Wagamama Taste Event 2014

On March 11th I was invited to a very tasty Bloggers event indeed. Hosted by Wagamama, this flavoursome treat was a creative and interesting look at the menu, how food is created and even how flavours you love can showcase your personality. The two attending experts; Steve Mangleshot (the Executive Chef for ALL of Wagamama thank you very much…), and Channel 4 food expert and PhD Dr. Christy Fergusson helped us along our foodie journey.


After each giving our favourite Wagamama dish prior to the event, Steve had already got to work mixing and matching flavours to try and tantalise our tastebuds into a dish we would love, but perhaps would never order.

The placemats are designed to give you an idea of what things on the menu really look like. 

The dishes all looked divine

With this in mind, the dish I picked as my favourite was Yasai Yaki Soba, (the veggie version of a noodle, garlic dish). One of the most popular dishes, it is truly hard not to pick because it's consistently fabulous. With this in mind, using taste influences from this dish, Steve made me a lovely Saien Soba. This is a veggie soup, topped with tofu, beansprouts, asparagus, red onion, mange tout, mushrooms, garlic and garnished with spring onions.

Pic courtesy of Wagamama.co.uk (Saien Soba)

You can see how the basel flavours (namely garlic), were really comparative with the to-die-for Yaki Soba. However, after having a one-on-one with Steve, we came to the conclusion that I needed a bit of spice in my life. And with Ryan Gosling otherwise engaged, Steve prepared me a Firecracker with Tofu.

Now, this is the really good bit. I am a vegetarian, but when it comes to something like a splash of fish sauce in a dish, I am pretty laid back, so the firecracker is totally fine for me. However, there not being a tofu option on the menu, may scare off a lot of people in my position. Don't be afraid to ask! You can mix and match pretty much anything, from tofu to noodles, dish to dish, and the staff and chefs should be more than happy to oblige. This dish is HOT. But I seriously LOVED it, and it's something I will definitely be ordering next time I visit.

Whilst we were all munching happily on our new, tasty dishes, Dr Christy was feeding our brains with fascinating knowledge about what different flavours we are drawn to say about us. For example, if you like a bit of chilli (like me), you are bound to be more of a thrill seeker. Interesting huh!

To round off the evening, we were treated to a mini trio of desserts, consisting of a chocolate fudge cake with wasabi sauce, white chocolate and ginger cheesecake and a passionfruit cheesecake (R to L). My fave was the passionfruit… totally tangy but devilishly creamy. Such a win.

ALL of the yum. So now you know too, don't be afraid to ask for what you want in your local Wagamama! If you like the sound of something, but you'd rather try it with tofu or do a noodle swap… go ahead! The possibilities are endless. (And bloody delicious).

Firecracker Convert

Lots of Love,