.
You can access tickets for Fontaines D.C. in Manchester HERE.
Fans who pre-order Dopamine Chamber from the official store by 6pm on Monday 31 August will gain access to the UK pre-sale.
Fontaines D.C. UK tour dates in full
Friday 20 November – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Saturday 21 November – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sunday 22 November – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tuesday 24 November – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Wednesday 25 November – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Georgina Pellant -
25th April 2022 
