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Wagamama, Gunwharf Quays
Wagamama, the pan-Asian restaurant in the style of a modern Japanese ramen (noodle) bar, opened its latest light and bright branch at Gunwharf Quays back in March.
I hotfooted it to the first one in Bloomsbury, London nearly 20 years ago and was hooked.
I introduced many friends to Wagamama and they too were bowled over.
We would join the queues down to this basement bar and wait for a seat on an uncomfortable bench for a chance to taste the sparkling zesty dishes with their little-known ingredients. Wasabi? Soba? Menma? We got to know and love the pungent green fierce horseradish, wheat egg noodles, pickled bamboo shoots.
There are now Wagamama branches in 15 countries. Seen as bit of a revolution – you sit at tables with perhaps up to 20 other slurping diners – the menu covers mostly Japanese fast food.
It's the type you would have found on Japan's street corners and in tiny bars many moons ago before they became the latest stylish eating out place.
Today's menus are little changed from the original concept: ramen (big bowls of noodles in soup with chicken, salmon, seafood, pork, vegetarian additions); teppan (noodles cooked on a hot, flat griddle with added shrimp, chicken, beef, vegetables); kare noodle (noodles in a coconut based soup); chilli men (noodles in a spicy sauce) plus salads and side dishes which include miso soup, duck dumplings and edamame, steamed green soya beans with salt or chilli and garlic salt.
Prices have jumped, with those bowls now around the 8 – 10 mark.
Gyoza, steamed grilled chicken dumpling with a chilli, garlic, sesame and soy sauce (4.90) did little to excite the palate.
Nor, frustratingly, did the expensive teriyaki soba (12.75) from the Teppan (hot, flat griddle) list. Billed as grilled teriyaki beef on a bed of teppan fried soba noodles with curry oil, mangetout, chillies, red and spring onions, beansprouts and bok choi with teriyaki sauce, coriander and sesame seeds, the resulting dish looked as if the noodles had been flung on the plate from a great height.
The sliced meat was grey and no sticky soy sauce teriyaki marinade had come anywhere near this sad excuse for teriyaki beef.
Whoever had made the noodles hadn't tossed them in the other ingredients, a solid mass of chilli and vegetables found lurking underneath.
Over-boiled large pieces of watery bok choi, impossible to eat with chopsticks, were thrown on to the plate.
Maybe what this demonstrates is that there are now too few good chefs for the huge increase in restaurants.
Oh, and the sake was cold. My bill came to 22.85.
Carol is a chef, former restaurateur and editor of Savour, the Guild of Food Writers magazine.
Wagamama, North Promenade, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth PO1 3TR
(023) 9286 1128
Open: Noon-11pm daily (noon-10pm Sundays)
Food: **
Service: ***
Atmosphere: ***
Disabled access: Lift to first floor and the restaurant.
How to get there: Drive into the city and follow the brown Gunwharf Quays signs. Large underground car park.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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