Last Updated on January 31, 2016 by hungryoungwoman

Since I’m not much exposed to the Japanese cuisine, keeping aside the maki rolls, I decided to visit the newly opened branch of Wagamama. Located in Golden Mile, Palm Jumeirah, the restaurant chain offers Japanese-inspired food in a fast food chain setting.

The outlet has large tables and shelves displaying their ingredients. As we walked into the busy place, we were greeted by the manager who helped us pick a table and settle for the evening.

Wagamama serves fresh fruit juices with mixtures such as passion fruit, orange and apple. I personally felt that the apple flavour was lost somewhere between the citric fruits. While the other drink (Kiwi, avocado and apple) was perfect. Subtle flavours of apple and kiwi in a creamy juice.

We started our meal with some of the recommended items such as Ebi Katsu, Duck Gyoza and Prawn Kushiyaki.

The Ebi Katsu was bang on! Crispy on the outside due to the breadcrumbs and a chilli sauce on the side that complemented it well. Too good. I forgive it for being too oily.

I don’t prefer duck much, so the Duck Gyoza was received with a satisfactory response.

Going through their menu, we were spoilt for choice with the number of varieties present for ramen. We chose a lamb based one. Well cooked. Though a bit chewy, we licked our plate clean.

Our next order was the Chicken Katsu Curry with steamed rice. This was fantastic and was finished in minutes! The chicken was crunchy and went quite well with the flavor that the curry provided. They served a little salad on the side too, so you don’t feel guilty after having fried chicken. 😛

We finished off with a Chocolate Fudge Cake and a White Chocolate and Ginger Cheesecake.

While the chocolate cake tasted mediocre, it was definitely better than the ginger cheesecake, which had almost no taste of the ingredient mentioned. The dessert has scope for improvement, though, if the ginger taste can be taken up a notch higher. Balance that with the said toffee sauce on the side, and you have the perfect dessert!

Wagamama also serves the beloved Mochi ice cream which was sadly done with by the time I ordered it. Nevertheless, I am sure I will be visiting soon to try the other choices of ramen they serve.

Hungryoungwoman recommends the Ebi Katsu, Duck or Chicken Gyoza, Ramen of your choice and the Chicken Katsu Curry.

Until next time…