Indian street food favourite Bundobust has given its menu an Indo-Chinese lift with a host of exciting new specials.
Four new dishes have just launched at the Leeds-born restaurant, as Bundobust celebrate the historic culinary craze of crossing Chinese cooking styles with classic Indian spices and vegetables, reports The Manc.
Inspired by the fiery fusion of Indian and Chinese flavours that began in Kolkata and swept worldwide, the new specials are informed by the cuisine’s hybrid origins - with a special Bundobust twist.
Image: The Manc Group
Think salt and pepper okra fries, 'prawn' gobi toast (deep-fried garlic and ginger minced cauliflower sesame soldiers served with a Coconut Korma dipping sauce), hakka noodles and battered tofu pakoras in a spicy sauce.
The Bundobust take on Kolkata’s key Indo- Chinese dishe, named after the Hakka-speaking Chinese immigrants that established India’s first Chinatown, promises soy-sauce coated Indo-Chinese spiced noodles with red and green peppers, cabbage and mushrooms.
Meanwhile the new tofu dish - a big first for Bundobust - offers a modern Chinese re-imagining of the classic Chennai Hotel Buhari 1965 recipe, served in a sauce rich with Chinese Five Spice, curry leaves, garlic and mustard seeds.
The Leeds-born indie eatery will serve the special menu starting from Monday 18 July from their restaurant on Mill Hill, just outside Leeds Train Station, as well as their venues further afield in Manchester and beyond.
All four specials can be ordered alongside existing Bundobust staples and are best enjoyed with Bundobust’s very own beers - served exclusively in their restaurants via the Bundobust Brewery.
Beer fans are encouraged to try the house-brewed Bundobust coriander lager, masala chai porter and tropical pale ale, all of which have been designed to complement Bundobust's dishes.
Feature image - The Manc Group
Eats
Salon Madre – a new tequila bar and pool hall is opening in Leeds this month
Manchester's favourite Mexican bar is about to become your newest nightlife destination in Leeds.
It's been a long time coming, but Salon Madre is officially ready to open in Leeds.
Although we may have to wait a little bit longer for Madre, the day-to-night eatery that has made waves over in Manchester and Liverpool, Salon Madre, its lively tequila bar and pool hall sibling, is officially opening on Friday 20 February.
Salon Madre, which will be located just around the corner from Madre at 114 Wellington Street, is where the party really gets started.
Image: The Manc Group
Expect tequila-fuelled nights, pool tables, lively DJs and Lucha Libre on the big screens.
There will also be plenty of tacos being flung out the kitchen to keep you going until the early hours.
If you’ve ever visited one of their venues in Manchester or Liverpool, you’ll know it’s an absolute riot and we can’t wait to welcome them to the city.
Images: The Manc Group
Co-founder Sam Grainger, inspired by countless trips to Mexico, says: “Mexico is alive with passionate artisans and cooks, mastering everything from street tacos to regional delicacies. It’s a world where traditions blend and evolve and we’ve built that ethos into the heart of both Madre and Salon Madre.”
Madre Leeds will open soon and you can even grab yourself a free margarita by signing up to their newsletter here.
We’ll keep you up to date with their opening times but for now, we'll see you at Salon Madre for a boogie, margarita and game of pool next week.
Award-winning Leeds restaurant announces shock closure just months after opening
Clementine Hall
Emba in Leeds will be closing its doors with the owner blaming rising costs and pressure on the hospitality sector.
Back in April last year, one of Leeds' top restaurants The Owl closed its doors.
Run by renowned Chef Liz Cottam, The Owl was reimagine into Emba - a trendy restaurant tat bridged 'the gap between cosy bar and vibrant dining room'.
To open Emba, Cottam opened a Crowdfunder where supporters would be awarded with prizes such as VIP dinners and merch depending on how much they donated.
But sadly just months after opening, Emba is to close permanently.
Cottam confirmed the sad news with a statement shared with customers over the weekend, saying she was completely "heartbroken".
She said: “This is no longer the right time to own independent restaurants like Emba,” she said. “Under the current conditions they cannot survive and the recent budget confirmed what so many of us already knew: no meaningful help is coming for hospitality.
"The experience of being here and the harsh financial reality of running a business here no longer stack up.
"Being award winning, popular, admired and loved no longer means profitable and as an industry if we’re honest most of us have not truly been okay since Covid."
She signed off the statement promising to return to the restaurant world, she said: “What I do know is this, I am not done. I will keep cooking, keep creating and keep finding ways to do the thing I love.”
The Hoot -
19th July 2022 
