This’n’That, 3 Soap Street, Manchester (Review no. 2)

Check the first one out here. Like I said before, why try something new when you know what you like (this joke’s getting pretty used by now, so I’ll stop here).

When we were in Manchester some weeks ago, we knew what we HAD to have for lunch. Previously, This’n’That had small windows in the day when they were open, so it was kind of a 50:50 whether it was opened when you got there or not. They’ve extended their opening hours now, and are open Sundays, so there’s no need to bring along some sustenance in case it’s shut.

Most of the reviews on this place mention something about what it looks like, something along the lines of ‘moderately furnished’. Seeing as I’m not a person who can describe things very well, I figured I’d take a picture of it instead.

Picnic chairs and tables is as descriptive as I can get. But don’t let this fool you. Behind these plastic chairs and tables are some of the nicest curry dishes you can find in Manchester.

It’s an easy concept, really. You don’t pay for their high-street rent, so the food is cheap. The restaurant’s been there for years, so they’ve had plenty of practice at what they do.

Their menu is certainly quite tiny, and stuck on the wall with little squares for different days. Organisational skills - so much easier for the customer.

This nice man puts whatever you point to onto the plate, and he doesn’t skimp on it either. Whatever you point to, he heaps onto the plate.

With such an easy ordering process, it takes alot of effort not to point at everything. This is what I had (cost about £4 per plate). Cabbage of some sort, spinach and lamb curry, and potatoes at the top of the plate.

The potatoes were fluffy and not too spicy, the spinach was so tender and cooked so well with the lamb, and the cabbage was slightly soft but flavourful, with some spices used in the cooking.

The best thing on the plate was the rice. Don’t get me wrong, everything else was just so tasty, but the rice was even tastier than its friends. It must have been cooked in some stock or something, which made each bit of rice fluffy and tasty, even when eaten on its own.

This is why you should control that finger, and not let it point at everything.

As I look at this mountain, my head starts bobbing to the tunes of ‘You Can’t Touch This’, by MC Hammer. But, I’m not the kind to be easily defeated by a plate of food, so with rolled-up sleeves, utensils in both hands, and the song still going, I set off on the plate.

As a friend says, ‘If everyone has a few mouthfuls, it’s all gone.’

(No one’s having a few mouthfuls of this)

A similar-looking plate, but this one was my friend’s. She, too, set off looking determined to defeat the plate, although the soundtrack was probably something different, something more current perhaps.

To prove that the pics weren’t of the same plate of food, this one has some keema curry on it, pretty much minced meat curry. The little green chillies you see on the plate above were consumed by my friend, who then sweated quite profusely.

Would I come back to this place? Definitely, every time we’re in Manchester. The thing is, it’s quite a small place so I don’t reckon I want to share this with too many people.

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