Bury New Road, Whitefield
Whitefield is fast becoming the place to eat out, with new restaurants popping up in the premises once occupied by pubs, shops, banks and building societies. 8 Manchester is a contemporary, stylish, upmarket Chinese restaurant with an authentic feel. The use of 'Manchester' in the title is a subtle hint that you can expect not only the quality of food and service which you would expect in the centre of town, but the same kind of prices too.
The restaurant interior is dark with stylish wall lighting, creating the ambience of a suave nightclub. It's not just a restaurant, it doubles up as a bar, with high booth seating, perfect for enjoying a cocktail or too before you sit down for your meal. The bar area is separate from the restaurant, which is an added bonus, as it makes the table seating in the main eating area much more relaxed and tranquil. The partition walls are built from black, wicker-style oriental patterns, adding to the authenticity of the place. Couple this with the ornate ceilings and walls left behind from the old bank and it makes for a stunning interior.
The food on offer is exactly what you'd expect from a Chinese restaurant, with lots of speciality choices too. You're guaranteed to find your favourite dish on the menu. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to Chinese cuisine, always preferring to play it safe. On my first visit, I did exactly that, opting for sesame prawn toast for starters. It was a generous portion and very tasty, without the grease that normally with takeaway versions. You can't really go wrong with prawn toast, it's always a safe bet.
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| Sesame Prawn Toast |
On my return visit, I had the
rather ominous-sounding crispy seafood rolls. I ordered them with trepidation,
not knowing what to expect. They were almost like a flattened spring roll,
filled with a mixture of seafood. I couldn’t tell you exactly what, as it all
tasted the same. There were definitely some nice juicy prawns in there, though.
They were served with an indistinguishable mayonnaise-style sauce. Tasty
enough, but not something I’d order again. On this occasion, my dining
companion had salt and pepper crispy squid. She was presented with a mountain
of battered seafood which was delicious and perfectly seasoned. The rubbery
texture of calamari puts me off, but this wasn’t at all chewy.
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| Crispy Seafood Rolls |
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| Salt and Pepper Crispy Squid |
The squid lacked a sauce. My
friend asked for a sweet chilli dip to accompany it, as was necessary given the
saltiness of the dish. This was its only real fault, as it was a huge portion
for a starter, and beautifully presented.
On the first occasion, for
main course, I had sweet and sour chicken, my ultimate favourite Chinese dish.
It was, most certainly, one of the nicest sweet and sour dishes I’ve ever had.
The chicken was beautifully succulent and it was packed full of colourful,
juicy vegetables. The sauce was the ideal consistency, not too thick, and the
balance between the sweet and the sour flavour was just right. I know that
sounds like an obvious statement, but all too often it can be overly sweet and
sticky.
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| Sweet and Sour Chicken |
Second time round, I had
crispy shredded beef in a sweet and sticky caramelised sauce (they need to
think of a more concise name). My mouth can’t handle spice, so I have to be
careful with my selections. As the name suggests, it was very similar to a
sweet and sour dish, but with less sauce. My friend had the chef’s special beef
curry, which was delicious, full of flavour and no spice, just the way I would
like it. The beef, in both dishes, was succulent and juicy and not at all
tough.
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| Chef's Special Beef Curry (left); Shredded Beef in a Sweet and Sticky Caramelised Sauce (right) |
Side dishes came in the form
of jasmine rice, egg fried rice and soft noodles with bean sprouts. The bowls
of rice are only small, definitely intended to be for an individual portion, in
stark contrast to the noodles, which there were loads of, almost enough for
them to be a meal in their own right. There is a large selection of different
fried rice and noodle dishes available, but I certainly wouldn’t order anything
that wasn’t standard, as the special ones are hideously overpriced. £10.95 for
fried rice with vegetables, for example, is obscene and would easily double the
cost of your main course when added to the price of your dish.
Although the portions were
decent sizes, they weren’t huge, as I could tell by the fact that I still had
enough room for dessert. I wasn’t about to complain though, as often the
downfall of a Chinese meal is that you are stuffed to the brim by the end of
the main course. It’s a compact dessert menu, with a couple of options, a ‘Cake
of the Day’, ice cream and a rather gorgeous looking fruit platter. Excitingly,
cheesecake is a regular fixture on the menu, with the flavour changing daily. On
Christmas Eve, it was white chocolate and strawberry. Having eaten an awful lot
of cheesecake in my lifetime, I’m something of a connoisseur. And as
cheesecakes go, it wasn’t the best. The flavour was delicious, and the texture
was soft and creamy, which is how I like a cheesecake, rather than the hard and
stodgy American baked version. However,
there was no biscuit base, which is a vital ingredient in a cheesecake. Without
it, it’s incomplete. It was also a little bit sloppy, almost as though it
hadn’t quite had enough time to set. Naturally, it could have also been
slightly larger for my liking.
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| White Chocolate And Strawberry Cheesecake |
Overall, 8 Manchester is a
thrilling and exciting new restaurant which offers fantastic food and an
excellent ambience, bringing the Manchester vibe to the heart of Whitefield. It
does, however, bring with it a Manchester price range. I would argue that it is
slightly too expensive, especially for a brand new restaurant that has yet to
become established. With business booming, I hope they don’t become too big for
their boots and increase the prices even further.
With the recent closure of The
China Lounge, it’s the only Chinese restaurant we have locally and, judging by
the quality of it, it will probably be the only one we have for a long time, as
it’ll be hard to beat. Whilst it may have to be reserved for a special occasion,
they have recently introduced a Sunday menu, giving you the opportunity to
enjoy soup, a selection of starters and a main course for £14.95, which is
sensationally good value compared with the a la carte prices.
8 Manchester is swanky,
stylish and sophisticated; an all-new Chinese dining experience.
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