My friend was in town for a doctor’s appointment so we planned to meet at wagamama, the Asian chain from London worth trying. We’d both been to other locations before.

Not being familiar with Japanese whiskies, we both ordered their Old Fashioned ($14.50) made with Iwai and Akashi, garnished with an orange-peel rose. An interesting cocktail.

We ordered a couple of apps to go with our cocktails. Don’t miss either the crisp cauliflower in a firecracker sauce ($8) or the steamed gyoza,  five pork dumplings ($8), served a dipping sauce. So tasty what we ate every morsel and then neither of us could finish our hearty entree.

I chose the steak bulgogi, requesting it medium-rare ($18), which is how it was served, atop soba noodles flavored with bulgogi sauce. The entree included kimchi (wish there were more!) and half tea-stained egg.  Sadly,  the menu-stated miso-fried eggplant was nowhere to be found. No complaints other than I was too full to finish. I do recommend.

My dining partner couldn’t finish either. The hearty portion of their vegan kare burosu ramen had huge chunks of shichimi-coated tofu along with grilled mixed mushrooms, spinach, carrots, sliced red chilies, udon noodles and curried vegetable broth ($14.50) garnished with cilantro.

We washing down as much of our entrees as we had room for with a glass of Kloof Street, Chenin Blanc ($15).

wagamama
Murray Hill
605 Third Ave
New York, NY 10158
https://www.wagamama.us/
646-813-3396