Cheapskate... where to eat out for under £15
Telephone: 0161-835 3536
Address: Simply Heathcotes, Jacksons Row, Deansgate, Manchester M2 5WZ
Paul Heathcote now has eateries in Preston and this bright space in Manchester. Top-notch Euronosh, thoughtfully cooked, reasonably priced, and, with the Menu Rapide - £12.50 for two courses, £14.50 for three, served 11.45am-2.30pm and 5.30-7pm - swiftly prepared from well-chosen ingredients that nab the palate and leave you with an unheavy satiety. The menu changes daily, but typically offers tangy slow-roasted pork with poached pear, earthy chargrilled lamb chops with bubble and squeak polenta, hake with saffron and mussel risotto, and a tantalising trio of plum tarte tatin, prunes and Armagnac ice cream. Proper food, that.
Quick bites... where to eat out in under 15 minutes
Telephone: 0161-236 2346.
Address: Wong Chu Chinese Restaurant, 63 Faulkner Street, Manchester M1 4FF.
Bustling Hong-Kongesque emporium in Manchester's Chinatown. All the usual favourites in the menu, but the real treats are at the back. Complete rice dishes, chow mein, ho fun and noodle soup (£3.80-£6.00) prepared before your eyes. Amidst much chopping and steam emerge piles of roast duck, char siu, crispy pork, beef, chicken, prawn, squid, bean curd and vegetables in whatever combination you fancy atop perfectly cooked rice, unctuous crispy noodles, reassuringly fat rice sticks or delicate mixed-meat broth with soft vermicelli. Fast, furious and fun. Wong Chu turns up the heat on better-known rivals. And the Chinese tea is free.
On the menu: colcannon
Country of origin? Ireland.
Ingredients? Mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale.
Hang on a sec. I thought we did that last week.
That was champ, mash with spring onions, another thing entirely. Oh. How so? With colcannon you can add onions, shallots or leeks, and cream and butter to the mash and cabbage, and not be accused of heresy. And you serve it in bowls with a large blob of butter on top.
Sounds like bubble and squeak. Bubble and squeak is fried. Frying colcannon is forbidden by law.
Just out
Uncle Ben's Rispinos Rice Snacks
Form: Small biscuits of compacted rice.
Flavour: Caramel, chocolate, and apple and cinnamon-flavoured Rispinos all carry the ghost of the flavouring agent, which isn't enough to counter the puffed wheat flavour of the rice.
Verdict: "Less than1% fat" trumpets the packet. It's less than 1% of anything, including calories. It's like eating crisp polystyrene. The texture is everything - flavour is almost non-existent. But they are pleasant and one is never enough.
Price: 27p per 27g pack of 10 Rispinos or 59p per 60g bag.
Food on the net
www.valvonacrolla.com
Needs no introduction - the online arm of the fabled Italian delicatessen launched earlier this year to serve its loyal following. Pros: Around 300 to 400 of the most popular and more obscure lines including malt whiskies, amarena cherries, panforte and their own fonteluna sausage.
Cons: A hand-holding approach towards the scary business of e-commerce.
Delivery: Varies by region. Orders must be placed by 10am. Premium/ standard for delivery next day on UK mainland and economy for delivery within eight working days.
Charges: Free on orders over £100. £5 for economy service on mainland.
