Ning

Jonathan Schofield goes to Ning and finds it charming in the evening

Date Published: 31/03/2008

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The last time I reviewed Ning, eighteen months or so ago, for the Manchester Evening News, I was ambivalent – despite what the the artfully edited snippets cut from the review might suggest on the website. The Malay and Thai food was ok, but the rest was unsure of itself.

It was a visit where you go expecting an average filler meal before the Friday fun starts and it delivered a gem of a dinner at an excellent price

In particular I was doubtful about the location. Could any business with aspirations such as this, survive in the rust-belt environment of upper Oldham Street - a four hundred yard drag which seems impervious to change? There're more shrubs growing out of buildings here than anywhere in Central Manchester, which is a bad sign. And it’s got worse recently with retailers such as the fancy dress shop, Anything Theatrical (with its odiously rude owner), closing down or about to close down.

Yet Ning has survived.

A minor, but important, improvement has been with the carpets. They've now got some. Ning seemed to think it was trendy to have a bare concrete floor at the start. It was a silly decision. The decor was sharp and clever with that vivid chrysanthemum feature wall, clever but cold: at a stroke it's moved to welcoming.

The major improvement has come with the food - the reason why Ning has not only survived but thrived. On Friday night it was simply wonderful, much, much better than I remember, quite clearly due to a different crew in the kitchen. With main courses just about all under a tenner I’m nominating Ning for the current best value, best tasting meals in town.

The Nesi Lemak (Ł9.95), was the first amongst equals. It was a main of fragrant fried chicken breast, coconut rice, egg, cucumber, coriander and chilli sambal paste (a condiment made from a variety of peppers). All this, together with a pile of crispy anchovies too.

I loved this dish. It was fresh, light, invigorating and beautifully presented. The fragrancy was the key. This was so pronounced that you could put it on the mantlepiece and it’d be better than a vase of daffs. The sambal paste on the beautifully cooked chicken was a revelation of gentle lifting heat, which made the meat more intense. I still have no idea where the crispy anchovies fitted in, but they were a welcome oddity.

Before that I’d had the best Tom Yam soup (Ł5.25) I can recall. This aromatic, hot and herby broth came with mussels, squid and prawns. It was that most marvellous of combinations, delicate yet powerful. The seafood presence helped, especially the chewy squid which added body. Not that the broth wouldn’t have been anything but spectacular anyway: you could fill a flask with it and live off it or years.

Another starter of Cucur Udang (Ł5.52) was a beauty. The main feature were the lightest of floaty fritters with prawn and vegetables which came with peanut sauce, cucumber and, rather like the anchovies mentioned above, a pointless blob of tofu. The latter was the only rubbish thing about the whole meal.

To round of the mains, the Rendang (Ł8.95) was just a little below the standard of the other dishes. This was slowly cooked beef in coconut milk, lemongrass, chilli and galangal (a form of ginger with more of a citrusy or pine-like flavour). Good but not quite such an entertaining mix as the Nasi Lemak.

There is a limited wine selection which is good and proper for an informal dining space such as Ning. A bottle of the Argentinian Viognier, the Trivento Tribu, was a welcome addition to the meal. It was easily the most expensive item at Ł16.

Confidential absolutely recommends Ning. It was a visit where you go expecting an average filler meal before the Friday fun starts and it delivered a gem of a dinner at an excellent price. As an added bonus Ning now do home delivery. Try it as soon as the opportunity presents.

Rating:	16/20
Breakdown:	8/10 Food 4/5 Service 4/5 Ambience
Address:	Ning The Burton Building 92-94 Oldham Street Northern Quarter Manchester M4 1LJ 0161 238 9088

Venues are rated against the best examples of their kind: fine dining against the best fine dining, cafes against the best cafes. Following on from this the scores represent: 1-5 saw your leg off and eat it, 6-9 get a DVD, 10-11 if you must, 12-13 if you’re passing,14-15 worth a trip,16-17 very good, 17-18 exceptional, 19 pure quality, 20 perfect. More than 20: Gordo gets carried away