Wagamama Korean Fried Chicken Bao Buns

Wagamama korean fried chicken bao buns cost £9.50 and carry 729 kcal for the pair, and they are the crowd pleasers of the bao list: crunchy glazed chicken inside pillowy steamed buns with pickled rainbow slaw, gochujang sauce and yuzu mayo. The contrast of hot crackling crumb against cool soft bun is the whole pitch, and it lands every time.

Korean fried chicken is its own tradition, double fried for a shattering crust that holds under sauce, and the gochujang glaze brings the sweet heat the style is famous for. The yuzu mayo answers with citrus cream, and the pickled slaw cuts through everything with vinegar sharpness. Each bite carries all four elements or it is being eaten wrong; these are two handed food and unashamed about it.

The number that stops people is the sugar: at around 45 g for the pair, this is the sweetest savoury item on the entire wagamama menu, more than any dessert on the list. The glaze and the pickled slaw both contribute, and anyone tracking sugar should know a pair outdoes a bao nut. Protein sits at a modest 19 g, and the salt commands the usual glazed food respect.

As an order they work three ways: starter for two, light lunch for one, or part of a bao and gyoza spread that skips mains entirely, which has quietly become a popular way to eat here. Availability of the whole bao section varies less than its contents, and this filling is the one that anchors it.

On the question of how much are the korean fried chicken bao at wagamama, £9.50 is the published figure, with London and airports slightly above. The bang bang cauliflower keeps the Korean heat theme going alongside, and a peach iced tea meets the glaze on its own sweet terms.