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Restaurant and dining guide

Ning restaurant at the end of Oldham Street is a little gem I discovered last year and instantly loved. I’m sure it’s busier every time I go and it was filling up nicely on Tuesday evening.

One of the crowd-pullers is the great value set menu, which is from £10.95 for two courses. It is also now open on Friday lunchtimes, and also Sunday from 4-10pm. Manager Andy Spracklen is also on Twitter as @itsaningthing so follow him for the latest news and offers. With a new website on its way it’s fair to say Ning is going places and the food really speaks for itself.

The menu is mainly Malaysian with a few Thai and South East Asian dishes for variety. Malaysian cooking uses a lot of coconut milk throughout and is sometimes heavier than Thai food. The executive chef Norman Musa is Malaysian, so the food is authentic and freshly prepared.

The range of hearty starters can easily fill you up. The spring rolls are excellent, as is the chunky and spicy Tom Yam soup. This week I tried the Peppercorn calamari (£4.95) which was a plate of deep fried squid with no hint of chewiness about it, served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce. Chicken Murtabak (£5.95) sounded unusual so we gave that a whirl. The thick mamak-style pancakes were a dry cooked flaky bread, filled with curry-flavoured chicken, onion, potato, egg and coriander, also served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Main courses include a range of stir fries and curries and this time the Prawn Gulai (£9.50) really hit the spot. A thick curry sauce with a flavour of lime juice was interspersed with king prawns and shredded carrot. Although flagged as thick and fiery, it had a great kick but wasn’t too spicy to enjoy.

The other dish we tried was the Beef Rendang (£9.25), which is a dry curry, which means the beef is simmered in spices and coconut milk until most of the liquid is gone and you’re left with a flaky thick meat curry. Accompaniments of coconut rice (£2.30) and egg fried rice (£2) soaked up the juices, while a bowl of prawn crackers (£1) gave me something to munch on while everything arrived.

Sabai (£3) was one of the South East Asian drinks on offer, which is a Thai blend of wine and hibiscus juice and is a lovely sunny drink. Also sampled was a bottle of Anchor beer (£3.70), from Singapore, which you won’t find anywhere else in Manchester.

The dessert menu features this amazing dairy ice cream from Cheshire, and they even make a special South East Asian flavour for Ning (£2.75 for two scoops). The chocolate and chilli ice cream is definitely recommended just because its so unusual. The chocolate is all lovely and smooth, and then the spice hits the back of your throat for a surprise kick. All good fun!

Ning, 92-94 Oldham Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1LJ.
T: 0161 238 9088
W: www.ningcatering.com