Inside Wing’s: The Manchester Chinese restaurant loved by football’s biggest stars

“When United signed Jaap Stam, that was the big turning point.”

Daniel Chu sat back in a comfortable booth at his busy restaurant, Wing’s Lincoln Square, tucked in a quiet enclave off bustling Deansgate in the heart of Manchester. Stam was just the first of dozens of names of Premier League A-listers that Chu mentioned over the course of dinner – never boastfully, but as milestones in his restaurant’s remarkable journey.

The original Wing’s was a comparatively humble restaurant in the affluent Manchester suburb of Cheadle Hulme, opened and run by Chu’s father, Chu Wing Shing. He had arrived from Hong Kong in the 1960s and worked peeling potatoes in chippies – fish-and-chip shops – and later in Chinese takeaways, before finally opening his own spot.

After the former Manchester United and Dutch defender Jaap Stam became a regular in 1998, two Chinese stars soon arrived in Manchester – Sun Jihai at Man City and Dong Fangzhou at bitter rivals Man Utd. Who better to act as their translator than Wing Shing Chu? As his relationship with the two Manchester clubs grew, the restaurant’s popularity began to skyrocket. 

PLATE EXPECTATIONS

Today, it’s easy to see why. Once you walk past the lions standing sentinel at the doorway, a stunning red polished bar is topped in lava stone, serious vintages and champagnes line a striking wine cellar, and tables are filled with a mix of local and international diners. 

The elegant and recently refurbished dining room’s biggest design draw, however, is dozens of plates signed by some of the biggest names in the world of football and entertainment: David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Pep Guardiola, Paul Pogba, Jose Mourinho, Jack Grealish – “To Wing’s, my favourite restaurant in Manchester, top as always” – and even, arguably, the legend of all legends, Diego Maradona.

Like Grealish, today a beloved Everton midfield maestro, many footballers have become regulars, drawn to the real-deal Cantonese cuisine, relaxed atmosphere, and Chu’s convivial warmth. Whether after training, post-match, or simply seeking an off-duty refuge, it has become an unofficial canteen for football royalty. Paparazzi have been known to wait outside, but discretion remains crucial for Chu and his team.

Mick Jagger, Liam Gallagher, Michael Buble, Prince Albert of Monaco, Sharon Osbourne, Barry Manilow, New York Yankees star Anthony Volpe, and artist Damien Hirst – whose plate must be worth a small fortune, thanks to an intricate hand drawing of his signature skull – are just some of the other superstars who have dined at Wing’s over the years and left plates or photos for Chu’s enviable collection. Local business titans and top football agents are also regulars. 

CANTONESE COMFORT FOOD

The menu at Wing’s proudly proclaims that all sauces are made from original family recipes and that every dim sum item is handmade by a dedicated dim sum chef. That’s clearly true – the carefully pleated har gow, delicate siew mai, and soft char siew pau would more than make the grade in Hong Kong.

Perfectly cooked scallops with garlic and glass vermicelli and textbook crispy duck with pancakes are two other highlights, while an extensive vegetarian menu provides another draw.

Other options on the menu are unmistakably Mancunian-Cantonese mashups, such as the Salt & Pepper platter featuring chicken, spareribs, squid, and king prawns.

THE STARS’ FAVOURITES

It’s a popular order, especially among Premier League superstars. MUTV, Manchester United’s in-house TV channel, once shone a light on players and their dishes of choice.

They revealed that Ryan Giggs was devoted to chilli lamb, Wayne Rooney to salt-and-pepper spareribs, and legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was a fan of the soft noodles. Ferguson’s signed plate on the wall reads: “You have brought a new dimension to Eastern cuisine.”

That man Grealish, again, had a regular post-match takeaway: Singapore-style vermicelli, salt-and-pepper prawns, salt-and-pepper chips, egg fried rice, and curry sauce. The £50 (US$66; S$86) feed may not be one for culinary purists, but the Birmingham boy and social media love it – and why not?

WEBSITE CRASH

A recent Rooney anecdote also cemented the restaurant’s place in the celebrity-meets-culinary stratosphere. On Match of the Day (the iconic BBC football show), Rooney mentioned how he had once popped in with his family for a quiet meal, only to bump into former Manchester City defender – and Match of the Day pundit – Micah Richards.

When Rooney asked what Richards and his boisterous entourage of 20 were celebrating, Richards replied that it was his 50th Premier League appearance. Cue riotous laughter from fellow show pundits Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer at the slightly underwhelming milestone.

Chu smiled as he related the story, adding: “Once the piece aired, he broke our website! It crashed!”

The restaurant’s ties to football are so key that Chu admitted business will suffer this year, as Manchester United are not playing in Europe – fixtures which traditionally bring in fans from all over the world, including many from Singapore and around Southeast Asia.

THE SECRET SAUCE

So, what exactly is Wing’s secret sauce? In a city that buzzes with new restaurant and bar openings, footballers – along with their teammates, families, agents, and friends – clearly love returning to a place where the service is discreet, the 15 tables are well-spaced for private chats, and the menu continues to deliver what it promises after more than three decades in business.

There’s also the fact that the staff know their regulars and the dishes are plated in ways which would put most Chinese restaurants in the UK to shame.

But most of all, it’s Daniel Chu. Softly spoken and modest, he revealed his remarkable work ethic and desire to see his father’s restaurant flourish: “I don’t know how stereotypical this is, but I think our age group is the last bastion of the last Chinese generation with that kind of working mentality.

“Growing up, I used to help my dad out in the evening. I have a degree in molecular genetics, so I worked in oncology research at the hospital in Liverpool from eight till four, then took the bus back here to work for my dad from five until late. That was the mainstay of my 20s.”

Today, Chu runs the restaurant; just before the pandemic, his dad finally retired and “discovered what a holiday is.” Chu senior now spends much of the year in Vietnam, while his grandmother in Hong Kong is about to turn 100.

With family DNA like that, the genetics expert in him must know that there are plenty more years of success to come – with plenty more plates on those famous walls.