To Ramen Or Not To Ramen

We headed down to Wagamama at the Cornerhouse, Nottingham on a recent Friday evening. All ready and raring to try out some of their dishes that are either new or refreshed for the summer! I’m a huge Wagamama fan anyway so I jumped at the chance of a date night at one of my most loved places to eat. I try to have something new every time I go to Wagamama because there’s so much choice.

Fresh to their summer menu is the gorgeous beef tataki. This is ‘lightly seared, marinated steak, thinly sliced and served chilled. Dressed with citrus ponzu, Japanese mayonnaise and served with a side of pickled beetroot and coriander.’ I loved this, it was so fresh and the meat was really tender. We also decided to try some of the pork belly and panko apple hirata steamed buns because we’re all kinds of obsessed with bao buns at the moment. These ‘fluffy asian buns are stuffed with pork belly and panko apple, served with Japanese mayonnaise and coriander’. Coriander is a huge ingredient at Wagamama and I love it! These buns were soft and sticky and super moreish.

One of my favourites for the main event is the chicken katsu curry, it’s a comfort food dream. But, I also love their firecracker curry and their warm chilli salad. There are some gorgeous sounding fresh fish dishes that have hit the summer menu. I’m talking a tuna, quinoa and sweet potato dish and a grilled bream donburi. I opted for a classic curry and indulged in the new chicken samla. As described on their menu it’s ‘a fragrant, spicy lemongrass and coconut curry with chicken, peppers, shiitake mushrooms and baby plum tomatoes. Served with white rice and garnished with spring onion, chilli and coriander’. It was amazing – quite spicy, on par with the firecracker, if not hotter!

We also ordered the classic Wagamama ramen; ‘grilled chicken, seasoned pork, chikuwa, shell-on prawns and mussels on top of noodles in a rich chicken broth with dashi and miso, topped with half a tea-stained egg, menma, wakame, spring onions and pea shoots. This was a hit for sure. I’m not a huge ramen fan myself as I spent a week in Japan whilst at university and I’m 100% over miso now. I can’t touch it anymore!

We were stuffed but decided to try a dessert. I don’t think of Wagamama as the place for a pudding but I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed if you have a sweet tooth. We went for the white chocolate ginger cheesecake served with a chilli toffee ginger sauce. We also had the salted caramel ice cream, also served with caramelised sesame seeds and a chilli toffee and ginger sauce.

I’m not a cheesecake person but I thought I’d try this because I love white chocolate and I thought it’d convert me. Nope. Still hate cheesecake! I had to get Luke to eat it and he said it was lovely. Our server Mark told us that it’d been on the menu for 25 years so it must be a hit with Wagamama fans. The ice cream was incredible though, I would 100% have this again but it is a little pricey at about £5 for a bowl of ice cream. I usually think Wagamama is good value for money for their main dishes. It’s super expensive for desserts.

All in all I loved the new summer dishes that I tried. I’d love to head back and try the grilled tuna and some different steam buns. I’ve also never tried the bang bang cauliflower – I need this in my life. Are you a Wagamama fan, have you tried anything from their new summer menu? Thanks to Wagamama Nottingham for our meal, it was absolutely delicious!