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This week’s food and drink hit list feat. a fully vegan Chinese chippy and ‘part-time’ wine bar

Plus peach melba and mango lassi donuts, a fully vegan Chinese chippy and a new French bistro

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 2nd August 2021

It’s looking like another great week for eating out in Manchester as more operators get the confidence to throw open their doors to the public.

This week marks the opening of Takk’s new project, Kerb Wines, a new haven for natural wine in Ancoats that will also function as a ‘part-time’ bar, as well as the opening of a new semi-permanent home for Liverpudlian Chinese Chippy Woo Tan Scran.

Elsewhere, Le Social Wines has just announced they’ll be popping up in the new residency spot at KAMPUS; Kong’s chicken shop has been playing around with some fried chicken roast dinners at Northern Monk that we’re very excited about – and there’s a new announcement coming from Tine later this week.

Keep reading to discover our top food and drink picks for the week. As ever, there’s plenty to get stuck into.

Vegan ‘Char Sue’ chicken. (Yeah they know it’s Siu but their chef’s ma is called Sue) / Image: Woo Tan Scran

A full vegan Chinese chippy takeover at Stage and Radio

Liverpudlian Chinese chippy Woo Tan Scran first made its way down to Manchester during the second or third lockdown, bringing its “most ordered on Deliveroo” crown with it. After operating here for a while as takeaway only, they’ve now found a new semi-permanent home at Stage and Radio.

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Promising “a new style of Woo Tan”, there’ll be a mix of old favourites on offer going forward alongside some new flavours from the team. Think stuffed bao buns, loaded chips and a whole host of vegan dim sum, like sesame ‘prawn’ toast and jackfruit pancakes.

Find Woo Tan Scran at Stage and Radio, 43 Port St, Manchester M1 2EQ from 4 August.

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Family-run restaurant Kimji already has an incredibly popular site in Preston / Image: lancashire_eats

A brand new Korean restaurant in Ramsbottom

Popular family-run restaurant Kimji in Preston has expanded with a second new opening and can now also be found serving up its Korean favourites in Ramsbottom.

Dishing up traditional Korean classics like bibimbap and bulgogi bbq alongside stews and soups, proper homemade kimchi, crispy pancakes, Korean fried chicken and dumplings. Opening its doors on 27th, it was fully booked for its first few days but there are a few slots opening up this week.

Find Kimji’s new Korean restaurant at 41 Bolton St, Ramsbottom, Bury BL0 9HU.

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Coconut cherry donuts from DGHNT, made with cherry glaze, coconut glaze, coconut flakes, cherry whipped cream and coconut cookie / Image: DGHNT

The ultimate artisanal summer donut box

Founded in lockdown after baker Sulin Khng Baldwin found her travel plans suddenly canceled, DGHNT regularly releases different themed donut boxes – and this week is your last chance to get the summer one.

As well as her cherry coconut (pictured above), this new box also features an apricot ricotta creation dressed in an apricot glaze and pistachio crumb and a peach melba donut with almond frangipane, vanilla poached peach, toasted almonds and raspberry sauce.

Last but not least, it also sees the return of the iconic mango lassi donut – made with mango cardamom glaze, pistachio and dried mango, we’d say the box is a must for this one alone.

To order message DGHNT on Instagram. The summer box is available Tuesday to Saturday with some delivery and collection slots throughout the week.

Kerb wine will open as a ‘part-time’ bar on the last weekend of every month / Image: Kerb Wine

A new natural wine store and ‘part-time’ bar in Ancoats

Kerb wine, a new project from the team behind Northern Quarter coffee shop Takk and ÖL Bar & Brewery, opens this Friday 6 August in Ancoats’ Cutting Room Square – joining ranks with the likes of Le Social, Erst, Isca and Higher Ground.

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Offering a gorgeous selection of natural wine, ranging from homegrown British producers to hand-picked winemakers across Europe and further afield, everything will be available to takeaway by the bottle or on tap.

Here comes the bit we’re really keen on. Kerb will also operate as a ‘part-time’ bar on the last weekend of every month. We advise putting 27-29 August in your diaries now, and if you like the sound of drinking in the shop we’ll definitely see you there.

Find Kerb Wine at Cutting Room Square, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 5BF from Friday 6 August.

Not just any club sandwich. 10 Tib Lanes is made with chicken, truffle, smoked bacon and celeriac / Image: 10 Tib Lane

A new French bistro in the old Bock Biere site

Bock Biere Cafe was one of the earliest hospitality casualties to suffer at the start of the pandemic, so when the news finally broke that the former fondue favourite was being replaced with a new concept from the teams behind CBRB and Henry C it was very well received indeed.

Now known as 10 Tib Lane, the three-story townhouse has had quite a transformation – migrating from Belgium to France as it takes on a whole new team and cultural identity.

Gone are the fondue platters and frothy beers, in their place a new menu of small plates designed by Volta’s Alex Shaw and some serious-sounding cocktails. Think milk-washed ‘whiskey and soda’ made with two types of Chivas, burnt caramel vanilla and citric acid, to give you an idea.

Open now, head to 10 Tib Lane, Manchester, M2 4JB. Open Wednesday to Friday from 4pm-2am, and Saturday to Sunday from 12pm-2am.

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Top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers revealed – and two are only an hour from Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Houses

The 10 cheapest areas to buy your first house in the UK have been revealed, and two are only an hour away from Manchester.

After it was revealed that more than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline, which means that they’ll now be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra as of yesterday (1 April), the cheapest places to get your foot on the property ladder in 2025 have now been named.

While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000.

So if you’re looking to buy your first home, this is a list to keep a close eye on.

Handing over the keys to a new house
The top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers have been revealed / Credit: Pavel Danilyuk (via Pexels)

Property platform Rightmove has crunched the numbers and come up with a top 10 list for those on a budget and considering lower-priced areas they can move to, with the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire being named the cheapest area for a first time buyer to get onto the property ladder, as the average asking price for a typical first time buyer-type home here is just over £84,000.

Scotland keeps on pulling through, as the twon of Greenock in Inverclyde is second on the list, with an average asking price of £88,862, followed by Grimsby in third at £93,427.

As far as the North West is concerned, no residential areas in Greater Manchester have made the cut this time around, but the region’s two representatives on the list are only around an hour away from Manchester.

Top 10 cheapest UK areas for first time buyers

  1. Kilmarnock – £84,325
  2. Greenock – £88,862
  3. Grimsby – £93,427
  4. Blackpool – £93,711
  5. Middlesbrough – £95,473
  6. Hartlepool £99,525
  7. Paisley – £99,570
  8. East Killbride – £100,814
  9. Ayr – £101,391
  10. Burnley – £102,848

You’ll have to cross over the border into Lancashire if you’re looking for a budget-friendly first time home, as Blackpool takes the fourth spot on the list, with an average price of £93,711, and Burnley also makes an appearance at number 10 with an average price of £102,848.

The North overall is pretty well-represented, with other towns and cities such as Middlesbrough and Hartlepool featuring in the top 10, but according to the data, Scotland is by far the cheapest country to get on the property ladder in the UK.

Paisley, East Killbride, and Ayr also find themselves on the list lower down, as well as the two aforementioned Scottish towns in first and second place.

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Experts at Rightmove explained that wage growth has unfortunately ‘outpaced’ the rise in average asking prices for first time buyer homes in the last five years, so while this has slightly increased the mortgage borrowing power of first time buyers, affordability is still said to remains ‘very stretched’ overall.

Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)

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A local baby bank is holding a vital fundraiser to stop it from closing for good

Danny Jones Danny Jones Save Our Baby Bank Trafford Greater Manchester fundraiser

A Greater Manchester baby bank is holding a vital fundraiser in hopes of preventing it from closing for good imminently.

For anyone unaware, baby banks are crucial organisations run largely by volunteers who help provide supplies to families in local communities, with more than 300 in use across the UK at present.

Through delivering much-needed aid such as clothing, prams, nappies and baby food, right through to direct financial support, they help keep parents and their children in good supply of essentials and much more – hugely important work at any rate, let alone during the winter and a cost of living crisis.

However, the Little Green Sock Project over in Trafford is at risk of permanent closure and was initially given until the new year to raise £200,000.

As seen in this moving video, the baby bank based over in Stretford Mall is in dire need of support and, crucially, the funds for a new premises.

They’ve been deeply moved by how Greater Manchester united in reaching into their pockets and sparing whatever they can to contribute to their fundraising target thus far – and they really are nearly at the finish line, which would mean safety for the genuinely life-saving service.

Fundamentally operated as a non-profit and volunteer-led charity, they naturally don’t have the means to just take over a new space on their own and with the current site set to be demolished very soon, a minimum of £200k is needed to find and fund a new location.

Having amassed over 90% of the amount needed, they’ve already bought themselves extra time, they just need one last push from us.

Urging people to donate what they can and share their fundraiser where possible, as well as welcoming corporate sponsorships should other local businesses wish to back them or get stuck through volunteering days, time is of the essence.

The Little Green Sock Project was only started back in 2022 and has already supported over 1,300 children, redistributing more than £240,000 worth of essential items like clothing, cots, prams, and stair gates to local families, as well as saving 20 tonnes of items from landfills.

It’s no exaggeration to say that they’ve changed and saved lives, both parents and children, and with the often difficult festive period approaching, their work is needed now more than ever.

There are just under a dozen baby banks in all of Greater Manchester, many of which are facing similar pressures. (Credit: Supplied)

Speaking on their efforts and the fundraiser, founder Catherine D’Albertanson said: “We believe that essentials needed for the health and wellbeing of children should not only be for those that can afford them. Our work ensures that no child in our community goes without essentials, but without new premises, we will have no choice but to close.”

Moreover, Little Green Sock Project is the only baby bank in the Trafford area and of the families it serves, 58% are single-parent households already struggling with the cost of raising children, while 29% are fleeing domestic abuse, often leaving their belongings behind to protect their family.

With their circular economy model, they also help reduce waste whilst providing “a trusted link between the families that have items to give, to those that need them the most”, with D’Albertanson adding, “If we lose this charity, we lose a vital safety net for many in our community.”

A service user commented: “It was a truly terrifying time when I was pregnant with my first child. I found myself completely alone, with a baby on the way, wondering how I could possibly provide for my son.

“Then I found Little Green Sock Project, and everything changed. Everything was carefully chosen, colour-coordinated, and presented in such a thoughtful way. It felt so special—like someone truly cared about me and my baby. That feeling is indescribable, especially for someone in my position.

“There are so many people like me with stories like this. It breaks my heart to think that the Little Green Sock Project might have to close its doors. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without your help, and I hope with all my heart that the community comes together to keep this lifeline alive.”

Manchester parents need this much-loved baby bank – let’s not let it fall away on our watch. (Credit: Andy Bate at Royal Foundation)

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Every pound donated goes towards helping find the Little Green Sock Project a new home, but people can help contribute in other ways, once again, by spreading the word or getting their hands dirty in person.

Greater Manchester never fails to amaze when it rallies behind causes like this, and we’re sure you won’t let us down this time either. Let’s keep the lights on the lifelines for local families intact.

You can donate now, or to find out other ways to do your bit, click HERE.

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Featured Images — Little Green Sock Project/Andy Bate – Royal Foundation (supplied)

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