Where I ate:
Wagamama,
Westfield Stratford, London
I think
everyone is aware of my love for Wagamama, I’m forever craving ramen or katsu
or soba – so when I was on the way back from Barnet and passing through
Stratford, it was a no-brainer. Jake had never been before (I still can’t get
my head around it when people say they’ve never eaten there before – err, why
not?), so I was really hoping it was worth the long wait, especially as I’m
always talking it up.
I love how
informal it is – it’s so cosy inside and often you’ll find yourself sharing a
bench with other diners. The food is so simple and quick, but despite the
speed, you’re never in any rush to leave and you’re not being made to either.
There was a
queue outside the restaurant, what with it being a Saturday evening and after
being handed the menu, I soon knew what I was going to order. After a five
minute wait, we were taken to our table.
What I ate:
Seafood
coconut broth, followed by mix it up mocha
I always
have the beef teriyaki soba as it’s quite frankly the best thing on the menu,
by a country mile. Having browsed the website earlier in the week, I noticed a number
of summer specials (which are still on the menu btw, marked ‘new’) and the
seafood coconut broth really stood out above the rest. It’s a mixture of all my
favourite things – broth-based, noodles, seafood, heaps of coriander... it’s
making me hungry just thinking about it. When it arrived, it looked exactly
like the picture – beautifully presented, with a lovely fragrant smell. I ate
the mussels first as they’re so fiddly but the soup was packed full of prawns,
squid and scallops, with tenderstem broccoli, flat noodles, coriander cress and
fresh red chilli. There was just enough heat, balanced out by the sweet coconut
and portion-wise, I don’t think I could have eaten any more. Hopefully it’s
become a permanent fixture on the menu, I could well be my new favourite.
I followed
the main course up with another new dish and a dessert first introduced to me
at Yo! Sushi – mochi. I couldn’t decide which flavour to try so I thought what
the hell and chose the mix it up, a combination of raspberry, coconut and
sesame – all filled with ice cream. The bite-size blobs were a real delight,
not at all sickly or stodgy and I could probably have eaten two portions quite
easily. I couldn’t decide on my favourite – either the coconut or sesame. I
really wanted to take a picture of it, but I couldn’t help but demolish the
plate as soon as it arrived... the placemats don’t do it justice at all!
I finished
with a cup of green tea (which is free at Wagas – winning!), before getting the
bill and training it back to Shenfield. I’d love to know which leaves they use
as the tea is so much nicer than any I’ve ever bought and made at home.
The service started well
but slowly deteriorated – everything was brought to our table in a funny order:
my main meal, followed by Jake’s 10 minutes later and then the starter five
minutes after that. It just made the whole meal feel disjointed. The same
happened with dessert – I finished mine before his arrived. It was a shame
because on previous visits, at other branches, there’s never been a problem
with the food coming out together and in a structured order. I suppose the food
court was heaving and people were queuing outside so they wanted to get people
in and out – that said, I found our dinner to be leisurely and as always, very
enjoyable.
Wagamama is my favourite place ever, it's always so delicious!
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