I was on my way to East Anglia and was staying over in Festival Leisure Park in Basildon at the Travelodge.
Across the retail park are various places to eat. I did walk around looking at various outlets, thinking about what I wanted. In the end I went to Wagamama with the plan that I wouldn’t have what I usually have at Wagamama. For a starter (or is it a side) I had the pulled shiitake crispy otsumami.
This is six squares of crispy fried rice soaked in a soy + yuzu dressing, topped with smashed avocado + edamame and sriracha mayo, garnished with coriander cress.
These were really interesting and tasty. They were also very pretty. They were quite an intense flavour, but I liked them.
For my main course I went with the (new) crispy chicken sambal fry.
Described as lightly battered chicken coated in garlic + red pepper powder, mild tomato sambal, vibrant pickled slaw. coconut rice. chilled turmeric-stained egg, amai sauce on the side.
I wasn’t as impressed with this dish as I thought I would be. The chicken was disappointing, and I didn’t really like the mild tomato sambal sauce. I enjoyed the plate of food, but I wasn’t blown away by it. Think I should have had my usual mushroom yaki soba.