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Tampopo

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Liam Hetherington
Liam Hetherington
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4 out of 5
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26) Tampopo - Exploring the Spice Islands

26) Tampopo - Exploring the Spice Islands

Indonesia – 13/05/09

Maps of East Asia grace the walls and place mats at Tampopo, along with a dedication to the ‘traders and adventurers’ that introduced the flavours and tastes of the Orient to the Occident. Tampopo may be named after the heroine of a Japanese film who was searching for the perfect noodle, but the dishes in the restaurant reflect wider influences, with typical dishes reflecting the cuisines of Korea as well as Japan, of the Philippines and Vietnam, of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. And of Indonesia.

Now, having already eaten Malaysian, Korean and Vietnamese, and knowing that there is an embarrassment of Thai and Japanese restaurants in Manchester, it was quite clear that we were here for something a bit more off the beaten track. And unlike Tampopo’s near rival Wagamama, rather than serving up ‘fusion’ cuisine inspired by the cooking of the East, here they served up specific regional dishes, colour coded and tied in with the countries depicted on the map. In fact, they were even doing a loyalty scheme on my visit – ‘The People’s Republic of Tampopo Passport’. The idea was when you ate a dish from a specific country you received a stamp for that country. With each additional visit (and additional stamp) you would receive a free dish – miso soup, then wok fried greens, then dessert, then a main. And once you have ‘visited’ all eight countries you can be entered into a draw to win £60 of Tampopo food vouchers per month for an entire year. As a subscriber to the Manchester Confidential website I already had a first stamp, entitling me to miso soup with whatever I ordered.

Tampopo is set inside the Triangle shopping centre, the high Victorian Corn Exchange. A Vietnamese snack stall marked its entrance. Descending into the restaurant we were seated at a table by one of the wait-staff in their distinctive Vietnamese-style peasant’s tunics. There were three of us – me, Paul, and Paul’s girlfriend Ana. We were brought a basket of spicy prawn crackers while we pored over the menus. First off drinks. Their fresh lemonade really is wonderful – sharp and sour and perfectly refreshing for £1.95. Paul went for his usual pot of green tea. They also serve a range of Asian beers, from Thai Singha to Singaporean Tiger to Laotian Beer Lao. At around £3.30 for a 330ml bottle though I have to say I thought they were a bit overpriced!

Firstly I had my free bowl of miso soup. I was tempted to spice it up with one of the sauce bottles that were on the table. There was Vietnamese hot sauce, Japanese soy sauce, and Indonesian soy sauce. Obviously I compared and contrasted the two soys. Indonesian is a lot darker, thicker, and much sweeter. It was like liquid treacle toffee. So I thought I’d leave that to one side while I had my Indonesian main course. I had ordered nasi goreng. Essentially, this just means ‘fried rice’. And indeed it was a plate of wok-fried rice with chunks of chicken, whole shiitake mushrooms and chilli. It was topped with flakes of fried onion and was flavoured with whole fresh lime leaves (the latter of which were not to be eaten!). It was spicy and tasty.

Paul had ordered yasai gyoza for his starter, vegetarian Japanese dumplings stuffed with water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and carrot. His main course was the Indonesian mee goreng – literally ‘fried noodles’. His seemed to be slightly hotter than mine to be honest, despite still only being marked with one ‘chilli’ on the menu. One can only wonder just how hot the Singaporean laksa with its three ‘chillis’ would be…? Maybe that’s for my next visit…

Ana bucked the trend for all things Indonesian, and ordered the Philippine chicken adobo. This was chicken breast, brocolli and choi sum topped with fried potato slices, all in sauce. All three main courses cost £7.50.

Following all of this Paul and I decided to be adventurous and order desserts too. Though I was tempted by the ginger crème brulee I eventually opted for a simply wonderful passionfruit syllabub (£4.50), creamy and tart and totally recommended. Amaretti biscuits were crumbled on top to provide a contrast to the frothy mousse of the syllabub. Paul’s was even more ‘out there’. Bubor pulot hittam (£3.95) was a Malaysian sticky black rice pudding, enriched with coconut milk and palm sugar. Frankly, it looked evil, but the taste was nicer than I expected it to be (as someone who does not particularly care for rice pudding).

The total bill for the three of us just topped £40.00, which is pretty reasonable. The food we tried was of a high standard without being out-of-this-world-remarkable. What appeals is the opportunity to eat your way around the many varied tastes and flavours of East Asia without having to leave their snazzy dining room. Of course, now I’ve ticked the place off for my Indonesian meal I’ll have to find somewhere else to eat Thai, Japanese, Philippine and Singaporean…

(I cannot think of any specifically Indonesian restaurants in Manchester, which I why I've used this swerve. If you too want to try the Tampopo experience, there are other branches in the Trafford Centre, and the original restaurant on Albert Square near the Town Hall. The chain has also now branched across to Leeds, Bristol and Chelsea I believe...)

From journal Around the World in 80 Meals! (part 3)

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