Tampopo Corn Exchange — Restaurant in Manchester

Tantalise your tastebuds with the flavours of the East at Tampopo

Off we went to Tampopo, because who says no to a little bit of Pan-Asian food. Tampopo has all the flavours from the East that you’re going to want to try and it’s all fresh and most definitely yummy. The decor helps with the feeling that you’re not in the doom and gloom of a wintery Manchester day, because who doesn’t need an escape sometimes.

Now back to the real stuff - the food and what variety they provided. To start, a Vegan Sharing Platter (ve) [£14.95], which contained; \Smacked Cucumber Salad - The thing we remember from this is the cucumbers, which were so lovely and spicy. Now cucumbers are good as they are but who would‘ve thought they could be even tastier - got to give this one a try \Mushroom Lettuce Wraps - The fresh chillies provided a kick, but it didn’t taste much like mushrooms so it works for those who don’t like mushrooms but want the chilli hit \Sticky Tofu - So nice with a different texture inside making it softer and not as dry as usual \Corn Fritters - Mmmm yes, dipped in peanut sauce and it was nice and light so you’re not too lethargic to carry on eating

Then on to some salads; \Spicy Thai Fruit Salad [£4.95] - With the sweetness of sugar, sourness of lime and earthiness of the fish sauce, you know you’re in for a mouthful of flavours. This was intense and a spicy kick. Methinks we prefer our fruit sweet though \Vietnamese Salad [£6.50] - More of a tangy salad with a mint, coriander and lime dressing \Japanese Salad (ve) [£5.95] - This one was more of a subtle flavour with the sesame and soy dressing providing the hit

Then we moved on to trialling some mains; \Katsu Udon Soup with Chicken [£10.95] - The Soy seasoned egg isn’t halal, so ask for without it. This was soo yummy and such a hearty meal to warm the winter belly. Only one way to eat this, and that’s to slurp them thick noodles. Thick noodles may not save lives, but they sure do make life taste better! \Nasi Goreng with Chicken [£10.25] - One of our go-to dishes and one we’ll continue going to. It was perfect and one of our favourites, reminding us of our Bali breakfasts \Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Tofu (ve) [£10.95] - It was ok, just an easy to eat dish but probably not one we’re going to get excited about \Tamarind Duck [£11.95] - Apparently the duck is halal, so give it a shot \King Pad Thai with Vegetables [£12.95] - So, we’re lazy and never have read this far on the menu for the description of Pad Thai and maybe we should have. The King aspect makes the dish encased in an omelette and so much more fun to eat

Got to keep the juices flowing, so we tried a Virgin Pina Colada (ve) [£4.50]. It was fresh, creamy and wholesome. It’s the kind of drink you have on a sunny beach and boy, we wished we were on a beach - no harm in pretending for a while.

Now, you may be wondering how we carried on eating but we were sharing with others...and who says no to a sweet ending; Roti Pancake [£4.95] - Buttery flaky roti which was like paratha and topped with condensed milk giving that sweet, filling feeling Mango Sorbet (ve) [£4.75] - This was perfect as a palette cleanser, with the mango not being too intense and yet so fresh

And at the end of all of that, we couldn’t move with our full and very happy bellies. Tampopo - we’ll be back!

Recommended for: Pan-Asian, Flavours, Variety One Thing: Nasi Goreng Price: ££ Halal: Chicken & Duck (ask for the halal menu as some soy contains alcohol & some beef...

This was my second visit to Tampopo. The first time was great, so I was looking forward to returning. Unfortunately, this time was quite disappointing.

We had booked a table for the last slot of the evening at 9pm. We arrived a little early, but as soon as we sat down, we were told we had to order immediately because the kitchen would be closing. If the kitchen closes at 9pm, it’s confusing why the system allows a 9pm reservation. It felt rushed and didn’t start the evening off well.

We ordered starters and mains. One of the starters, the spring rolls, was extremely oily (not what I would expect from a place with Tampopo’s reputation). It felt like less care had been taken with the preparation, perhaps because it was the final order of the night.

One of the mains was a fish dish with a sauce that was overwhelmingly spicy, althlugh spice level was 2/3). Just a small amount had both of us in tears. I don't believe anyone can eat that. The fish itself was unfortunately undercooked and raw near the bone. To their credit, the staff handled it professionally, promptly removing the dish from our bill and offering us the chance to order something else. However, since the kitchen had already closed, that wasn’t really a realistic option.

To add to the experience, there was no soap available in the men's toilet, something I luckily noticed before using it.

Overall, while the staff were polite and tried to handle the issues as best they could, the evening was disappointing. I hope this was just a one-off experience, as my first visit had been...

Staff were friendly and attentive from the moment we arrived until they all wished us goodbye as we left, in particular our main waitress, Emily. As is commonplace in many restaurants nowadays, we were requested to leave a review and I find this does inflate ratings on these review sites. It’s a perfectly nice place but not worthy of the 4.6 it currently has.

The food was fine, we shared the chicken pad Thai and chicken nasi goreng. Neither had enough meat and the former could have done with more flavour. The latter was tastier. We ordered a side of prawn crackers which came to £4.30 for six large ones and were ok but would expect something special for that price. For dessert we had a chocolate fondant which was delicious but small and my partner had mango sorbet which was nice. We had a beer and a pot of tea and all of this came to £60 which was not good value for money.

Atmosphere was quite nice, plenty of Asian touches but felt a bit cheap although if being generous it represented what you’d find in many street restaurants in Asia, so maybe marks for authenticity. A nice buzz in there and staff in good spirits.

If looking for a quick bite to eat with a good range of options in a relaxed atmosphere then not a bad shout but if watching the pennies or looking for something a bit special then I’d...