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A huge board game festival is happening in Manchester this weekend

Tabletop Gaming Live is taking over the historic Cotton Sheds at Victoria Warehouse on Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 September.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 16th September 2022

There’ll be over 100 different games to play when a huge board game festival sets up shop right here in Manchester this weekend.

Run by the teams behind the Tabletop Gaming and Miniature Wargames magazines, and with games across the whole hobby, from must-see miniatures, to incredible indie RPGs and hot new board games, this epic two-day gaming convention gives the people of Greater Manchester and beyond the chance to play some of the most exciting games out right now.

The show is set to bring together gamers from across the country to our city centre for the first time.

Tabletop Gaming Live is taking over the historic Cotton Sheds at Victoria Warehouse on Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 September – which festival organisers say offers ample space for the 5000+ expected hobbyists and 100+ traders, publishers, and designers.

A huge board game festival is happening in Manchester this weekend / Credit: Tabletop Gaming

So, what can you expect to see this weekend then?

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Well, as Tabletop Gaming’s inaugural Manchester show is sponsored by local hobby titans Steamforged Games, they will be demoing Bardsung and showing-off upcoming titles, while Fanboy 3 – which has been at the heart of the Manchester gaming scene for years – will be presenting some of the biggest publishers from the US.

They are joined by Manchester indie legend Hall or Nothing – who will be showing new titles like the historical battler 1815: Scum of the Earth, and Manchester’s biggest gaming group Tabletop Manchester.

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Some of the other new games at the 2022 festival include – Amelia’s Secret (Hachette Board Games UK), Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side (Ravensburger), the new edition of Kingmaker, Call to Adventure: Epic Origins (Brotherwise Games), and Cartaventura Caravans (BLAM!).

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There’ll be hands-on games demos and events happening all weekend at various different stands.

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You can also roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty with a variety of workshops too, including learning how to make your first game with James Wallis (The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen), create an RPG in an afternoon with Chris McDowall (Into The Odd Remastered), or even make your own miniature with Kit-bashing YouTube star Bill Making Stuff.

Tabletop Gaming Live is promising to bring a huge weekend of gaming where you can “get stuck into the hobby like you never have before”.

Fancy it then? There’s still time to grab tickets from £11 here.

Featured Image – Tabletop Gaming

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Inside the Manchester restaurant serving ‘India’s answer to a Wigan kebab’

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

When it comes to finding new and innovative ways to enjoy the humble potato, it’s fair to say that we Brits pretty much have the art down.

From creamy mash to deep-fried chips, crunchy hasslebacks, hash browns, and the all-time classic that is bubble and squeak, you name it, we’ve tried it.

Still, somehow it took the arrival of Indian street food favorite Bundobust for us to be introduced to the concept of a mashed potato burger – and we are forever thankful.

Comprised of a deep-fried potato dumpling placed inside a brioche bun, accompanied by two house-made chutneys and a whole green chili pepper, since its introduction to the Manchester food scene in 2016 the Vada Pav has become one of Bundobust’s most iconic dishes.

Also known as a Bombay burger, the vegetarian fast food snack sells in its thousands back home in Mumbai and has now become something of a signature dish here in Manchester too.

We recently popped down with Deliveroo for an episode of Takeaway Champions to try the dish, and after one taste our reviewer immediately called it the ‘Indian answer to a Wigan kebab’. It’s simply carbs on carbs on carbs, and we’re here for it.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

That said, it’s not the only thing worth ordering when you visit.

Other longstanding menu staples at Bundobust include its barbecued paneer, mushroom and pepper tikka kebabs, sweet and crunchy Bundo chaat, and crispy okra fries; whilst new dishes include the Ragda Pethis – a north-meets-east combination of mushy peas and potato cake, sev, tomato, onion, and tamarind chutney.

Having first opened in Manchester in 2016, today Bundobust has two sites in the city centre. Its original home still sits underneath Piccadilly Gardens, with a second restaurant and in-house brewery residing over on Oxford Road.

The restaurant – initially born in Leeds before making its way to Manchester – has always had a strong reputation for sourcing excellent craft beer, but since quietly opening its own brewery during the Covid lockdowns it’s only gone from strength to strength.

Read more: ‘We were treated awfully’ – ex-staffer speaks out as Freight Island gears up for reopening

Housed in a unique 100-year-old space within the iconic Grade II listed St James building, the Manchester-based brewery is a custom-built 10-hectolitre facility capable of producing 20,000 pints a month.

Today, alongside beers from other respected brewers, the restaurant serves up a list of specially-made house beers, all designed to complement the flavours of its dishes.

These include a coriander lager, a masala chai porter and a tropical pale ale, as well as its latest concoction: a mango lassi beer created in collaboration with brewers at Northern Monk.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Read more: The Sparrows ‘ever so proud and honoured’ after award from famous ‘lip licking Michelin Man’

To see the full menu click here and to find out more about Bundobust head over to their Instagram page here.

Oh, and to save on your next Deliveroo order from Bundobust make sure to use our code BUNDO10 when you check out.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

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This Manchester restaurant is serving an all-you-can-eat curry buffet throughout Ramadan

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A restaurant in Manchester is serving up a bottomless curry buffet throughout Ramadan and it sounds absolutely epic.

From today, 23 March, Zouk Tea Bar & Grill on Oxford Road is bringing back its brilliant all-you-can-eat Indian buffet – serving up unlimited quantities of customer favourites including the likes of chicken sindhi biryani, dall makhani and tarka dall curries alongside assorted naan breads, roti, and basmati rice.

Served throughout the month of Ramadan, there are an impressive amount of dishes on offer – and all for the price of £25pp for adults or £12.50 per child (under 12), with under 5’s eating free.

image: Zouk
image: Zouk

Add to the list a huge quantity of chicken tikka and seekh kebabs, a whole stuffed lamb raan, chicken 65, vegetable samosas, and more curries of lamb and potatoes, spinach and chicken, and it’s easy to see why Zouk’s bottomless buffet continues to be such a hit year-on-year.

It doesn’t stop there, either. There is a mouthwatering selection of desserts included in the buffet too, with choices like mango and raspberry Mumbai mess, chocolate brownies and fresh fruit alongside traditional favourite gulab jamon.

Each day the menu will vary slightly but it will always include a wide selection of salads, starters,
curries, chutneys, accompaniments, desserts, and roasted lamb.

This year Zouk has created two sittings for the halal buffet, following requests from customers to keep it
running for longer each evening. There will be one sitting at Iftar (sunset) each day and a second
sitting an hour later.

Booking is advised and when customers go onto Zouk’s website they can book at Iftar or later in the evening for the additional buffet sitting on their chosen date.

Image: Zouk

Customers are advised to note that the timings do change slightly throughout the month of Ramadan, due to the variation in BST and the arrival of lighter evenings.

Owner Tayub Amjad said: “Everyone is welcome to join us at this special time and we have created a secondsitting of the buffet an hour after Iftar.

Tayub added: “By offering two sittings, we can accommodate families who wish to pray together at
home before coming out to eat and also customers who may not be fasting or participating in
Ramadan personally but who wish to experience the fabulous buffet with friends and family and
learn more about Ramadan.

Read more: Manchester pasta restaurant The Sparrows has just won a prestigious new Michelin award

“All diners joining us will be helping us to support the homeless in Manchester, as we will make a donation from every cover charge to local homeless Charities.”

A typical menu will include:

Salads: Mango Salad, Kachumber, Tabbouleh

Starters: Vegetable Samosa, Mixed Vegetable Pakora, Seekh Kebab, Chicken 65, Dhai Balahi

Mains: Chicken Handi, Lamb & Potato, Dall Makhana, Vegetable Pilau Rice, Assorted Fresh Naan Bread, Chutney & Raita, Carvery, Roasted Lamb Raan, Chef Special Rice

Desserts: A selection of freshly made desserts

Drinks: Mango Lassi, water

Feature image – Zouk

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