cheap eats in manchester

[nick74]

I'm going to be in the city for an evening this week - where should i eat. needs to be on the cheap side. usually i head straight for Bar Burrito for good mexican but was thinking of a change ...

[chief1284]

Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli, Red Chilli

Probably my favourite Chinese restaurant in Britain. It's on Portland Street.

Easy to eat for around £12 a head. Actually when I say eat, I mean feast. Get one of the clay pots and/or what they call hot pots (though they are not what you might think of as Sichuanese hotpot - just small burners of molten deliciousness). Oh and definitely get jiaozi's (or Beijing Dumplings as they appear on the menu).

[Harters]

Assuming you're going to want to stay in the city centre and your definition of "cheap" is my definition of "cheap":

Indian - Eastzeast or Akbars
Cantonese - any number of places Chintown
Sichuanese - Red Chilli or new kid on the block Red n Hot
Armenian - Armenian Taverna
Brit - Mr Thomas Chop House or the bar at the Modern (the restaurant itself isnt "cheap", but nit is good value)
Lebanese - Cedar Tree
Thai - Chaophraya
Turkish - Cafe Istanbul

[chief1284]

Yes! Akbars. I should've mentioned that too.

And Red n Hot isn't actually new, just nobody's noticed it till recently! I recently moved away from Manchester but spent the best part of a year trying to get friends to go there with me, but failed because we'd always get sucked into Red Chilli. I've been since to the London branch and had proper hotpot. Pretty damn good, although not amazing value in all fairness. The a la carte stuff isn't expensive though.

[Sharmila]

I've been to Red Chilli a lot and I love it, but I've never been to the Red N Hot in Manchester. I'm going to be up there just after Christmas and was intending to go to Red Chilli again. How does Red N Hot compare? Is it worth me trying to break my Red Chilli habit?

[chief1284]

Actually I've only been once and only had hotpot. I saw people on other tables eating normal dishes and they looked good. It certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to go there once to check it out. Whether it would be up to Red Chilli standards, I couldn't say. I think it probably would.

[fat boy slim]

It took me quite a while to be brave enough to pass by the door of Red Chilli after my many addictive visits, however I,m glad to report that we ventured up those steep steps into Red-n-Hot and we were very glad we did.
In fact it was that good on my next visit to the rainy city, we may well go here again.
Thats not to say we have deserted the mother ship its just good to have a choice

[alexdz]

Tai Wu. Go for dim sum at lunch time. It's cheap, and really good.

[nick74]

i went for Red Chilli. It was brilliant. Beef flank and Rice and bejing dumplings. thanks for all the advice

[Harters]

"And Red n Hot isn't actually new, just nobody's noticed it till recently!"

It's newish (and new in comparison with other Chinatown places). Until a couple of years ago it was Penang Palace - the only Malaysian place in the city centre. On another well known board, mention is made of Ning - a Malaysian owned place in the Northern Quarter. Havnt eaten there yet and I gather it's a bit "generic eastern", chucking in Thai and Chinese dishes as well