Viet Shack: Vegan Vietnamese in Manchester
Viet Shack is one of my favourite places to eat in Manchester! With its own vegan menu, Viet Shack offers everything from crispy oyster mushroom calamari, pho chay, freshly made summer rolls, vegan taco, a cauliflower steak and even a vegan chickaan burger.
Viet Shack is the brainchild of Nelson and Leo, two lifelong friends who self designed and self funded the restaurant. Originally hosting an annual BBQ in Manchester, the two quit their jobs and opened up Viet Shack in 2015 in the Arndale Food Market. By the summer of 2018, the market stall had become a huge success and they have since found a new home on Great Ancoats Street.
On this visit we ordered the fresh summer rolls. Noodles, Asian herbs, crispy shallots and avocado, all wrapped up in rice paper and served with Viet Shack’s famous peanut butter sauce. As stated in my Rosa’s Thai blog post, I’m a sucker for summer rolls and as soon as I read that they came with a “famous peanut butter sauce” I had to try them! This dish did not disappoint. The summer rolls were absolutely perfect and I can now tell why the peanut butter sauce is “famous”.
Another dish we ordered was the vegan muc chien calamari. Crispy oyster mushrooms topped with Viet Shack’s seven spice seasoning, chilli flakes, chilli oil, sesame seeds, and fresh chillies with a thick green sauce. I’ll admit this now, I have no idea what the green sauce was but I could not stop eating it. The crispiness of the mushrooms contrasted perfectly with the soft texture of the summer rolls. I couldn’t recommend ordering these two dishes together more.
The next dish to arrive was the vegan taco. Corn tostada topped with guacamole, pickled carrot, vegan chicken, cauliflower, apple & mango slaw, sweet chilli and fresh chillies. Next to the summer rolls and calamari, this dish paired perfectly. The tostada was deliciously crunchy and the apple & mango slaw (which I was originally apprehensive about) complimented the flavours of the vegan chicken. If you’re after a small side to go with any dish on the menu, my suggestion would always be the taco. The main event of the meal was the vegan chickaan burger. Crispy chicken with a peanut butter sauce, fresh greens & pickled carrots, crispy shallots, sriracha and guacamole in a toasted vegan brioche bun. To top it all off, the burger is then place atop a mountain of fries. Now I know what you’re thinking, “A burger?? At a Vietnamese restaurant… are you mad?!” But trust me okay, this was good! It was the highlight of the whole meal. Just take my word for it and try it for yourself because I guarantee you, you will not regret it.
I can safely say Viet Shack is one of my favourite places to eat in Manchester! I will be back again to try even more of their menu and almost definitely get that burger again.