A delicious take on classic Japanese cuisine
wagamama, known for its delicious take on Asian and Japanese cuisine, has unveiled several new dishes that celebrate the beginning of summer. And with these new items being featured on the menu, we got a chance to try out some of the older dishes that has made wagamama famous, as well as some of the new dishes that are being featured.
For appetizers, we sampled the chili squid, the tuna tatake, and the Korean barbecue beef and red onion bao. All three appetizers were delicious, but our favorite out of them would have to be the chili squid. Made with crispy fried squid dusted with shichimi and served with a chili cilantro dipping sauce gave a great bite. The squid itself was lightly fried to the point where it has a nice crisp but not to the point where it’s greasy and oily. The shichimi added a lot of flavor to the squid so when you take the first bite, you get a nice, light crunch to the squid, and then get a burst of umami and a light spiced flavor. And when dipped into the chili cilantro dipping sauce, there is an initial sweetness that ends with a mellow spicy note that renews your palette and keeps the dish exciting and fresh.
The tuna tatake is a lightly seared marinated tuna, thinly sliced and served chilled. It is dressed with citrus ponzu and Japanese mayonnaise and garnished with pickled daikon, chili and cilantro. The dish itself was on the lighter side which was a perfect dish to have when considering the three appetizers ordered. Upon the first bite you get the initial sweetness and freshness from the tuna, and paired with the pickled daikon adds an additional sweetness and acidic note to the tuna. And as you continue chewing, there is an added note of spice from the chili which is eventually cooled down by the cilantro. This dish, although light, has a lot of complex and complimentary flavors that really let your tastebuds go on a journey.
And lastly we have the Korean barbecue bao bun which were two fluffy bao buns with korean barbecue beef and red onion, served with Japanese mayonnaise and cilantro. The bao buns were indeed soft and fluffy which was an interesting and fun texture to chew on. The red onions in the bun provided a contrast in texture where it gave a nice crunch to it. The beef itself was tender and seasoned well and as you chew into it, there is a subtle heat that builds up over time. Altogether, there is a nice contrast in texture going on here and the acidity and natural sweetness of the onions pair well with the somewhat spicy and saucy beef.
Now onto the main course. One of the newest dishes being introduced is one that goes along with the celebration of vegan cuisine, called “veganuary.” And the dish that was created is called the Avant Gard’n which is barbecue glazed seitan, grilled asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, edamame, carrot, and scallions, served over a bed of brown rice and topped with a sweet amai sauce. There was even a vegan egg on top which was made from a coconut and sriracha base. The egg itself was very interesting. The egg itself was made primarily from coconut and had a nice sweetness and very apparent coconut flavor to it. The yolk was primarily made from sriracha and was actually very spicy to the point where you may have to drink two glasses of water to calm down. Paired together, the sweetness and spiciness play well, but it can still be overwhelming for those not used to intense spiciness. The seitan was cooked well and absorbed a lot of flavor from the glaze. One issue that many cooks face when dealing with seitan is not being able to infuse flavor into the product and thereby leaving it bland. This seitan was rich in flavor and had a great sweetness and spiciness to it that played very well with the vegetables provided. This is definitely a dish that takes vegan cuisine to the next level.
We also got a chance to try the steak bulgogi which was made from marinated sirloin steak and miso-fried baby eggplant, served on a bed of soba noodles, dressed in sesame and bulgogi sauce and finished with scallions, kimchi and half a tea-stained egg. The noodles were very saucy and flavorful, which made it extra fun when slurping it up. The dish, upon first bite, starts off sweet and finishes with a bit of heat and leaves a nice peppery taste in the back of your palette. The beef itself was tender and flavorful and was a great bite in combination with the noodles.
And lastly, there is dessert. We tried the banana katsu which is made from bananas coated in panko breadcrumbs with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. The banana was crisp and lightly fried which was great because there was no extra oil or grease from it. The banana part of the dish was also not overtly sweet and really drew from the natural sweetness that the banana has. The salted caramel ice cream was delicious. It wasn’t overtly sweet and has a slight saltiness as one would expect from a salted caramel dish. The ice cream and bananas paired together played well together. There was a great contrast in texture between the crispy banana and the smooth and creamy ice cream. The dish wasn’t overtly sweet as the saltiness from the ice cream married well with the subtle sweetness that came from the banana. It was also fun to get that hot and cold feeling in your mouth as you ate the dish together.
Another great thing about wagamama is their commitment to sustainability. After Earth Day, wagamama restaurants in the US have made a commitment to banning straws at their locations. In its stead, wagamama is using a biodegradable paper straw for their fresh juices only. It’s great to see that a restaurant not only has a dedication to serving delicious food but also has the initiative of being environmentally responsible.
Our overall thoughts on wagamama is that this restaurant knows how to make delicious Asian and Japanese food. Their newest additions seamlessly blend in with the theme of the menu and are really cool and interesting twists on some of the classic Asian foods you might see.