Tag: wagamama

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Chefs Dining Restaurants

Wagamama Plant Based Dishes

Wagamama offers Plant Based Dishes
According to John Parker’s article in the Economist, he believed that 2019 would be the year of the Vegan. Especially among Millenials.  Yes, folks, even the Guardian and Forbes agree that veganism has gone mainstream.

In response to increasing demand for plant-based dishes –

Wagamama has once again collaborated with innovative UK vegan Chef Gaz Oakley to put his twist on his highly popular recipe for smoky, spicy and sticky seitan BBQ ribs.

 

The dish was adapted from the original seitan recipe, taking advantage of Oakley’s flavor profile but using Wagamama’s own cherry hoisin and sticky vegan sauces, and accompanying the dish with rice, caramelized lime and broccoli topped with chili for a more complete menu offering.

Wagamama offers Plant Based Dishes
Chef Gaz Oakley
Dan Metz our Associate Editor had the pleasure of tasting the Vegan dishes this past Monday. “Wagamama has a really good vegan/vegetarian menu filled with all kinds of delicious options that would help even a meat-eater like myself est more vegetarian. The ribs dish was tangy, crunchy on the outside, and definitely reminiscent of real ribs. It was an interesting direction but isn’t necessarily a standout compared to all of the other vegan and vegetarian options available.”

 

Wagamama offers Plant Based Dishes
Wagamama Vegan

 

More and more people are opting to consume less meat –

driven by concerns about health, the environment and the ethical treatment of animals. The additional upside is that eating a more plant-based diet has shown to support health, contributing to lower levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, and reduced risk of developing coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

 

 

 

Don’t worry if you are not based in the US, you can go to your nearest Wagamama’s as it features more than 29 vegan or vegetarian options diners and they will gladly customize other dishes to satisfy their dietary concerns.

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Dining Featured News

wagamama Ditches Single-Use Plastic Straws

Consider Earth Day on April 22nd the final straw, or at least the final plastic straw at wagamama restaurants in the US. Following action the UK-based restaurant has already taken in Britain and locations around the world, the wagamamas in New York and Boston will offer only biodegradable paper straws for its fresh juices and no longer use them at all for its other drinks. As an additional sustainability measure, the eatery is doing away with the cardboard sleeve, aka the belly band, on its recyclable takeaway packaging at its 135 UK and U.S. locations.

Why is the common plastic straw on the chopping block? What seems like a convenience is a killer as plastic finds its way into our oceans, into our marine life and into our food, contributing to an environmental disaster that’s literally a whale of a problem and should only be used for professional or DIY uses which what Simply Plastics offer – big or small projects

UN Global Director for Ocean Lisa Svensson said recently: “This is a planetary crisis. In a few short decades since we discovered the convenience of plastics, we are ruining the ecosystem of the ocean.” 

The single-use plastic straw is one culprit. According to The New York Times, market research firms say Americans use between 63 billion to 142 billion straws per year. A study by Science Advances estimated as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches, many destined to wind up in small pieces in the fish we eat.

And, as wagamama’s biodegradable placemats note, “It can take up to 200 years for a single plastic straw to decompose. Did that catch your attention? It did ours.” (Like the vast majority of the business’s paper goods, the placemats have Forest Stewardship Council certification indicating that they are sustainably sourced.)

Photo by Danielle Adams

So, while many states like New York are declaring war on single-use plastics, and cities such as Boston are considering legislation to eliminate them, wagamama isn’t waiting to step up its efforts to operate in more sustainable ways.

As part of its International Earth Day sustainability initiative, wagamama is also teaming up with environmental activist Max LaManna, a zero-waste vegan chef who started the Instagram account Eating with Max to encourage reliance on more plant-based food. The restaurant will donate $.25 from every green juice sold between April 22nd and May 22nd to LaManna’s chosen charity — Lonely Whale Foundation — which spearheaded the campaign that led to Seattle banning plastic straws. During the month, LaManna will promote living more sustainably across influential social media platforms.

The trendsetting restaurant has built a worldwide following in 27 countries with its playful take on casual dining, providing modern Asian-inspired dishes designed to nourish the body and feed the soul in an inviting, lively ambiance. Its success derives from a simple philosophy of striving to always be better than the day before, a pursuit that cuts across every area of its business, including wagamama’s impact on the environment. 

“wagamama was founded in 1992 with a philosophy of ‘positive eating, positive living’—the notion that feeding ourselves well equips us to face the rigors of life,” Chief Marketing Officer Ross Farquhar says. “Twenty-six years later, it’s no longer just about what we consume, but how sustainably it has found its way to our plate.  In the spirit of continuous improvement, or ‘kaizen,’ we’re striving to be a more sustainable business every day, from the sourcing of our ingredients to the powering of our restaurants to the impact we have on the environment.” 

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Dining Featured NYC Restaurants

Worldwide Favorite Wagamama Set to Open Third New York Location in Murray Hill

wagamama

wagamama, the wildly popular UK–based, Asian fusion hotspot, will be opening its third New York City location in Murray Hill on February 6th. At the heart of wagamama’s success is its egalitarian “Bowl to Soul” philosophy: wholesome, fresh food and a welcoming environment to nourish the body as well as the soul.

wagamama interior

To celebrate the Murray Hill restaurant, wagamama will offer its first exclusive dish in the U.S., for a limited time and only in the new location. Available for just one month, the Hot Katsu curry is a fiery version of the restaurant chain’s iconic Chicken Katsu curry, a dish ordered 3.5 million times a year in the UK alone. As a launch bonus, the first 50 guests through the door on opening day will have their choice of a hot or regular Katsu curry served free of charge.

 

wagamama will also be offering a special, limited edition vegan dish created by Executive Chef Steve Mangleshot and UK vegan chef Gas Oakley. The Avant Gard’n features a coconut and sriracha vegan “egg” along with barbecue-glazed seitan, edamame, grilled asparagus and mushrooms all served on a bed of sticky rice. The special will be available from January 7th through February 28th. wagamama also now offers a full vegan menu at all of its locations.

 

lychee martiniTo fit in to its new neighborhood of Murray Hill, wagamama is offering an expanded drink program that includes inventive cocktails, a larger beer selection, many Japanese whiskeys and a sake flight. The other New York locations of wagamama are in NoMad and the East Village, and there are already plans for a Midtown location in 2019. wagamama’s success comes from their menu filled with healthful Asian-fusion dishes served in a friendly environment.

sake flight

Downtown had the chance to ask wagamama Executive Chef Steve Mangleshot about the newest location and wagamama’s global success:

Downtown: The fact that this will be your third location in New York City proves that your cuisine is a hit with New Yorkers. Why did you choose Murray Hill for the newest wagamama?

Steve Mangleshot: We’re delighted to be joining the neighborhood of Murray Hill and we’re excited that the food scene of Murray Hill is beginning to expand. We chose Murray Hill as we felt that wagamama is the perfect offering for its local residents. Whether you want to come on your own, with friends, after work, or in your gym gear, we’re for all occasions and can’t wait to be a part of a great neighborhood.

Downtown: You have 97 restaurants in 27 countries, what makes wagamama so popular around the world?

Steve Mangleshot: We have always been proud of our food, and people love our food because we’ve created something unique and different: you can’t get wagamama food in other restaurants because our version of each dish is influenced by my travels. When I get ideas from one country, I fuse that with the flavors from another to make dishes that are truly unique. I also think people like what wagamama stands for: the brand is egalitarian (everyone sits on the same benches); we are always innovating and trying new things; and we look after our teams as we know that they are so important in everything we do.

Downtown: Tell us about the Hot Katsu Curry and how it came to be.

Steve Mangleshot: In Japan, every place that sells Katsu Curry has their own recipe, and the diner can modify the dish based on their spice preference from 1-10 (1 being mild and 10 being super spicy!). When I asked for a 10 in one restaurant the chef came over and advised me against it as it would be too hot for me! When I came back from that trip I started to work on a spicy recipe, so I dialed the heat up to a 6 for our Hot Katsu Curry. I am glad we can launch it as an exclusive dish in Murray Hill as a tribute to the many Indian curry restaurants in the area.

chicken katsu curry

Downtown: Chef Mangleshot, can you share with our Downtown readers one of the “untold” secrets to your success?

Steve Mangleshot: I guess the secret is simple. Make food the hero and make sure the ingredients you use are fresh and exciting, to ensure our dishes are packed full of flavor. Everyone that works for wagamama is a foodie, and it’s important to have passion for what you do. We put this passion into our dishes. We push ourselves daily and live by the Kaizen philosophy. We spend endless hours training our teams and we push ourselves to be innovative, brave and bold with both recipe ideas and flavors.

Downtown: After 9/11, many thought lower Manhattan was gone for good. Today downtown is the hottest and fastest growing area in NY. So when are you opening below Canal Street?

Steve Mangleshot: We love New York. Our team is always looking for the next site. We have another one in the works now in Midtown and we are looking at all areas in Manhattan for our future locations!

avant gard'n

Downtown: You’ve been with wagamama for 17 years, in today’s ever-changing world that’s something to celebrate. Why should our younger generation choose a long career with one brand?

Steve Mangleshot: I’ve been lucky enough to help a brand grow and I still get very excited about what we can achieve. Even after 17 years, I am still learning and I have a passion for beautiful Asian food, and anyone that has a passion for a certain type of cuisine should follow that dream and keep building on it.