Way of Wagamama

Are you guilty of repeat ordering the same dish when you go to one of your favourite restaurants? I know that I certainly am. Whilst it makes sense, given that you are know you are going to get something you really like, it can get a bit boring after a while. Therefore I was very intrigued when an invite from Wagamama popped into my inbox inviting me to their #WayofWagamama event to discover my new favourite dish on their menu. 

Wagamama's research has shown that once their customers have found a dish they love on their menu, a large number of them tend to stick to it every time they visit. Sadly that means that we've been missing out on lots of wonderful dishes that the Wagamama Executive Chef Steve and his team have been perfecting at Wagamama HQ. The #WayofWagamama campaign is designed to get customers to try something different. 

For this event we had been invited to select our favourite dish. In my case it was Firecracker Prawns. However, in a twist, the team didn't prepare that for me, but rather Steve chose two alternative dishes which he thought I would like based on my favourite dish.

The first dish which was made for me was the vibrantly coloured Prawn Chilli Men, which was delicious. It had a great combination of sweet and spicy flavours which was different to the fiery hit of Firecracker Prawns. The different levels of flavour worked really well together.

I had been impressed enough with that, but Steve and his team excelled themselves with the second dish - Chicken Raisukaree. I was really pleased to get this as it had caught my eye when I sat down at the table and saw a picture of it on the placemat (a genius idea from Wagamama, as seeing how great the dish looked would definitely have made me order it). The creaminess of the coconut sauce contrasted with the zinginess of the lime and the heat of the chilli. The sugar snap peas added some crunchy texture to the dish. 

One of the best things about the evening was getting to hear Steve talk about how his travels around the globe have inspired the dishes on the menu. It was really interesting finding out how he takes ideas from dishes he finds and transforms them into the dishes you find in a Wagamama branch near you.

We were also lucky to have food psychologist and nutritional therapist Dr Christy Ferguson on hand to tell us what our food choices said about us. Apparently people who love dishes with chilli tend to be thrill-seekers!

Laura from Side Street Style with her favourite dish, Mushroom Ramen

To crown a fantastic evening, Steve served us an off-menu dish which whilst it initially raised a few eye-brows, was a runaway success. Can you guess what it is?

It was ice-cream with a Katsu curry sauce! It might sound quite random, but the two worked brilliantly together. It was absolutely gorgeous, and definitely one of the most interesting desserts I have ever had!

So, what are you waiting for? Make your way to Wagamama right now. But whatever you do, don't just order your usual dish. Thanks to Steve and his team there are plenty of other delicious dishes on offer. Sadly not the Katsu sauce and ice-cream dish quite yet though. One day! 

What is your favourite Wagamama dish?