House of Fu, the popular Yorkshire ramen restaurant with a huge following in Leeds, is making its way over to Manchester.
Eyeing up a new home on Portland Street, the restaurant has submitted plans with Manchester City Council to take over the former Leaf site.
Having first begun life as a street food pop-up, House of Fu has revealed it will bring its Toyko and LA-inspired Japanese dishes across the Pennines for the first time – just a year on from opening its first brick and mortar site in Leeds.
Brought to Manchester by the team behind Leeds’ Belgrave Music Hall, Headrow House and Ox Club, diners can look forward to a range of different umami-rich ramen and noodle dishes, as well as dumplings, small plates and sides when it opens its doors later this year.
As for drinks, think frozen yuzu margaritas, homemade kombucha and cans of session sake from Kampai, as well as.a solid sake and wine list and craft beers sourced from local breweries.
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Image: The Hoot Leeds
Fried cauliflower with gochujang hot sauce, house shichimi spice blend, sesame and QP vegan mayo. / Image: The Hoot
House of Fu’s pork gyoza are made freshly in the restaurant every day. / Image: The Hoot
From homemade gyoza to handmade noodles sourced right here in Manchester, there’s a lot to get excited about – all thanks to head chef Ben Iley, who spent nearly a decade at some of Japan’s finest restaurants before coming home to work on the House of Fu project.
With an impressive CV that includes Aquavit, The Tokyo American Club and Fujimamas, he landed in Leeds following nine and a half years Japan, only to be introduced to the Belgrave team ‘the very same day.’.
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From that initial introduction, it would take six years for the concept to fully come to fruition – first beginning life as award-winning street food pop-up Fu-Schnickens before ultimately becoming the ramen restaurant it is today, with Ben taking a short detour into live fire cooking as the Head Chef at Ox Club somewhere in the middle.
Original Fu ramen in a tonkatsu broth, and fried cauliflower. / Image: The Hoot Leeds
When House of Fu opened in Leeds last summer, he told The Hoot: “I first met these guys and we spoke about doing this in 2014.
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“The year that I was over in Japan, the guys behind this, Ben Davey included, who was working in Belgrave at the time, had a pop-up […] doing bao buns, chicken wings and that kind of thing, and that’s the year that they won best street food of the year or whatever it was, so they thought right, ok, we’ve got something here, let’s expand and look at building a restaurant, let’s do ramen […] and so they needed to find someone who could do ramen.
“Probably the day that I arrived back from Japan, a mutual friend between myself and Ash hooked us up and said ‘this guy’s just come back from Japan, these guys want to do ramen, like off you go!’ and I was like ‘wow, what an amazing opportunity.'”
In the summer of 2019, ahead of opening the first House of Fu site, Ben took the directors on a intense three-night dash through Tokyo – all eating and drinking their way in a blur across the city in the name of research.
Ramen choices range here from classic tonkatsu broths to miso chicken and mushroom options, and a special ‘green ramen’ made using a shitake dashi. Prices sit between £12 and £14 for ramen bowls, with diners given the option to add on ingredients to suit themselves from just £2 each.
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There are also rice bowls and ‘super bowls’ to choose from, as well as sides like kimchi, chilli crunch rice and a ‘sunshine salad’ with Japanese radish, mizuna, jalapeno and yuzu.
Having been incredibly well-received in their hometown, House of Fu is now branching out with a second site here in Manchester.
The new restaurant is tipped to open in early 2023, although an exact opening date is still yet to be confirmed.
Owners Simon Stevens and Ashley Kollakowski said of finding their ideal Manchester site at Bruntwood Works’ West Village Building: “Manchester is home to some of our favourite restaurants and shops and it’s been great getting to know the city a little more whilst looking for a home for House of Fu.There’s such an exciting food scene in Manchester and there seems to be more great openings announced every week, we’re really excited to be part of it!”
Feature image – The Hoot
News
Andy Burnham announces ‘fundamental’ changes to the UK’s education system
Emily Sergeant
The Prime Minister will unveil a fundamental change to the education system today with the launch of new prestigious technical educational routes.
Andy Burnham says he is ‘determined’ to put technical education on an equal footing with the traditional academic path to ensure there are no so-called ‘dead ends’ for young people coming out of the education system by providing them high-quality alternative routes that are valued and respected by students, parents, and employers alike.
The new pathways will provide 14-year-olds with ‘valuable’ early access to technical skills, work experience, and connections with local employers.
Building on successful local initiatives – such as the MBacc, launched by Andy Burnham here in Greater Manchester when he was Mayor – the new technical routes will mean young people can develop the technical knowledge and skills needed to progress in areas like engineering, healthcare, and digital technology.
It will aim to ‘skill them up’ with the specific knowledge and capabilities that local employers need.
Andy Burnham has announced ‘fundamental’ changes to the UK’s education system / Credit: MChe Lee (via Unsplash) | Wikimedia Commons
So, how will it all work then? Well, when students enter Year 10, they will have the chance to combine core academic subjects – including English, Maths, and Science – with a high-quality technical education that’s linked to the jobs available in their area.
During these courses, students will be able to spend time with employers and gain valuable real-world experience.
Regional mayors, local leaders, schools, colleges, and employers will work together to shape these new technical education pathways, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all system.
To support this, the Government says it will prioritise funding towards high-quality technical education and practical routes into work, and will also change the way school performance is measured so that inspectors recognise the schools support young people to develop the skills, experience, and confidence employers want.
This way, no matter whether young people choose university, an apprenticeship, further education, or direct entry into a skilled profession, they will able to see a clear route from education into employment.
“For too long in this country, students have been told that you must take the academic path to do well and to be respected,” explained Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
“The whole school system has been built around it and that has let down young people seeking technical qualifications.
“I want an education system based on parity between academic and technical which gives all young people a clear path in life.
“From today, Britain will value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap.”
Featured Image – MChe Lee (via Unsplash)
News
When does the UK’s fourth heatwave of the year hit Greater Manchester?
Danny Jones
Brace yourselves: ANOTHER heatwave is set to hit the UK – the fourth in 2026 so far – and, understandably, Greater Manchester residents are already preparing for the latest blast of hot weather and wondering when it gets here.
Yes, in case you missed the news, more high temperatures are set to spread across Great Britain and Ireland this month and heading into August.
The increase will gradually build throughout this week, with Wednesday tipped to be the hottest day according to various meteorological sources.
Fortunately for us here in the North West, parts of the Midlands and the usual suspects down south are set to hit the highest numbers, but the thermometers are still on course to reach around the mid-20s over the coming days.
Temperatures are set to rise this week across some areas, bringing a return to hotter conditions 🥵
The heat looks to be fairly short-lived, however, with temperatures expected to fall again towards the end of the week 🌡️ pic.twitter.com/IKsunEdwhU
Estimates of 26°C have been predicted for this coming Tuesday, with the levels floating in and around 24/25 on the following Wednesday.
The heat is then due to drop off slowly, with top scores of no higher than 21°C on the cards for Thursday and Friday. Although the weekend forecast is less certain at present, one thing that has been announced is reduced rainfall.
Aside from a few more trickles today (Mon, 27 July), the showers or lack thereof cease rather soon, with some of the driest parts of the country already having various effects; for instance, parched parts of Wales have even revealed lost archaeological sites last Friday (24/7/2026).
It would be remiss if we didn’t mention the obvious moorland fires across our region, which were sadly exacerbated by hot weather earlier this month.
Following on from the hottest June on record, the Dovestone and Tinwhistle areas of Oldham and parts of Derbyshire saw hundreds of hectares turn into a deeply dangerous blaze for several days.
As per the latest statistics, it’s said that the equivalent of 1,250 football pitches were scorched following the alarming wildfire, which also raised concerns for wildlife and surrounding air quality.
Georgina Pellant -
27th June 2022 
