Last week, we were invited to go check out the new Wagamama Vegan Menu for #Veganuary. Noodles and dim sum? Oh, go on then.
Veganuary seems to be sweeping the nation this January, with plenty of the big-name fast food restaurants taking up the limelight and putting serious dough into their ad campaigns. With KFC and Subway featuring in all the headlines this January, could the Japanese ramen chain stack up against such heavy hitters?
The answer, is yes.
Also, word to the wise. I’ve also tried the subway meatless meatball marinara and it’s perfection. The KFC vegan burger on the other hand, not so much…
So, Wagamama. They’ve not simply added one token vegan-friendly option to their menu, they’ve drafted up an entire selection – that’s starters, mains and desserts – full of that vegan good stuff.
We got to try a little sample of the starters, so naturally we opted for the pea shoots, vegetable tempura and the mixed mushroom and panko aubergine steamed buns. Special shoutout goes to the steamed buns, which honestly felt like biting into a cloud, a really tasty one at that. There should be a picture of them fixed to this article, but unfortunately, they looked too good and I couldn’t wait. I’m sorry, but I have no regrets.
The vegetable tempura was certainly nothing to sniff at, either. Tender stem broccoli, red pepper, sweet potato and asparagus all in a light tempura batter with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. You could cover anything in tempura and I’d be happy, to be fair, but these were definitely legit.
For mains we ordered the yasai nikko curry and the kare burosu, all the while making dicks of ourselves trying to pronounce them to the waiter. He was very understanding. The curry came in the from of coconut, lemongrass and turmeric soup, with some tofu and cauliflower thrown in for good measure and a side of rice. It was delicious even though I managed to take 3 times as long while powering through it with chopsticks. Maybe one day I’ll learn.
The winner here though was the kare burosu, shichimi-coated tofu (my god was it hot), grilled mushrooms, pea shoots, carrot, chilli all swimming in a lovely curried vegetable broth with udon noodles as thick as your fingers. Was one of the slurpiest meals I’ve ever tried, but definitely worth it. Apparently in Japanese culture it’s good manners to slurp, so at least I’m not a complete scruff in Japan.
We were offered the desserts, and while tempting, I was close to death from Japanese food related overconsumption. Having looked back at the Instagram photos from other bloggers of their ice cream and cakes, I very much regret this decision.
Overall, Wagamama have quite on quite the spread for Veganuary. Hopefully, they’ll carry this menu on well into the year so vegans and vegetarians alike can actually get a decent scran once in a while.
Check out the full Vegan Menu on the Wagamama website.
Tom is the Mens lifestyle editor here at The Daily Struggle. Interested in Mens health and fashion, theater and eats copious amounts of cheese toasties when he thinks no one is looking.
