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Vermilion – the pan-Asian restaurant with robot waiters and UK’s most giant prawns

Lavish design with sumptuous Asian fusion dishes combined to create a truly memorable dining experience. 

The Manc The Manc - 22nd May 2023

Pan-Asian restaurant Vermilion is not somewhere you’d stumble across by accident, but between its eye-poppingly large prawns, dramatic decor and quirky robot waiters it’s definitely worth a visit.

Sitting on the outskirts of the city centre, this opulent three-story party palace is only a short walk from Manchester City’s grounds – still, it continues to fly under the radar despite being one of the city’s most dazzling dining destinations.

Well worth seeking out, an exclusive hidden gem. If it’s glitz and glamour you’re after when you’re out to dinner then it’s safe to say that Vermilion delivers in spades.

A popular choice for extravagant weddings and big parties, Vermilion is jam-packed with grand event spaces, an exclusive cocktail bar, and – most exciting of all – an opulent Asian fusion restaurant.

Its interiors combine lavish design with sumptuous fusion dishes, whilst its connections with parent company Seamark give it access to the biggest, juiciest prawns in the UK.

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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

And as for the plates coming out of its kitchen, expect a mixture of Thai, Japanese, Indian, Korean and Chinese dishes, with big flavours from the Asian continent being the order of the day.

Think fresh, plump exquisite scallops in shells dressed in lychee and longan fruit, roasted exclusive black cod, and grilled ‘Choo Chee’ prawns in a spicy red curry and coconut milk sauce, served alongside the likes of smoked Wagyu sushi rolls, unique Thai inspired Sushi Makis and delicately marbled Wagyu rib eye steak.

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Elsewhere, you’ll find everything from beef green curry with Thai roti, to slow-cooked lamb shank massaman and super-refreshing bowls of Tom Yam noodle soup rich with aromatic lemongrass, lime and coriander.

Plus a host of delicious homemade desserts from warm chocolate fondant with peanut butter cream and traditional Khanom Pandam pudding, to homemade exotic ice-cream with flavours such as Thai Milk Tea to Pandan ice cream.

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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Fans of fine seafood are well-catered to Vermillion, which boasts exclusive access to wild giant ocean tiger prawns.

These beauties are served as part of its pad Thai dish, accompanied by tangy tamarind Sen Jan wok-fried noodles, with Thai herbs and spices, beansprouts, eggs, carrot and tofu, and are hands down the largest we’ve ever seen.

Read more: A huge new steakhouse is opening inside Sale’s recently closed Foodhall site

As well as a place for seafood lovers, there’s still plenty more on the menu at Vermillion to pique your interest.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

From Korean fried chicken buttermilk bao buns topped with Kewpie mayo and a fermented chilli sauce, to colourful rainbow dim sums, chicken satay dumplings, spiced prawn koftas and Khao Sai, a northern Thai / Loas curry noodle dish that is taking the noodle soup craze by storm.

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For fans of East, South and South East Asian cuisine and culture, there’s so much to choose from at Vermillion.

To find out more and view the full menu, visit the website here. 

Featured image – The Manc Eats

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You can fly straight to paradise with direct flights from Manchester to Barbados

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson You can fly direct from Manchester to Barbados with Aer Lingus. Credit: Unsplash, Tom Jur

Good news sun-seekers – Aer Lingus has relaunched its direct flights between Manchester and Barbados, so you could be swapping out commute for hammock in a heartbeat. 

Aer Lingus will be jetting off straight to the tropical paradise of Barbados from Manchester between 1 November and 31 May, with three direct flights a week.

That’s along with all their routes to bucket list destinations like New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, and LA.

And the best bit is that you could take your Caribbean trip of a lifetime from just £389 return until 31 May 2025 (T&Cs apply). 

These super-affordable direct flights head straight to Bridgetown, the colourful capital of Barbados. 

From there, you have the trip of a lifetime at your fingertips – whether you want to feast on Bajan cuisine, explore the colonial towns, or just relax on white-sand, world-class beaches. 

You can explore sugarcane fields and visit wonders like Harrison’s Cave, where electric tram tours whisk passengers through an amazing natural cave with waterfalls, deep emerald pools, and thousands of stalactites and stalagmites.

There’s a 1000-year-old Baobab tree you can see, green monkeys to spot at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, and culinary tours of the island you can take.

You can fly direct from Manchester to Barbados with Aer Lingus. Credit: Unsplash, Tom Jur
You can fly direct from Manchester to Barbados with Aer Lingus. Credit: Unsplash, Tom Jur
You can fly direct from Manchester to Barbados with Aer Lingus. Credit: Unsplash, Tom Jur

Some of the best bits of Barbados lie just off its coast, and there are loads of boat trips you can book, where you can snorkel in the island’s beautiful waters. 

And the best time to head out to Barbados is when the weather is coldest back home – the island country is beautifully balmy and dry during the UK’s autumn, winter and spring. 

Whatever your perfect winter escape looks like, Aer Lingus can get you there – plus, with the friendliest cabin crew in the skies, there’s more than one reason to book your trip with the airline. 

Aer Lingus flights guarantee properly comfortable seats, in-flight entertainment, and meals on board, so your flight will quite literally fly by (but you might not want it to end). 

Or to start your bucket list trip off in the best way possible, there are business class flights to Barbados, with fully lie-flat seats, delicious seasonal meals, free WiFi, and so much more.

You can book your flight from Manchester to Barbados with Aer Lingus HERE. 

Read more: The beautifully restored VW camper van you can rent from Oldham

Featured image: Unsplash, Tom Jur

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Everything you need to know about Manchester Art Fair 2024

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester Art Fair is returning to our city centre once again next month, and there’s so much to look forward to.

Founded back in 2008, and going on to become one of the largest and most significant art fairs in the UK, Manchester Art Fair has cemented itself among the most celebrated cultural events in Greater Manchester‘s annual social calendar.

It’s known and loved for bringing together a wide range of artists, galleries and artist studios along with a full programme of talks and art classes.  

This year’s fair will feature more new names than ever before – with over a third of all exhibitors making their inaugural appearance.

Here’s everything you need to know about Manchester Art Fair 2024.

When and where is this year’s event?

Manchester Art Fair 2024 is taking over Manchester Central in the heart of the city centre. 

Set to transform the large venue into a vibrant gallery space, the highly-anticipated event will first open on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 November.

Manchester Art Fair is making a grand return to the city centre next month / Credit: Supplied

How many exhibitors will there be? And who are some of the big names set to appear?

Designed for the collector, the curator, and those who are just simply curious about art, Manchester Art Fair will be bringing together more than 500 individual artists and there’ll be 170 stalls to explore.

Lots of returning galleries and artists will be there too, and the majority of them will be displaying new works to the public.

Francis Iles Gallery and Linton 59 Gallery are among the newbies making their first appearance at the event in November, each showcasing works by an eclectic mix of UK and international artists, while Benjamin Thomas Taylor and Bob & Eve,  are just a couple of the stand-out names on the long list of individual artists who’ll be exhibiting.

There’s also an extended programme of high-profile talks and workshops to get involved with too, all included in the ticket price.

New this year are book signings with authors including Gemma Rolls Bentley championing queer art, Andy Spinoza with Manchester Unspun, DJ Dave Haslam and his book on Picasso’s nightlife and Mark Demsteader with his first book entitled Moorlands.

More than 170 exhibitors will gather together under one roof / Credit: Supplied

How can you buy art?

Manchester Art Fair is for everyone – whether you’re a seasoned collector in the market for the next big thing, or it’s your first time at an art fair and you’re just looking for the right piece to fill that empty space on your wall.

Buying art at the fair is simple.

Firstly, you’ll want to do a bit of research ahead of the event into the exhibitors and make a shortlist of stands you want to visit. Then once you’re there, it’s wise to go around the stands you’re interested in and speak to the exhibitors and artists to find out about the stories behind the works on offer to help you make your decision.

As tickets provide you access to the fair on both the Saturday and Sunday, you can come and go as you please and pop back in later to see if the same piece catches your eye a second time round.

Once you’ve made the decision to buy from the artist or gallerist, you can then get your piece wrapped free of charge to take home safely, and remember to submit your proof of purchase to get free entry to 2025’s edition of the fair.

Buying art at the fair is simple, and it’s for everyone / Credit: Supplied

What are the organisers saying?

Manchester Art Fair’s Director, Sophie Helm, said the anticipation for this year’s event is ‘building to unprecedented levels’.

“When we launched Manchester Art Fair 16 years ago, we never imagined that Manchester would take the event into their hearts as much as they have,” she said.

“It’s such fun to pull together all the art talks, workshops, demos and live events we have going on over the weekend and a real privilege to be able to see art lovers meeting artists and galleries in person and bringing home original art works with stories and meaning to hang at home.”

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Advanced tickets are now on sale / Credit: Supplied

How much are tickets? Where can I buy them? And what do they include?

Advance tickets for Saturday and Sunday, from 10am-6pm, are available for £12 before 14 November and £15 after that date, both plus a booking fee.

Under 16s do not need tickets to the event.

Manchester Art Fair 2024 will take over Manchester Central on Friday 15 November from 5pm until Sunday 17 November, and you can get yourself tickets online here.

Read more:

Featured Image – Supplied

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