wagamama

With it's ideal location just outside Hoyts at Chadstone, wagamama has solidified its position a perfect pre/post movie time killer. M and I were all too eager to hear about E's adventures, climbing the mountains of Nepal and traversing all around India, so a quick dinner at wagamama before our Hunger Games 6:30pm session it was.

Pic credit: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?client=firefox-a&hs=ezT&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1760&bih=871&tbm=isch&tbnid=aZvqsQgcTnLERM:&imgrefurl=http://www.atlasgc.com.au/index.php/wagamama-chadstone-melb/&docid=-TZ0u-dDF0N8jM&imgurl=http://www.atlasgc.com.au/wp-content/gallery/wagamama-chadstone/wagamama-chadstone-5.jpg&w=1680&h=1050&ei=86-dUpLuBcn5kgWkj4CwAg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:9,s:0,i:127&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=177&tbnw=256&start=0&ndsp=20&tx=180&ty=80

Coming home from the land where they invented curry, E had developed quite the palate for all things hot, spicy, and vegetarian.

First dish of the night was a sauteed vegetarian dish, made up of tofu, marinated ginger mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, chillies, and red onion, with delectable herby hints of mint, basil, coriander, jasmine, along with the more potent garlic and chilli spices. I loved the little spicy crunch of the outer tofu layer, which easily turned this otherwise ordinary dish into a taste-bud sensation.

Our second dish had to be a salad - what else do you expect from girls? Again, an otherwise plain-sounding dish was dressed up fancifully with some cumin-marinated mushrooms, and ginger stir-fried veggies, dashes of lime and soy dressing, and a sprinkling of chilli and fried shallots. The marriage of spices and flavours is really the hero element of this dish, and was a perfect accompaniment to our third and final plate...

...The Fire Cracker Chicken! Apparently this is new to the menu, but I can tell it will quickly become a favourite! If you've ever had Sichuan (Szechuan) cuisine, you'll have an idea of what you can expect from this dish. Although, if you're expecting it to have the same pungent and bold garlic and chilli flavours, you may be a bit disappointed; this has been fairly well catered to the subdued Western palate. Just be mindful of the occasional chillies, because they can be a real tear-jerker if you're not careful!


Having read a few of the other reviews about this restaurant, it seems we may have dined an optimal time as we were the only other patrons bar two others who were finishing up as we were being seated; so we were fully attended to and our food came out piping hot and within reasonable time of having ordered them. On top of this, the girls and I found each dish to be delectably finger-licking good and reasonably priced when split into three.

Wagamama
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Dandenong Road,
Chadstone VIC 3142