Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Eating Out: Wagamama


Canberra Centre, North Quarter

Bunda Street, Canberra


It was a stroke of immense good fortune that led me to Wagamama one night during my stay in Canberra. I'm not sure what drew me -- it might have been the funky orange light shades, it might have been the prices on the menu, but I think mostly it was because there were immense letters on the door that said "noodlebar"... and I had a hankering for something like that.

I grabbed a menu and eventually decided on the yasai katsu curry. To quote from the menu: "slices of sweet potato, aubergine and butternut squash deep-fried in panko breadcrumbs. served with a light curry sauce and japanese-style rice. garnished with a combination of mixed leaves and red pickles". And may I say -- phwoar!

Like some people, I don't enjoy eating in a restaurant on my own. I can do it, but if I'm going to be eating on my own, I prefer to do it in private. So I ordered to go.


This had me impressed from the start - it was all kept separate! Perhaps not great for the environment, but made the eating back in my hotel room SO much better. There was a container for the curry sauce, a container for the leaves and pickles, and the vegies and rice were in another. This meant the vegies stayed crunchy, I could add as much or as little sauce/rice as I liked, and the garnish hadn't wilted!


I know my presentation skills would not quite be up to the standard of the establishment, based on the dishes I saw whisking past me while I waited, but hopefully this isn't too bad. What can I say about this meal... bliss. I'm still salivating over it now, just at the thought! I could have happily just had a big bowl of the vegies, they were SO good. The curry sauce had a nice bite to it, while not being overpowering. All in all, I completely enjoyed my meal, and at $14.50 I thought it was well worth the price (although I didn't pay for it).

And do you know what else? The most fantastic thing? I don't have to go to Canberra any time I want to check out Waga's other culinary delights -- there're a couple right here in Melbourne! Mere blocks from work!! [insert contented sigh here]

2 comments:

thanh7580 said...

Anna, the food still looks good after being in the take away boxes and reassembled.

Next time you have to try eating by yourself. If I'm away from home where I am forced to eat alone, I actually don't mind because for some strange reason I think that since I'm in a foreign place, no one will recognise me (not that I would bump into many people back home anyway) and that they will know I am a tourist and hence am forced to eat alone.

Anna said...

Hi thanh,

I will often just grab a table and eat on my own anyway - I've had to travel alone for work quite a few times over the years and it all depends on whether I want to have to clean up or not!

From memory Spick and Specks was due to start. What better night could I have had than yummy food and Adam Hills?! hehe...