'We’ve got some sad news': Popular street food spot to leave Manchester

The owners of a much-loved independent street food concept are set to leave Manchester. Little Bao Boy, which serves up homemade bao buns and traditional Asian food with a western influence, confirmed the news via social media yesterday (January 23).

They started serving their freshly made bao and street food staples in January 2023 inside the North Bar Taproom located within the Circle Square neighbourhood on Oxford Road. In a post shared with followers they said it was a 'tough decision' but they would be continuing to operate in Leeds.

The Leeds-born business was founded by James Ooi, who was later joined by second co-founder JB in 2020. As well as two sites in the North, the concept has had a residency at Shelter Hall Brighton and has run food operations at London's Camden Round House.

Offering the perfect accompaniment to North Brewing Co’s beers at their Circle Square site, Little Bao Boy's menu features fluffy steamed bao buns filled with slow cooked beef brisket, crispy fried chicken, crunchy panko aubergine, plus crispy gyoza, steaming bowls of noodles and loaded fries. They have also been known to whip up a sweet version of their bao with a deep-fried option with vegan custard, mixed berry jam and Biscoff crumb.

James and JB shared on Instagram: "I’m afraid to say we’ve got some sad news.

"As of the first of February we will be coming out of Circle square taproom in Manchester. It was a tough decision as we’ve had a blast there the last couple of years but sometimes you need to take one step back to take two more forward.

"We want to ram all our focus into making Leeds as good as it can be and that’s what we’re going to do moving into this year. We just want to say a massive thank you to everyone from