Why Wagamama's Works for us

I'm surrounded by boxes. I think I've mentioned that we're moving soon. Part of me is hugely excited - we're moving from an out-grown flat, to a house and garden. Part of me feels daunted. 

Where, I am at the moment, I feel safe in my own environment - I know where the best shops are for sourcing my various dietary necessities and luxuries. A move means having to source those all over again. That includes places to eat, when we're out. Some of the chains with which we've become familiar and with whom we feel reasonably safe, aren't represented as well in our new area. One such is Wagamamas. 

In case you never been to Wagamama's, it's basically, a South East Asian restaurant chain. The interior is minimalist and noisy. The staff are efficient and busy as bees but friendly and helpful, for all that. I'd never been inside one, until a few years ago when I came up to London with The Hub. I think he wondered where I'd been all my life!

Dairy Free
We first discovered Wagamama's potential to cater for us some time ago, not too long after I first became dairy free. The immediate attraction was that many South East Asian dishes are, by nature, dairy free.


Online Menu 
Even better, The Hub discovered that we could find out which dishes were safe, by looking at their menu online - and that includes dietary requirements although, oddly enough dairy free dishes are listed as 'lactose intolerant.' Strictly speaking, of course, 'dairy free' and 'lactose free' are not the same thing, but if you follow their instructions to ask your server about dishes, then there should not be any problem.

By perusing their online menu, The Hub soon found that I could have their Chu Chee Chicken Curry. It was so yummy, that I did not feel that I was missing out on anything, by being dairy free. 

Chicken and Prawn Cha Han

Gluten Free
Despite the fact that a lot of dishes are cooked with gluten containing ingredients, they do seem to have some dishes that are suitable for me, now that I'm avoiding wheat/gluten. However, I'm merely intolerant, not coeliac, and I know that I have wondered how really gluten free the food is - especially since soy sauce is present in a lot of South East Asian cooking and everything is cooked in woks. 

If, like me, you're avoiding wheat/gluten as well dairy, then it's the same old story, there's only one suitable main - in this case, Chicken and Prawn Cha Han. It's basically an egg-fried rice dish, with a small side of pickles and soup. If you don't like this, then you're stuffed!

Important Update: The allergy listings have been changed and this dish is no longer listed as cereal (and therefore gluten) free.

To be quite honest, It's not my favourite dish in the whole wide world - it's nowhere near as moreish as the Chu Chee Chicken Curry, that I used to enjoy. The problem was that the Chu Chee Chicken Curry wasn't listed as wheat/gluten free anyway, and when we 'need' to eat out, it's become quite nice to know that I have any option at all!

Little Ones
Wagamama's provide great high chairs. We loved their Phil and Ted high chairs (that suspend from the tables) so much that we went out and bought one! They also provide the pretty much obligatory  restaurant colouring sheets and crayons, to keep little fingers busy, but we have found it far more useful to have short videos on The Hub's smartphone - to keep Baby amused whilst the food is prepared.

Mini Ramen

The children's menu has expanded a little since we first started visiting Wagamama's. There's a few options Baby can have. We used to order the cod cubes (sauce comes as aside, so no worries if your little one doesn't like the sauce) but currently her 'usual' is a 'Mini Ramen' - basically a noodle soup, with huge chnks of chicken. 

It's really a bit too big for a child her size, and we tend to cut up the chicken and noodles, to make them more manageable for her, but we're not too fussed if she doesn't finish it, as long as she's had enough.

The noodle spoon is ridiculously large for a little one and their children's chopsticks look cool, but Baby has not yet developed enough dexterity to use these, so we usually just ask for an extra spoon.

My 'usual'.

Healthy Fast Food

One of the attractions, for us, is that the food should be better for you than Mac Donald's (although I'm not sure how much salt is used) and it's still usually served fairly rapidly, which is important, when you have Baby around! 

I say usually, if you arrive at a peak time, then despite the best efforts of the staff, food can be a little bit slower to arrive. 

The other thing to bear in mind is that dishes come as soon as they are ready, rather than all together at the same time, so if you have a little one, it's a good idea to pack a few bread sticks!

Order Takeaway

Another thing that we like about Wagamama's is that that you can order online (on the computer or via smartphone app) and pick up it up as a takeaway, at your own convenience. This has worked well for us, when we've been travelling with Baby.

Of course, you can't cover dietary requirements online, but if you get to know which dishes are okay and are not too worried about cross-contamination, then you should be okay. We've never had any problems, ordering this way.

Drinks

If you're after a 'cheap date', Green Tea is free. I'm not all that fond of Green Tea, so my 'usual' is elderflower. It's light, with a sweet hint and refreshes the palate, quite nicely. Sometimes we get Baby the Apple Juice, but really she's much more happy with her own water.

Dessert

Anyone for a 'natural fruit ice lolly'? To be quite honest you can get these at almost any restaurant now and, no thanks, I really don't want one!

Prices

Their prices are pretty good, I think. Ours breaks down, as follows:

Sparkling elderflower £2.20

Chicken and Prawn Cha Han £7.55

Mini Juice £1.65

Mini Ramen £4.35

Update November 2013:
Whilst others I know are happy to eat at Wagamamas, we no longer do so. This is because I started to get reactions after eating there, even though I used to be fine. Although they apparently wash their woks, it appears that this has been insufficient for me. The last reaction was so severe that I couldn't eat properly for a few days. I no longer want to take the risk.   :(

Other posts about eating out dairy free:

Eating Out - Mission Possible

Dinner with Leon

Eating Giraffe Food

Supping at Strada

Hanging out in the Roof Gardens of Babylon

Eating out - Mission Possible

There's always chips!

Where there's a will...
I'd be lying if I said it was easy, 'cos it's not. But, it is indeed possible to eat out dairy free - sort of. I kind of feel you have to be brave, take the plunge and give it a go. Okay, you might not have such a big range from which to choose (as you used to) and you may have to forego a few puds, but if the worst comes to the worst, you can usually find somewhere that does chips (as long as they don't stick some coating on them)! 

It's easier, of course, if you're able to cope with that magical phrase, 'traces of milk,' than if you're not. The main thing is to plan ahead and do your research. Unfortunately, a number of times we've thought we'd covered our bases, and done our research, only to come unstuck. However, usually this has been down to misinformation, rather than our lack of preparation. Fortunately, for us, it has not been life-threatening but it has been upsetting nonetheless.

Of course what is possible all depends on the kind of establishment at which you're planning to eat. If you're planning on fine dining (where they cook to order) I think there's a bit more leeway, especially if you phone ahead and warn staff in advance. However, if you're planning on dropping in on a high street establishment, (without naming too many names) here's a few things we have learned through bitter, and some not so bitter, experience:

Never be afraid to ask

Remember never be afraid to ask. I've had to become a lot more assertive. There's nothing to be lost by asking. I've been places, where they've agreed to cook my order in oil rather than butter, which wouldn't have happened if I hadn't asked what they could do for me. Ultimately, if staff can't answer your enquiries, then, 'If in doubt, leave it out,' definitely applies!! 

Make your needs clear
Make sure waiting/serving staff understand your requirements, especially if the nature of your need is such that the smallest particle of dairy is a problem. A restaurant that truly caters for the allergic customer will understand the need to avoid cross-contamination and will cook/prepare your food using separate utensils.

It is possible to get cards, which list your dietary needs, to hand to restaurant staff, in order to make things clear. I've not used them myself, although I think I would almost certainly use them if eating out abroad. I did look into them at one point. You can buy them online, although some sites also offer them for free. 

Don't turn up at the last minute

If you turn up when you are all hungry (and your child is at their most fractious) only to find that the staff can't accommodate your needs, small children won't understand. At that moment in time, their hungry howls will make your life even more miserable than it is already.

Research in advance

Visit restaurants when you/they are not busy to find out what they can do. Phone ahead. Check out in advance which chains publish their menu online. Most do, but they may not make it clear what they can offer in the way of dairy free. McDonald's do, but the website is a bit unwieldy - you have to select an item and then look up it's nutritional information. 

Wagamama's also have an online menu and we find it really helpful. Being based around South East Asian cuisine (which tends not to use dairy) there's quite a fair choice of milk free main dishes to choose from. We look online and choose before we go (speeds up the ordering process too). Don't expect too much of their desert menu though - sadly mostly dairy!

The other thing we like about Wagamamas is that you can also get take away. If you have internet access you can order in advance and pick it up when you get there. Even better, if you have a smartphone, you can (as they say) 'get an App for that!!'

The only thing to watch is that some chains with online menus seem to want you to provide a location, when you try to examine them. This may well mean that they don't have the same options available in different places - something to watch out for, if you're travelling around.

Be aware that claims made on the phone, online or even on the door may not match up to your experience! 

The ability to deliver what you want/need/expect may depend on whether the staff have been properly trained/briefed in regards to what they can/cant deliver. Or it may depend on how much food has been prepared in advance. If it has just taken out and reheated, then, even with the best will in the world, there's not much anyone can do about it. 

At one Italian chain I encountered staff who gave the impression that they understood my needs (when they were trying to coax me through the door) only for me to find that they only had one suitable option for Baby on the children's menu (pasta with tomato sauce - hardly what I would call a balanced meal). Not only that, although I had clearly stated that I couldn't have wheat/gluten, the waitress still brought me complimentary breadsticks!

Choice of cuisine can help! 
Asian

As aforementioned, South East Asian cuisine (Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, Thai etc.) tends not to use dairy (not so good for the gluten or soy free though). In which case, Ping Pong, Cosmos, and Wagamama's are all good options. However, not all Asian food is the same as Indian cuisine, on the other hand, does use quite a bit of dairy. 

Continental
I find French restaurants, are sadly not a good choice, as much of their food tends to be made with an awful lot of dairy, in the form of butter or cheese. Italian tends to be better, as a lot of heir sauces are tomato-based, although I have noticed some bolognese sauces contain milk, too!

At one large French chain I thought my luck was in when, on enquiry at the door, I was handed an allergy information chart. After a fair amount of study, I discovered there was pretty much nothing on their menu that I could eat apart from olives, nuts and salad (mind you, I'm not just dairy free)! Thankfully I was only scouting them out at the time and wasn't relying on eating with them there and then!


Pubs/Carveries
Good (and I stress 'good') pubs can be a good place to grab a bit to eat but beware of hidden dangers! Once you think you've made a fairly safe choice, don't forget to ask staff whether food is cooked/basted/roasted in butter. We've made the mistake in the past of thinking that a roast is a fairly safe bet but there can be pitfalls - chicken gravy may contain milk and so may any sausages that arrive on the side. 

Once I ordered the roast, only to find that it was impossible to separate the meat from the gravy. However, usually I order the roast and ask them not to add gravy. Then (being wheat/gluten free as well) I ldon't have the accompanying sausages/Yorkshire pudding.

Another thing to watch out for, is that sometimes chefs add a small knob of butter to veggies to glaze and flavour them slightly. This occurred at a carvery which we visited once. It only became evident when Baby had  reaction - our fault, on this occasion, for being unprepared. It did explain, though, the unusual amount of enthusiasm with which Baby ate her carrots! 

Some chain pubs you might want to consider are places like Table Table, Beefeater or Harvester. Your choices may be fairly limited (I'm usually chicken and chips at a Harvester) but it's better than nothing. Avoid carveries though, in my experience, as everything is produced en masse - not much room for manoeuvre and buffet style eating comes with additional risks from your fellow diners - mixing up the serving spoons or inadvertently spilling food from one dish into another. 

Deli style sandwich bars

These are the kind of places where they assemble the food in front of you. Depending on the establishment, they can be quite good for grabbing a light bite. In the pasgt, I've asked staff to leave off spread (and mayonnaise, if staff are unsure) and just give me the bread and the filling. One drawback is that some breads are made with dairy, so you need to check this out with staff too, but also there might be cross-contamination between the pots of fillings - which are usually uncovered.

Deli style bars often offer things like soup and baked potatoes too. However, check the soup ingredients and when ordering baked potatoes make sure they don't put the butter in the potato before serving it to you. Tuna and mayonnaise jacket potato has become a good lunchtime friend of mine - some places, it's the only thing on the menu that I can eat. Mayo can be dairy free - Hellman's Original is, whereas their light version isn't! Quite often, when I ask, staff offer me the tub to check the label for myself.

Supermarket Restaurants

I've not tried many, but the Sainsbury's near us can be quite useful. The only guaranteed Free From food they currently sell is a chocolate brownie by the till, but if you can cope with 'may contain...' then they have a folder to inform staff about the ingredients in each dish. Usually, the staff come up trumps and produce it for you. Best done, when the restaurant is not too busy, in my experience!! 

Fish and Chips
However, if nothing else is available, and you're dairy free, good old-fashioned fish and chips can usually be found on most high streets. The only thing to check may be the ingredients of any sausages or batter and whether they share the fryer with any other items that contain dairy. I'm just guessing, but I suspect the pies are a complete, 'No, no!'

Medication
If you have been prescribed antihistamine or an epipen, you're probably already only too  well aware that you need to have this on hand - just in case!!

And finally...
Relax (if you can) and enjoy (what you can)!