Hello Oriental, which was recently described in The Times as a ‘northern powerhouse of Asian street food’, has just updated their already extensive menu. Diners can now enjoy fifteen new dishes and six brand new cocktails at the three-storey food hall.
The additional dishes are a mixture of the favourite foods of co-owners Ricky Yip and Azim Kourah, as well as staff requests and areas where they felt there was an obvious gap in the menu like the sweet and sour chicken and East Asian Curries.
The new menu also includes Hainanese Chicken (£13.95), a dish of poached chicken served with seasoned rice, dipping sauces and cucumber garnishes. Ricky and Azim have been friends since meeting at primary school in Oldham and this dish is one of their favourites from that time. Azim recalls going round to his best friend Ricky’s house and enjoying an extensive range of traditional Chinese and Southeast Asian foods, including Hainanese Chicken.
Another favourite is Sticky Lime Chicken Wings, often ordered after a few beers at K2 Karaoke, another venue in the Yip family group of Manchester businesses. Teriyaki and Sesame Glazed Wings have also been added to the new menu.
Three new noodle dishes include Stir Fried Udon Chicken, Stir Fried Udon Prawn and Korean Blackbean Noodles. Udon Noodles are thicker noodles, soft with a slight bite and perfect for absorbing the flavours of whatever they are cooked with.
Customers can also order a new traditional Filipino breakfast dish, Longsilog, a served with Filipino sausages, as well as an additional Teriyaki Beef Bao, to sit alongside the other four baos available on the OG menu.
For carb lovers who enjoy a western spin on traditional dishes there are now Kimchi Cheese Fries, Szechuan spicy fries and Satay Duck Fries. New curry dishes include Thai Green Curry with Chicken or Prawn, Massaman Duck Curry and Coconut Curry with Chicken or Tofu (all £9.95.) Other new main courses include Sweet & Sour Chicken and Blackbean Crispy Beef.
New Vietnamese dishes available on the mezzanine floor at RICE PAPER PHO include Pho Vietnamese Fishcake (£10.95), Bun Hue Vietnamese Fishcake (£10.45) and summer rolls with Beef Brisket or Fishcake (both £6.45)
The cocktail menu has also had a refresh, and now features a special Manchester cocktail with a charitable twist. The Vimto sour is a bold, zesty & sweet cocktail made with vodka, lychee syrup, lemon juice & most importantly Vimto – arguably the signature taste of Manchester. Priced at £8.95, 50 pence from each one sold will be donated to local non-profit Eat Well MCR. Hello Oriental is a frequent supporter of Eat Well MCR, having previously hosted a fundraising evening and cooking meals that Eat Well deliver to young people from Hulme and Moss Side.
Other new cocktails include Lychee Breeze: a refreshing cocktail with a lychee and Thai basil base (£8.95), Mango Martini: vodka, Martini, mango purée, lime juice, and vanilla syrup (£8.45), Midori Long Island: the classic cocktail with a sweet melon Midori twist (£9.95), Peach Iced-Tea: Peach Iced-Tea cocktail with a touch of tequila (£9.95) and 5 Spice Dark & Stormy: 5 spice infused dark rum with ginger and lime (£8.45)
These sit alongside current cocktails: Snap fizzy pop, a perfect sweet and sour mix of gin, Disaronno & refreshing lime, (£9.95) and Boozy bubble tea, now available in grape, lychee and strawberry (£9.95)
Hello Oriental’s extensive menu now has over 100 items on it. Diners can grab something from the bakery on the top floor, head downstairs to sample an extensive Vietnamese menu, or enjoy more traditional Chinese roast meats served on rice, or a variety of dim sum on the lower floor. There are also elegantly presented and stunning platters of sushi available to enjoy.
The venue, situated in Circle Square just off Oxford Road, has been open since February this year and received rave reviews, with The Sunday Times describing it as ‘a lot of fun’ and ‘seriously affordable’.
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