I love Chinese food. When I first found out that I was coeliac and that sweet and sour chicken (and all other Chinese favourites) were out of my life due to the wheat-y soy sauce, I was heartbroken! No more noodles, egg fried rice, spring rolls! Absolutely devastated. And although I knew that I would still have plenty of gluten free options for my other foods, I had to accept that I couldn’t really eat Chinese food at a restaurant again…
Until! I found out that there was an amazing Chinese restaurant right in my doorstep! Sweet Mandarin in Manchester’s Norther Quarter offered a completely separate menu that catered for the gluten free. Prepared in a separate kitchen, they offered me a saving grace!
I couldn’t wait to go in and try! We ordered the old favourites of sweet and sour and lemon chicken, as well as spring rolls and chicken wings for starters. It’d had been over a year since my diagnosis and I was worried that any version of gluten free sweet and sour would satisfy me. But my sister and I were blown away. The food was completely delicious, and me just because it had been so long since I had eaten any. It really was such good quality! It was a busy place and obviously popular amongst the ‘normal’ and gluten free alike. The staff seemed to have a really good understanding of the menus and the dietary requirements of the diners, even offering gluten free prawn crackers. I couldn’t wait to go back again!
So we tired to book for my birthday in December, but they aren’t open on a Monday! (The only fault with this restaurant though, I assure you!) Not to worry though, we eventually had another reason for a celebration – my graduation. A little belated but at the end of August, my family and I went back to Sweet Mandarin and again, had a fantastic experience. My parents couldn’t believe the choice available for me and they couldn’t taste the difference between gluten free and the non-gluten free. My mum couldn’t wait to go back!
So, if like me, you’re missing a cheeky sweet and sour or lemon chicken, then I could not recommend this place highly enough! It’s become one of my favourite places to eat (partly because it is a rarity to find gluten free Chinese options) but the quality of the food is amazing.
And if you can’t visit personally, you can buy their sauces online or at supermarkets like Sainsbury’s!
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