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From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

Everyone knows that the Chicken Katsu Curry is *that* dish at Wagamama.

From Serious Eats

One Dozen Trader Joe's Eggs, Each with a Double Yolk

This happened to me once with a box of eggs from Earthbound, an organic food shop in Bristol (UK). As a few people have said, young hens lay double-yolked eggs.

From A Hamburger Today

A Great Burger in London Hidden in Bodean's Barbecue Restaurant

@Nick: I wasn't having a go, I just find it funny when visitors to anywhere end up eating the food of their home, you've a pretty good excuse in your case! :-) A friend visited from the states recently who's a bit of a fussy eater, we took him to Pasha (Moroccan) and Memories of India, both on Gloucester Road, and he couldn't cope with either. We ended up taking him to the Big Easy on King's Road and he was much happier...

As for "Moroccan meatballs and chicken curry hardly sound English to me"... Chicken curry is our national dish and has been for at least 25 years! When I think of "English food", I never think of Fish & Chips or Ploughman's Lunches, I think curry, fresh fish and perhaps the odd roast. Modern British food draws heavily on influences from the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Southeast Asia; the things you mention are traditional, but hardly represent british food today. That's not to say they don't still exist, I love the occasional visit to Canteen for a Steak & Ale pie or something like that...

Anyway, I seem to have gone off on a tangent... be sure to check out Byron the next time you're back, I'm sure it'll top Bodean's!

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From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

Everyone knows that the Chicken Katsu Curry is *that* dish at Wagamama.

From Serious Eats

One Dozen Trader Joe's Eggs, Each with a Double Yolk

This happened to me once with a box of eggs from Earthbound, an organic food shop in Bristol (UK). As a few people have said, young hens lay double-yolked eggs.

From A Hamburger Today

A Great Burger in London Hidden in Bodean's Barbecue Restaurant

@Nick: I wasn't having a go, I just find it funny when visitors to anywhere end up eating the food of their home, you've a pretty good excuse in your case! :-) A friend visited from the states recently who's a bit of a fussy eater, we took him to Pasha (Moroccan) and Memories of India, both on Gloucester Road, and he couldn't cope with either. We ended up taking him to the Big Easy on King's Road and he was much happier...

As for "Moroccan meatballs and chicken curry hardly sound English to me"... Chicken curry is our national dish and has been for at least 25 years! When I think of "English food", I never think of Fish & Chips or Ploughman's Lunches, I think curry, fresh fish and perhaps the odd roast. Modern British food draws heavily on influences from the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Southeast Asia; the things you mention are traditional, but hardly represent british food today. That's not to say they don't still exist, I love the occasional visit to Canteen for a Steak & Ale pie or something like that...

Anyway, I seem to have gone off on a tangent... be sure to check out Byron the next time you're back, I'm sure it'll top Bodean's!

From A Hamburger Today

A Great Burger in London Hidden in Bodean's Barbecue Restaurant

The best burger in London is found in Byron on Kensington High Street (http://www.byronhamburgers.com) Utterly superb, went there on Giles Coren's recommendation: http://tinyurl.com/9osk6h

Also, why come to London to eat American food? Take a trip to Leon (http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/) and discover how wonderful fast food can be. Have the Moroccan Meatballs, then come back for dinner and have the Winter Chicken Curry. Both sublime.

From Serious Eats

One Dozen Trader Joe's Eggs, Each with a Double Yolk

We bought a flat (20) last week from a local organic market and had the same thing happen. All 20 eggs were double yolked. It was the weirdest thing.

From Serious Eats

One Dozen Trader Joe's Eggs, Each with a Double Yolk

Whoa - I want that dozen of eggs!!! The yolk is my favorite part!

From Serious Eats

One Dozen Trader Joe's Eggs, Each with a Double Yolk

When I was young and impoverished I used to work in an egg packing factory, a horrible job, but it paid well. As people like their eggs uniform my job was to check that the eggs were all the same - they would pass in front of me on a metal grid and a bright light was shone through the eggshells.
Any non-uniform eggs - double yolkers, part fertilised, deformed shells, that sort of thing, were snatched from the line and thrown into a big vat, and taken off to be dried to make egg powder and used in cake manufacturing

Could the egg checker in this case have meant to put the double yolkers on one side for disposal, but made a mistake and packed them instead?

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

I too have know this particular form of heartbreak--specifically with the Peking duck pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. I've been back since, but it's always such a hollow meal without my beloved Peking duck.

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

lovely story kerry
"It was a new dish—only on the Oxford menu. Just like me! We met, and we fell in love."

Your ramen romance inspired me to whip up a similar recipe :)

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

I have this happen to me all the time. Apparently I have odd tastes, because my favourite at any chain seems to disappear off the menu sooner or later, while others' faves remain. This is probably why I don't go to chains much anymore. When you finally find something worth eating, they remove the option to eat it!! I hope you find some relief with the cookbooks!

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

The Thai sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings disappeared one day and I haven't been back since.

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

Wagamamas is so bad. It's so far removed from the Ramen you get in Japan it's ridiculous. This so called Ramen further illustrates that point (it looks more like a bizarre tom yum gong than anything Japanese).

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

Maybe it's in one of the Wagamama cookbooks- there are 3 versions available on amazon....

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

I used to visit one of the original Wagamamas back in the early '90s, in London. The wait was forever, but the food was cheap and really good. They used to have all-you-can eat soba, and all you can drink Carlsberg, for about £10.

We have one in Cambridge, but we almost never go. The food isn't as good anymore, and the prices are high. We have a local Japanese place that is cheaper and better. Were polygamy not illegal, I would marry their fried vegetable dumplings. Their udon noodles could be best man.

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

At first I was happy when the Wagamama settled down in my hometown in the Netherlands and I was all the more happy with the fantastic broth that my noodles were served in. However, on subsequent returns the broth turned out to be different every time and not as fantastic any more :(
I also didn't like the service actually on these returns. I mean, I know that it's basically a fastfood place, but putting a sign at the entrance stating that you have to wait to be seated and not actually paying attention to incoming customers who wait to be seated is kind of annoying.

I think the service and the different broths are the main reasons for me not frequenting that place anymore, although I would recommend it to people who'd like a different eating experience, I guess.

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

The British do some things so, so right when it comes to chain/snack food--Sainsbury's supermarket, Marks and Spencer's, Cranks, the satisfying burp of the plastic sandwich containers of Pret-a-Manger. And the delightful jacket potatoes from carts. And chip shops.

And then, they put sweetcorn on pizza (and in one eggroll I consumed there).

Some things are just impossible to understand. Perhaps the disappearance of 28 is another mystery. Drown yourself in some saag aloo or other Indian food!

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

@shoneyjoe: See, I looked through that list as well, but I'll have you know I wrote a whole paragraph about it's disappearance from the Terminal 5 menu months ago, which left me somewhat disconcerted about how long it would remain in Oxford (I edited that part out). And of course, it's off the Oxford menu now. So I can't trust that list. If anyone is in the other locations, update us! But I don't know how you made it through Oxford without it. I do love my kebab van, but at the same time, I like knowing that there's a place I can go that won't give me a heart attack.

@Grumpy Old Man: That is exactly what frustrates me! That feeling that Chili's just doesn't care that you only went there for that one dish. That's how I feel. I mean, I've asked about it every time I've gone into Wagamama; I feel like good business means they'll listen. After all is said and done, I've started going back, ordering the chicken chili ramen with no chicken and substituting in whole wheat noodles. But now I'm paying a pound or two extra, and actually getting less. It's quite frustrating. But they are sort of winning, aren't they?

@misscay: Thanks! I'm going to try that!

@Spielo: Yeah, yeah, I know EVERYONE loves it! I like it fine; but it's not #28.

From Serious Eats

Snapshots from the UK: Wagamama's Defunct #28 (Chili Mushroom Ramen)

A current perusal of the wagamama website says it's available. At Harrogate • High Wycombe • Mermaid Key, Cardiff • Oxford • Salisbury • Sheffield • Silverburn • Heathrow Terminal 5 • and Walton-on-Thames.

But lucky you all the same: we didn't even have Wagamama when I was at Oxford. We had to make do with Red Star and Noodlebar. I do love becoming a regular someplace though. The guy at Hassan's on Broad Street stopped asking me what I wanted some time into my first year. When I came back from the States, dragging my suitcase behind me, I wouldn't even go to my apartment without going for a kebab first.

From Serious Eats

Threadless T-Shirt Giveaway: A Piece of Cake

Thanks to all who entered, and congrats to winner sidebernie! You have been sent an email on how to claim your shirt.

From Serious Eats

Threadless T-Shirt Giveaway: A Piece of Cake

Princess Torte - white cake with some raspberry filling halfway through and a white creaming filling and marzipan over it all. YUM!

From Serious Eats

Threadless T-Shirt Giveaway: A Piece of Cake

Red velvet
or a Costco cake with chocolate mousse filling. No kidding.

From Serious Eats

Threadless T-Shirt Giveaway: A Piece of Cake

carrot cake. yes on the raisins, no on the nuts, lots of classic, tangy, cream cheese frosting, and just a hint of nostalgia.

From Serious Eats

Threadless T-Shirt Giveaway: A Piece of Cake

White cake with chocolate frosting! Mmm... now I want cake...

From Serious Eats

Threadless T-Shirt Giveaway: A Piece of Cake

i love white cake with chocolate frosting...plain and simple : )

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