Manchester is terribly spoiled when it comes to Cantonese, Szechuan, Hong Kong and Hunanese cuisine. It’s thanks in part to having the second biggest Chinatown in the UK, second only to London, and the third biggest in Europe.
Crammed into the square divided up by Faulkner Street, with its famous ornate archway, on one side and George Street on the other, the sheer volume of supermarkets and restaurants (and the odd karaoke spot) is dazzling, having grown slowly but surely since the 1950s, when Manchester welcomed its first Chinese restaurants.
Catering for all tastes - from the adventurous seeking nose to tail eating, to those just after a steadying plate of noodles - Chinatown these days is every bit as vibrant, whether you require a steaming bowl of Vietnamese pho or some stylish sushi. But the best Chinese cuisine isn't just limited to the confines of Chinatown. There are gems all over the city.
Here’s a rundown of the best places to head to...
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Blue Eyed Panda, Ancoats
It started life as a take-away on Great Ancoats Street (and judging by the Deliveroo riders streaming in and out of the doors, still does a roaring take-out trade), but now the Blue Eyed Panda has its own restaurant. There's a no-nonsense menu of Cantonese classics such as honey-glazed roast char siu pork and Szechuan staples such as hot poached beef in chilli oil.
Diners can expect to find all their familiar favourites, from salt and pepper chicken to crispy chilli beef, alongside soup dumplings and other dim sum, and a selection of daily-changing specials. The decor has been kept simple inside the 50-cover restaurant, with large windows on two sides, brushed concrete floors, and wooden tables and chairs with colourful painted legs.
3 Jersey St, Manchester M4 6JA | blueeyedpanda.co.uk
Live Seafood, Beswick
Described by Guardian critic Jay Rayner as 'delightfully nuts', this Beswick restaurant allows you to pick your seafood, alive and swimming, from a tank before your meal. The restaurant on Ashton Old Road is brilliantly bonkers (there are Finding Nemo pictures smiling at you while you eat your fish) but also serves some of the most exciting Chinese food in the city.
The whole seabass is sliced and deep-fried so that its flesh stands up like a porcupine. Just don't be alarmed if a rogue fairy light ends up on your plate with your dinner.
163 Ashton Old Rd, M11 3WU | liveseafood.co.uk
Happy Seasons, Chinatown
The only problem with Happy Seasons, if indeed it is a problem, is resisting the urge to go every time you’re within smelling distance of Chinatown, and ignore everywhere else as a result. Once you’ve experienced its roasts meats, nothing else is quite up to snuff.
The crisp of the pork belly, the burnished duck - roasting in what looks and sounds like a jet engine - and the sticky-sweet char sui are all magnificent, served with a cursory few leaves of Chinese cabbage and on a bed of boiled rice. Nothing more fancy is required to raise this dish to perfection. If you can drag yourself away, the beef brisket soup is also spectacular.
59 Faulkner St, M1 4FF | happyseasons.has.restaurant
Tattu, Spinningfields
Situated at the lower end of Spinningfields, Tattu boasts some of the most spectacular dining surroundings in Manchester. Downstairs, guests are greeted by a wall of roses alongside hanging anchors and ropework, while upstairs, a gigantic pink cherry blossom tree holds court.
The menu offers a modern, luxe spin on Chinese cuisine, and a drinks list that champions creative cocktails, plus wine, sake and beers. For Chinese New Year, the space will be transformed with Chinese lanterns, and the restaurant will serve a menu of traditional new year's dishes, such as red pepper lamb cutlets.
3 Hardman Square, M3 3EB | tattu.co.uk
Red Chilli, Chinatown
Red Chilli has two Manchester restaurants, including one on Oxford Road, but the Portland Street branch, on the edge of Chinatown, will put you at the heart of the Chinese New Year festivities.
Fiery Szechuan and Beijing specialities are the order of the day here, and what they can do with a pork belly and some preserved cabbage is almost worthy of sainthood. But there are plenty of less familiar choices to tempt you away from your usual crispy chilli beef (although you can get that here too). Feeling brave? How about the ox heart, ox tongue and ox tripe in a spicy beansprout stew, or sauteed pig’s intestine rings with chilli? It's true nose to tail eating here.
To drink there's a reasonable wine selection as well as a range of Chinese spirits and soft drinks to try.
70-72 Portland St, M1 4GU | redchillirestaurant.co.uk
Ruyi Vegetarian House, Chorlton
If you’ve ever looked longingly as other diners tuck into crispy duck pancakes or satay chicken while you ‘enjoy’ some limp vegetables in sweet and sour sauce then this suburban gem in Chorlton (formerly found in the parish of Withington) is the place for you.
Known as Lotus in a previous life, the new owners have changed the name but kept much the same menu and concept. Specialising in vegetarian and vegan mock meats made with soya, wheat and whey proteins, you won’t feel like you’re missing out again with a never-ending menu of creative and inspired dishes.
101 Manchester Rd, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9GA | instagram.com/ruyi.vegetarian | 0161 445 7457
Sweet Mandarin, Northern Quarter
Sweet Mandarin opened on High Street, in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, in 2004 and went on to appear on Gordon Ramsay’s F Word, where it beat 10,000 other establishments to be named the nation’s best local Chinese restaurant.
The family-run restaurant serves up recipes passed down to owners Helen and Lisa Tse from their late grandmother, the well-known Middleton restaurateur Lily Kwok, such as jungle green curry, beef curry and clay pot chicken. There are separate menus for vegan and gluten-free diners too with plenty of choice for both.
19 Copperas St, M4 1HS | sweetmandarin.com
The Rice Bowl, city centre
One of the oldest family-run restaurants in Manchester, if not the oldest, The Rice Bowl set up in Cross Street in 1960 and has been going ever since, with the original owner’s niece now running the show.
The dim sum selection is enormous, rendering decision-making pretty difficult. Your best bet is to ask your server for a surprise selection - just make sure they throw in a couple of the baked dim sum pastries. The main menu is just as expansive but the set menu deals make it easier to choose - and they’re a steal. The drinks list isn’t quite so long as the food menu, so keep it simple with a Tsing Tao beer or a green tea if you’re feeling virtuous.
33a Cross Street, M2 1NL | the-rice-bowl.com
Wing's, Lincoln Square
A firm favourite with Manchester's footballing fraternity, Lincoln Square restaurant Wing's is frequented by United and City players (Van Gaal was a big fan during his time here).
Mr Wing himself is a professional and attentive host and a relic of old-school hospitality, who can usually be seen quietly weaving in and out of tables, greeting guests and checking everyone is happy. The menu offers wealthy guests ample opportunity to flash the cash, with dishes including abalone at £85.90 a pop. Main courses generally hover between £15 to £30 though, with dim sum coming in at a more affordable price. Seafood is a particular speciality.
1 Lincoln Square, M2 5LN | wingsrestaurant.co.uk
Mei Dim
Another Chinatown staple, head down the stairs to Mei Dim for a reliably great for a feast of dim sum - and often reliably reasonable too. The siu mai are always bulging with pork and prawns, feeling rather more homemade than some other lesser spots we could name, and the place is generally buzzing - always a good sign.
It's basic, no frills stuff, but sometimes that fits the bill precisely.
45 Faulkner St, M1 4EE
Peace Garden
Very much worth the journey out of Chinatown, Peace Garden is the real deal, with benchmark takes on the classics, like a proper Peking Duck, which is carved at the table with a huge cleaver.
Mao’s braised pork belly is another essential order - it simply melts - while the whole crispy fish, fried and then covered in proper sweet and sour sauce, is an absolute showstopper when it arrives at the table.
57 Booth St W, Manchester M15 6PQ / Peacegarden-restaurant.com/
Chef Diao
Always packed out, seemingly whatever time of day you stroll past, Chef Diao is another cracking spot outside of the hubbub of Chinatown. On its own at the north end of Oldham Street, the menu promises a ‘culinary journey’.
Fantastic dim sum is always on offer, with the restaurant’s namesake always grafting away in the kitchen too, assembling those little bundles of steamed joy.
90-94 Oldham St, Manchester M4 1LJ / Chefdiao.com/
Hong Kong Choi
Way out in Salford, you’ll find some of the very best Hong Kong cuisine in the whole city, courtesy of this family-run gem. Unlike any menu you’ll see anywhere else, it make take you a few trips to explore it all.
The brisket soup and the beef short rib are absolute musts, but then so are some of the many fusion dishes that keep regulars returning, like the African chicken and the Hong Kong style bolognese. A truly unique spot.
Unit 4C, 175 Broughton Ln, Salford M7 1US / Hongkongchoi.co.uk/
Mr Hong’s
Also known under the slightly less inspiring name BBQ Chinese Restaurant, Mr Hong’s is an absolute wonderland of Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine, with a menu filled equally with bewilderingly niche dishes (from stewed bullfrog to trotters) to classics.
There are two menus (red for the more recognisable, blue for the adventurers), but both lead to a busy and vibrant kitchen serving a generally packed restaurant full of Chinese families, students, foodie tourists and everything in between. The BBQ skewers are stunning value and the ‘hot and numbing’ braised pork is a must.
45-47 Faulkner Street (upper ground floor), Manchester M1 4EE
