Thursday, January 21, 2010

Wagamama, London

After our meal in Maze, we wandered the streets of London to kill some time before our Mamma Mia show. I have been wanting to watch Mamma Mia like forever, so I was really looking forward to it!

Christmas was all around us; Christmas themed lights lit up the streets.
Shop fronts decorated with all things Christmas. It is always interesting to look into the shop fronts and see what the designers have cooked up. Selfridges had a variety of fairytale characters, Snow White & The 7 Dwarfs, Cinderella and Captain Hook.

It was freezing by 6pm so we welcomed the idea of escaping into a warm restaurant. We wanted something quick, light and reasonably priced, so Wagamama it was.

Wagamama is a restaurant chain serving Asian food with a Japanese Ramen bar concept. The feeling I get in here is like being in a high school canteen, sitting on long benches with friends having a laksa or mee goreng.

Wagamama is the brainchild of Alan Yau, who is also responsible for creating Michelin restaurant, Hakkasan and Yauatcha. Opened in April 1992, Wagamama's philosophy is ‘to combine fresh and nutritious food in an elegant yet simple setting with helpful, friendly service and value for money’.

I used to frequent Wagamama back in the days when I was still living in UK, especially when I was missing Asian food (well, it's not really that Asian but its the closest thing I could get where I was living). Being back here brings back good memories.

The waiters take your order on a PDA, which is transmitted to the kitchen. It is always very busy in here but service is prompt. Fresh juices here are pretty good, the raw juice, a combination of carrot, cucumber, tomato, orange and apple, is refreshing. Complimentary green tea is available with every order of main course.

To start, we shared the gyoza (£4.80), steamed/grilled chicken and vegetable dumplings, served with a vinegar/soy dipping sauce.
I had the Wagamama Ramen (£7.80), egg noodles in a vegetable soup topped with grilled chicken, smooth dory, prawn, kamaboko, fried tofu, mushrooms, wakame and spring onions. Perfect for a cold winter day!
Hubby had the Yaki Soba (£6.95), teppanfried soba noodles with chicken, shrimps, egg, beansprouts, peppers, white and spring onions, garnished with fried shallots, pickled ginger and sesame seeds. The noodles were too dry and lacking slightly in flavour, so we had to add more soy sauce.

And, btw, Mamma Mia was a fantastic show!

Verdict: Filled our stomachs but this outlet didn't really deliver on flavour.

Location: Wagamama, 14 Irving Street, London, WC2H 7AF

Nearest tube: Leicester Square

Website: http://www.wagamama.com

3 comments:

  1. I always end up craving Asian food whenever I visit your blog. Everything looks so delicious!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah! Such a great post! In fact, I liked it so much that I thought the readers of my website would benefit from your insights. As such, I've quoted and linked to you here: http://www.landingpadlondon.com/wagamama/

    Say, if you'd be interested, I'd like to invite you to join our team of contributors here at LandingPadLondon.com. We're a community of bloggers building a new alternative city guide for London. If you'd be interested, let me know and I can get you further info.

    Thanks again for the great blog!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you very much for linking me on your website!

    I would have loved to join your team of contributors but unfortunately I dont live in London so my blogs won't be of much use to you. I was just there for a short holiday with my hubby.

    ReplyDelete

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