Unfortunately it was not a leisurely day in Liverpool. Considering the weather was miserable, maybe it was for the best. We were very hungry after sitting for two hours in one of the Home Office's visa centres (with a good result!) and we were ready to devour something! Wagamama was not our first choice, but because we didn't want to wait, we made our way over to Liverpool ONE. It is at the top floor of the shopping centre with loads of other restaurants.
It was quite chilly and the rain was coming down quite heavily, so no outdoor seating today... which is a shame because I quite like the view. We were greeted quickly, but tables had to be cleaned and reset before we could be seated. We were browsing the menu and it looked a bit different to the others we had been to. They had chef's specials! Once we were seated, we did notice a draft of cold wind coming from somewhere. We found that if we moved over slightly, it wasn't too bad, but even the people around us were commenting about it.
Under sides (I like to think of these as starters even though there is no guarantee that they will arrive to your table before your main), I noticed they had steamed buns with your choice of fillings. So I decided to order one of those with the Korean BBQ Beef along with my Beef Teriyaki Soba. Yup, double beef today. Mr. Snarky decided on an order of Chicken Gyoza and the Grilled Duck Ramen. Ever since I recommended it on his first visit to a Wagamama, he has been stuck on it. Can't blame him though, it is good and maybe I should have had that.
Surprisingly our sides came before our mains, so it was as I had hoped. I had expected something different from the steamed bun... I was remembering the large, round buns filled with meat, veg, or red bean that I would get on the way to class in Shanghai. However, this looked a bit like a taco... steamed bun folded in half with the beef filling tucked in. It is garnished with Japanese Mayo and Cilantro. I really enjoyed it and would gladly have a trio of those for lunch! Mr. Snarky's Chicken Gyoza were nice, but the sauce that came with it was quite spicy and to be honest, I didn't like the flavor.
Mr. Snarky's ramen came out about 5-7 minutes before my main came out so he was halfway done when I started. I had asked for the beef on my main to be cooked to medium, which hasn't been a problem at other locations and the meat is still tender. When my dish arrived, the meat had been cooked to well done and the waiter even brought a knife with it. Really? Anyway, I was hungry and really couldn't think of sending it back. Although, in hindsight I should have... I did find that about a third of the noodles were a bit on the burnt side. It wasn't seasoned very much, in fact I actually made use of the soy sauce on the table, which I don't usually do.
Mr. Snarky had a good lunch and was satisfied with everything, but the steamed bun was really the only highlight of my lunch. Really should have forced Mr. Snarky to walk the 1.5 miles uphill to my favourite restaurant in Liverpool. Their Asian food is delicious. Guess we will just have to make another trip to Liverpool! read more