Manchester was full of excitement and absolutely thriving over the bank holiday weekend with an array of events taking place across the city from Manchester Pride to Festa Italiana. However, over the weekend also saw one of Manchester’s sushi spots crowned a regional winner in an epic street food battle.
Eleven of the best traders in the North battled it out at the British Street Food Awards in Manchester’s Circle Square, hosted by Grub, with one of the city’s own businesses taking the crown for the People’s Choice award. Unagi, which has branches in Altrincham and Wilmslow, as well as pop-ups at Lime Bar at Salford Quays and The George Charles in Didsbury plus a shipping container slinging plenty of fresh sushi in the Green Quarter, won the award thanks to their succulent bang bang wings and Mushu special roll.
Unagi beat the likes of Archchi’s with their traiditional Sri Lankan curry bowl and fish cutlets, Pellizco’s masa fried chicken tacos and elotes and Porco’s V8 Burger and seared pork belly rib. There were also entries from Northern food businesses Ted’s Tacos, Posh Street Food, Kara’s Kitchen, Shoot The Bull, Dosa and Skullduggery.
The judges worked their way through two dishes entered by each finalist. But, by the end, they were unanimous in their choice of champion. The Judge’s Choice award went to Mr Murray’s Scotch Eggs of Lytham St Anne’s, as the judges loved “the properly Northern quality” to James’ dish and enjoyed the parched peas, which are a Lancashire staple on Bonfire Night, and the Bury black pudding that was wrapped around the eggs with the beautiful runny yolks.
Judge and two-time winner of TV food programme, Great British Menu, Adam Reid, described the Bury black pudding Scotch egg as “more innovative than anything I’ve eaten today”. The chef at The Midland Hotel in Manchester has also recently opened The Butty Shop in the food hall and music venue New Century, even saying he’d like to add these award-winning Scotch eggs to his menu.
Of the eleven traders, two will be heading to London for the grand final of the British Street Food Awards over the weekend of September 9-11, and just maybe, they may even attend the European Street Food finals in Munich between October 7-9.