The long tables, big bowls of slurpy noodles, upbeat East Asian tempo and cool branding have been a prominent part of High Street eating in Britain for nearly 20 years. It had almost become an indictment that a city of Edinburgh's dining status was without its Wagamama fix, a gap now filled in a convenient former bank on Lothian Road. The chain's many followers dig the slick efficiency of operation, the positive attitude to kids, vegetarians, lone diners and hungry appetites. With huge servings of curries with rice, soupy noodles or griddle-flashed teppan, and no shortage of fresh, lively ingredients, there's little denying its zestful appeal. Just a pity that flavours can be absent in key areas making some dishes rather one-dimensional.
With fast, friendly and efficient service this pan-Asian eatery continues to be an Edinburgh favourite. The western-friendly menu is a perfect starting point for those stepping out of their flavour comfort zone. The authentic food doesn’t push boundaries, with the exception of a few Korean-inspired dishes like an eye-watering chilli chicken dish called the firecracker. This is a safe menu, with a variety of gyozas, salads and yakitori to start before heading to the robust main courses where bowls of slurpable ramen await. If soup noodles do not take your fancy the menu offers fried noodle tepannyaki dishes or rice-based curries and stir fries. All are prepared to order and will arrive when they’re ready at the long communal tables, so don’t stand on ceremony. There is a healthy streak running through the menu with a seasonal option of stir-fried greens, big salads and a variety of fresh juices on offer. But you can indulge in a handful of standard desserts. No booking is required, but a weekend lunch time may find you queuing.
wagamama is a celebration of asian food, inspired by japanese ramen bars and is a truly unique way to eat. A menu created to soothe, nourish and sustain, whether you choose a little ginger to warm you up, chillies that kick or noodles to nourish the body and soul. Pick from all kinds of rice and noodle dishes, alongside fresh salads and shareable sides – as well as feel good juices and expertly crafted asian beers.
wagamama have revealed their secrets and told us exactly what goes into some of their most popular dishes. As the cold weather creeps in, a hearty bowl of wagamama's ramen, chicken teriyaki donburi or chicken gyoza can really hit the spot, and with…
Tamar Haspel recently published an article arguing that salad is overrated. And sure, salad gets a lot of attention—but the reasons Haspel calls salad overrated is not because of the hype but rather because, she argues, it's nutrient-poor, expensive, and a tax on our food system.
Haspel does define some of these "salad ingredients": “Four of the five lowest-ranking vegetables (by serving size) [on the nutrient quality index] are salad ingredients: cucumbers, radishes, iceberg lettuce and celery. (The fifth is eggplant.)” I’ll get to the nutrition part in a second, but I’m not sure why these four ingredients are siloed as “salad ingredients”—and eggplant is left out—when you can make a salad with eggplant; a soup or two, drink, or taco with cucumber; and a soup, pizza, sauté, braise, or pickle with radishes. Celery is the start of so many dishes, and lettuce doesn't always mean salad.
Salad, you're so sneaky! Wrong. Salad isn’t fooling anyone—misinformation about ingredients and their nutritional value is. So what do we do about this? The solution to the misinformation about salad/lettuce isn’t to eliminate salad/lettuce or the consumption of salad/lettuce entirely, which this article purports (which this article is marketing? Discuss.). Rather, it’s to know what you’re eating.
I have an idea! (It’s not that novel; don’t get too excited.) Make a broccoli and sweet potato salad—that sounds so good (and nutritious) and your salad is no longer an "expense problem.”
In the end, if Haspel had changed every mention of “salad” to “lettuce,” we might not have written too many words on the topic. But we don’t support fearmongering that what we’re eating—salad—is “overrated,” hurtful (“save the planet, skip the salad”), and “a resource-hungry luxury” when it's not, when it can't be. Saying so oversimplifies the situation and won’t help us fix the problems Haspel cares so much about. Yes, we want to make good food choices, too—for ourselves and for our friends, family, pets, and planet. But salad isn’t going to get us there. (Maybe soup? Just kidding.)
Love this post - it was such a revelation to me when I realised that I loved salad that wasn't the dreary boring salad of my childhood with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and radish.
Oh come on. What salad means to the vast majority of Americans is lettuce, cucumber, tomato, croutons, and a big glug of dressing. The fact that the word 'salad' can also be used by a bunch of food afficionados (including myself) to mean a broccoli sweet potato concoction does not undermine the excellent points that she makes about what that term typically means in our culture.