Reviewing lunch time food and evening dining in Manchester's city centre
Posts tagged chicken
Zorbas, Arndale Market, Arndale Centre, Manchester
16 months ago
by Guest
in Food Shops
Many thanks to PieEater for his MANCMUNCH review that he submitted here.
I like my food. Cheap and plenty of it is my game. Zorba’s is the Greek outlet in the Food Court. Wide selection of your fave Greek treats such as kebabs, Stifado stew and so on.
Today I went for their Chicken & Spinach, with rice. A tasty meal of Chicken mixed with a herby spinach sauce. Decent portion, as with most places in the Food Court, served in a polystyrene tub. You can take-out as well, if you don’t fancy fighting for a table.
Good food, price isn’t so bad considering, would try again.
SPAR – City Tower, Piccadilly Plaza
01 year ago
by Gavlar
in Food Shops
As most of you that have read my reviews know, I am a great admirer of the meal deal from SPAR, this (sometimes expensive) convenience store is not normally my first choice for shopping establishments but since the City Tower chapter opened I have been converted (only at lunchtimes mind!).
The meal deal they provide is a perfect lunchtime filler at the standard price of £3
My last review of SPAR was for a wrap, and while the wraps were my preferred choice when it came to the SPAR meal deal, I have been seduced by the slightly more healthy* option of the pasta salad.
So, my meal choice of the last few weeks, and my reason for lack of reviews recently, has been the Honey and Mustard Chicken Pasta, Vimto and Mini Cheddars, and will be what I am reviewing today. As with my previous reviews, the drink and crisps come as standard so don’t want to focus on them as they taste the same regardless of where they are purchased.
The main part of the meal, is without a doubt, wonderful. You have to dig around for one that has a decent ratio of chicken to pasta but most of them (check at the back) are perfect. the pasta is cooked perfectly and the sweetcorn/peppers mix beautifully into it. The chicken isn’t amazing and is a bit on the thin side but is actual chicken and not some processed concoction you get from some takeaways. The whole thing is drizzled in a very nice honey/mustard dressing and finishes the dish off perfectly. I do advice giving the packet a shake before opening to get the dressing suitably covered over all the pasta, as it seems to settle a bit on the shelf. (Note: this does cover the provided fork in dressing so a napkin is required for a quick wipe).
As its pasta, it does tend to fill you up a bit more and I have sometimes found I leave the crisps for a later snack as am usually a bit full after I have washed everything down with a bit of Vimto, but I suppose I could always swap the crisps for some chocolate as allowed by the meal deal but then I do like having a snack in the afternoons 
* Health benefit claim is not based on any actual facts or figures just speculation and rumour
Save Our Sandwich, Fountain Street, Manchester
01 year ago
by i_am_big_g
in Cafe
To be honest, I only went in because Stevo had suggested it a couple of times and I couldnt say no for a 3rd time…
I had a quick browse through the sandwich menu and opted for a chicken, bacon & spinach mayo ciabata. The price was ok, but the sandwich was pretty uninspiring - not especially tasty and nothing to get excited about.
The only redeeming factor was the excellent selection of snacks they sell to accompany the sandwiches. I had a bag of onion rings which I can never resist and they were delicious. I think it sums up my enjoyment of the place - crisps ought to be the also ran, the inconsequential part of lunch to top off the carb level, but my onion rings are the only reason I’d go back…
Incidentally, why does everywhere charge so much for upgrading to a ciabata. Lucky that I’m so greedy, or I wouldn’t go for it!
Franklins Deli, York Street, Manchester
01 year ago
by i_am_big_g
in Cafe
I drive past this spot just before I reach the office every morning and when at a loose end yesterday lunchtime, I decided to pop in.
A good selection of is available from Franklins including carvery style hot meats, jacket potatoes, as well as the more standard hot and cold sandwiches.
Looking at the boards behind the counter, I immediately spotted the club sandwich special – described as being triple decked and overfilled with bacon, chicken, tomatoes and egg mayonnaise.
It certainly was over stuffed! It was one of the most delicious sandwiches I have had in a long time. I was barely able to take bites out of it because of how plentifully it was filled. The amount of egg mayonnaise was staggering, and I was not disappointed by the amount of bacon and chicken either.
What can I say other than go and try one!
As for the place itself, it was a little quiet and you got the feeling that you were taking the staff for a test drive; but, seeing as it has only been open for a few days, that’s no surprise.
As I had enjoyed it so much, I immediately recommended it to a colleague who popped in for a jacket potato with veggie chilli – which she enjoyed thoroughly.
I will be going back soon.
Rice, Piccadilly Gardens
11 year ago
Another late lunch and another decision to treat myself.
My lunch companion was Stevo again and as he was paying he made the decision – after a short walk from the office, we went to RICE
Being as we were having a late lunch (2.30pm), it was fairly quiet when we arrived – no queue, but lots of people still eating. I opted for the Nasi Goreng whilst Stevo had the Thai Green Curry with rice. The cost was £10.98 for the 2 (including our discount for having Piccadilly Partnership cards) and within 5 minutes we were walking back to the office with our food.
My Nasi Goreng was very tasty and I managed to get through it all. It contained plenty of chicken and prawns and the sauce it was cooked in gave it a lovely flavour. A good score – 4 out of 5.
Stevo’s Thai Green Curry. Packed with a good amount of chicken and the vegetable were cooked very well – they still had a great crunch to them. He thought it was very good but was spicier than usual which was the only problem – also a 4 out of 5.
In addition, the service was good and fast, the food boxes were crammed full and the food was piping hot. My only problem with RICE is the price – if it was less than a fiver each, it would be much more stomachable.
ALDI, Market Street
01 year ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
Chicken Salad Sandwich 99p
There must have been an altruistic psychic making sandwiches on the factory line for Aldi this morning. Knowing that a purchase from their paltry sandwich selection usually leads me inexorably into a mental battle with suicidal impulses this humane telepath clearly lent a generous hand in the preparation of the unusually agreeable ingredients.
Normally with a cheap-ass ALDI chicken/ham/bacon/insert-meat-here sandwich there is an almost profound abundance of salty sandy dryness, to the near exclusion of filling and sauce. This experience of painful aridity, akin to chewing on a used sandal, is what usually triggers my downward spiralling thoughts of permanent self-harm. In this instance, my unnamed guardian spotted this sad potential and sought to assuage my aching soul and rumbling stomach.
Resigning myself to the barren flavours but undeniable affordability of the meek chicken sandwich I tucked in, inconsolable tears of resignation threatening to flood my eyes, when suddenly my endorphins kicked in, seizing upon the slightest thread of zest and throttling the essence from it with every ounce of strength in my otherwise resource-depleted brain. Clawing back positivity from the black abysses of blandworld, it was like travelling the long savoury road to redemption via the medium of chewing.
Your mileage may vary, and this experience was particularly circumstantial, borne of impecunious financial standing and boosted by unexpected fervour responding to the natural elation of dodging suicide. But next time I’m staggering along Market Street screaming at the skies for inspiration and weeping at strangers to give me direction to food, I know I’ll be able to drag myself to the realisation that: the ALDI over there? It aint so bad. And thank goodness for their psychic staff…
Philpotts, City Tower, Manchester
21 year ago
by i_am_big_g
in Fast Food Chains
£6.10 for sandwich, tyrells crisps, can of pop and “divine” chocolate bar
Its fair to say that not much can go wrong with a chicken, bacon and avocado sandwich with a squeeze of lemon and a grind of S&P. Not much did go wrong and it was a tasty treat. Lots of mayo mixed in made it lovely and moist and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Then again, I paid £6.10 for lunch and I’d be pretty disappointed it it had not been enjoyable.
Verdict: – a good choice if you’re feeling flush or its raining and you dont want to let the rain ruin your ‘do
Zorba The Greek, Arndale Market, Manchester
21 year ago
by i_am_big_g
in Food Shops
Never been before despite many previous visits to the Arndale Market. We both had Chicken Yeeros (chicken kebab to you) and it was very tasty.
Being critical, they added salad etc to the first one which came out without first asking – I had that one as I’m not fussy.
Other than the tastiness, my only other comment would be it was heavy on the salas and light on the chicken.
Also, they had no chilli sauce left today which was disappointing.
Cost – £9.90 for 2 people which is not too bad for hot food, eaten in
Boots, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
41 year ago
by The Hobbit
in Food Shops
Meal: Boots Meal Deal, Chicken Sandwiches, Walkers Max Chargrilled Steak Crisps and a Strawberry and Banana Innocent Smoothie
I have been putting off reviewing a Boots Meal Deal for some time now, because I find it very hard to force myself to have a boring meal, Boots meal deals are generally not bad, but they are not that good either, today I decided to take one for the team.
Having walked into the store with and air of disappointment already hanging over me like a cloud, my mood soon brightened when, to my surprise many of sandwiches were ‘Triples’, with different fillings in each, WAHOO.
Feeling clucky I went with the chicken triple. The bacon sandwich was edible but the bacon was a combination of over crispified in parts with a mild front of mayo sogginess in majority of other areas, disappointing overall. The salad and chicken sandwich was better, all the salad filling was fresh and tasty but it seems the lettuce was seasoned with a essence of soil, again letting down the sandwich.
Spotting the cloud of disappointment reappearing on the horizon I started on the final chicken and stuffing sandwich and I have to say the cloud quickly dispersed. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the stuffing was as near perfection as you will get on a sandwich from a shop, only getting better if you raid the fridge on a boxing day morning for a leftover breakfast (don’t shake your head, we have all done it).
Overall the sandwiches were respectable, the chicken was excellent, only some of the ingredients of the meal let it down, with the size innocent smoothie working against the overall rating, luckily the crisps counter acted this.
Bagel Nash, Arndale Centre, Manchester city centre
31 year ago
by Mister Tum
in Food Shops
Chicken bacon cheese tomato club Panini £3.50
Overcoming my predilection for shunning fooderies with pretentious and/or irksome monikers I staggered into Bagel bloody Nash for a baked buggering potato, only to discover that they were off the menu. Settling on the Chicken bacon cheese tomato club Panini thing I sat and waited the thirty or so seconds to be served and was pleased to see they grilled it right there and then. Essentially comfort food with ingredients you wouldn’t turn away on a windy Manchester day this Panini ticked a bunch of hot food boxes and provided much-needed sustenance to a more than acceptable level. Sliced in twain twixt centre line, this cocksure little bagel-usurper proved doubly reassuring as one half alone would simply be criminally unfulfilling. Two halves made whole however equals wholesome and hearty fare which sates that unappeasable monster called hunger for at least another hour or two. Pricey but nicey.
Bagel Nosh Panini – way tastier than the sticker albums.
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