Wgamama’s seasonal menu changes are usually quite subtle with the addition of a few salads for the summer months or spicy dishes for winter. I usually skim over these and go straight to old favourites like Katsu Curry or Chilli Ramen. However, this year the summer dishes managed to catch my eye.

Off to a somewhat predictable but tasty start with Tebasaki - slow roasted chicken wings, glazed with a spicy, pan-asian barbeque sauce. There’s no denying they taste good but these are essentially buffalo wings with a vague Asian twist.

The Tama Salad is a whole lot more interesting. Fresh tomatoes, grilled artichokes, avocado and caramelised onions on a bed of pea shoots, crunchy whole wheat noodles tossed in a sesame wasabi and citrus dressing and topped with either chicken, prawns or tofu. This is a proper satisfying salad that feels light enough to eat on a hot day but substantial enough to fill a decent sized gap. The crispy noodles are a perfect contrast to the freshness of the salad.

There are two new Teriyaki Donburi dishes of either chicken or beef, glazed with an orange teriyaki sauce. Both are served with sticky white rice, thinly sliced carrots, pea shoots and spring onions and a side of kimchee. I tried the beef, which was tasty and tender, but I found the sticky rice to be more of a winter comfort food and too much of a carb overload on a hot summer evening.

The Toropikaru Senzai Soup is crammed with shiitake mushrooms, leeks, mangetout, pea shoots and beansprouts, in a coconut, mint and lemongrass broth and a good choice for vegetarians. However, it doesn’t rival the aforementioned Tofu Tama Salad for a perfect summer veggie treat.

On to desert… I always get the feeling that Pan Asian restaurants struggle when it comes to puddings. Most authentic Asian deserts and sweets tend to weird out the British diner and we’re also not too impressed with simple fresh fruit or jasmine tea at the end of a meal. This summer, Wagamama have managed to buck the trend of the usual Anglo-Asian offerings of green tea ice cream, green tea crème brulée or green tea cheesecake (ueugh!) with an imaginative take on the humble apple tart. Their Apple, Sweet Yam with Pumpkin & Toasted Sesame Seed Tart, served with Madagascar vanilla pod cream sauce is a must try. Please don’t be put off by the thought of seeds and what is essentially a sweet potato in your apple tart because this is the best desert I’ve tried in a long time.

Aside from a few little glitches (warm fruit juice anyone?), Wagamama has really come up trumps with their new summer menu. Try and drag yourself away from their old favourites for a couple of months because these new dishes won’t be around forever.