Shakeaway

Shakeaway is the perfect place to go for a cold drink if you fancy something different to coffee as I did today.
Shakeaway has hundreds of flavours, ranging from Jaffa Cakes to the health conscious no-​fat yoghurt drinks, and the drink is made right there in front of you fresh. Or in this case, «take a seat and I’ll let you know when it’s ready». I was stumped for a decision as I was spoilt for choice, and the black man with wicked dreadlocks was so kind and positive towards customers. The shop itself has four tables with three seats at each, and is painted white which really makes it feel bright and clean.
As you Unilocalers know, I love to sneak in the name of the employee that served me, but unfortunately in this case he wasn’t wearing a badge. In any case, if you’re reading this dude, you rock!
I had a crème egg ‘shake, and it was so good I finished it within a couple of minutes! Would definitely recommend this place if you have never been before!

My boyfriend (at Shakeaway, playing on Street Fighter with me, to the staff member he’d just ordered a milkshake from): ‘Would you mind if I paid for this now so I can carry on beating up my girlfriend?‘
Let’s see what we can garner from the above situation. 1) There’s a milkshake shop called Shakeaway in the Arndale Centre. 2) It has a proper full-​on retro console on the counter that you can play Street Fighter on. 3) My significant other enjoys kicking my ass. (On video games…)
Update: words from the better half. ‘Retro games machine? It was a 360, playing Super Street Fighter IV… the *newest* Street Fighter!’ I apologise for my lack of console knowledge, I’m only a PC games geek.
Anyway, between Archie’s, Shake That, M1lkshake and the rest of the crew on the Curry Mile, we’ve countless establishments in Manchester where you can have your favourite treats (be they Pop Tarts, various chocolate bars, Ferrero Rochers, cereals, sweets*) liquidised into a cup from which you can slurp your way to waddling off your mobility scooter onto a bus with wheezing difficulty and taking up two seats. No, I’m not being cruel here — it struck me when myself and my handsome companion were loitering around outside here on a recent sunny (hey, where did that go?) morning whilst doing last minute holiday shopping. The excited cry of ‘wow, they have STREET FIGHTER!’ from my beloved was followed by myself noting, ‘Oh, they actually HAVE peanut butter cups here. Which means that unlike our visit to Archie’s, we can get a peanut butter cup milkshake here.‘
He looks at me. He raises an eyebrow.
‘Should we get a peanut butter cup milkshake?‘
It was a foregone conclusion. But back to my earlier point of a straw being the key to your pants no longer fitting… yes, this was delicious, but HOW MANY REESE’S CUPS must have gone into that thing to create a cup’s worth of volume? And more importantly, do I care? Not a jot. Stupidly tasty. When you need a comforting treat these shakes really do deliver, and as for Shakeaway, I guess their USP is the fact that they’re everywhere. It’s a proper chain in loads of cities and it’s taking over. Franchise-​amundo! Those yellow and blue stripes are certainly doing some work. No wonder they’ve such a high-​profile spot in t’Arndale. Shakeaway your blues!
*Disclaimer: If you think blending up for example the hellish soap-​flavoured tooth-​crumblers that are Parma Violets with milk and ice cream is some sort of a good time, I’ll officially disown you for being gross.