Wagamama, Wintergarden, Brisbane CBD

October 25, 2012

Newly refurbished reconstructed Wintergarden in the Brisbane CBD has the feeling of a garden.. with the butterflies and flowers imprinted mostly everywhere I go around the corner... The very top level consists of the restaurants and entertainment area which were also refurbished, and do i have to say that they look much nicer and better than how it used to be... Went to Wagamama for a catch-up sesh and truthfully, my previous experience in Wagamama wasn't that good or maybe it was just my asian tongue being disturbed by the asian fusion feeling I felt when I was there... Wagamama started in London's Bloomsbury in 1992 inspired by their traditional japanese ramen bars and asian flavours... Mainly focusing on Japanese dishes, it has spread all around the world...

Wagamama Menu, Chopsticks, Serviette, Frequent Noodlers Card

Kitchen out front

Interior wise, it was simple with long wooden tables with wooden benches as seats... The kitchen was nice being out front and all... When we got seated at a table, it wasn't that full when we came in but then it started getting busier but not until the restaurant was full... After having a look at the menu, it was quite hard getting the waiters attention and it took awhile until a waiter came and took our order...

Tables and Seating area with the bar at the back

They don't have entrees or appetizers but they do have some side dishes... but usually I guess most people would just go straight to the mains... They have gyoza (dumplings), edamame (steamed green soya-beans), miso soup, pickles, beef/chicken kushiyaki (three skewers of grilled chicken/beef) and salads..

Teriyaki Soba with Grilled Teriyaki Salmon Fillet

I had my choices when I was thinking of what to buy but ended up choosing this.. I think it was because of the 'Salmon' word that got me.. I was feeling like something seafood and not something meaty... And so, when I saw that they had either Teriyaki Salmon (on a bed of rice and other condiments) or the Teriyaki Salmon (on a bed of teppan-fried soba noodles etc), I chose the soba noodles...

Teriyaki Soba

'Teriyaki Soba' consisted of Grilled Teriyaki Beef Tenderloin or Salmon Fillet on a bed of teppan-fried soba noodles with curry oil, snow peas, chillies, red onions, ginger, bean sprouts and baby bok choy with teriyaki sauce, coriander and mixed sesame seeds...

Teriyaki Soba

For me, the salmon was cooked nicely and the sauce was not too overpowering for the salmon fillet... You could taste abit of that grilledness in the salmon, but I wished they could've grilled it abit longer to have that oomph on the grilled-taste... As for the soba noodles and the veges and all, it was just okay.. nothing special...

Close up of the Grilled Teriyaki Salmon Fillet topped with coriander and mixed sesame seeds

Second main ordered...

Yaki Udon

R bought Yaki Udon for main... It smelled better than mine to be truthful or maybe it was just the aroma of the things they had in the dish... When it came out, R was surprised by the red pickled ginger and the floss underneath it...

Yaki Udon

The 'Yaki Udon' was teppan-fried udon noodles with curry oil, shiitake mushrooms, egg, leeks, prawns, chicken, grilled fishcake, beansprouts, green and red capsicums, garnishes with spicy group fish powder, mixed sesame seeds, fried shallots and pickle ginger...

Yaki Udon

Yaki Udon was not too bad, but when I had a try, I found it to be a bit oily... the mixture of the different condiments were okay.. but again, it was nothing special..

Dessert Menu

Seeing that the dessert menus were basically on the table, R had a look and insisted of dessert... I was already full from the teriyaki salmon, so only R ended up buying dessert... They have Banana Katsu (Crispy breaded Banana), Chocolate Mandarin Citrus Cake (Moist layer cake filled with chocolate citrus ganache), Chocolate Mud Cake, assorted flavoured Ice Cream, Sorbet, Sundae etc..

Banana Katsu

The first one that caught R's eyes were the Banana Katsu and so that was dessert... The 'Banana Katsu' came with Coconut Ice cream served with honey and cinammon sauce... Though now that I think about it, I don't think we even received the honey and cinnamon sauce... The Crispy Breaded Banana was also nothing special for me, as I have made it before at home, but for restaurant wise, it was alright..