wagaya, haymarket

Back at Wagaya. Actually to celebrate our first night of freedom after the HSC, our Japanese class had initially planned on celebrating at Kasumi Izakaya with the water slide, takoyaki roulette and monjayaki making but we couldn't find the restaurant anywhere! Oh well, at least you know dining in those little Wagaya cubicles and playing with the touch screen will always be fun with a bunch of close friends.

wagaya:

touch screen menu:

Loved this touch screen menu system. The service was so quick.

takoyaki ($5.20):

Deep fried Japanese balls with octopus. The exterior is still hot and crispy when it is brought to our table and inside is oh so smooth.

eel fried rice with wasabi ($12.50):

Fried rice with grilled eel pieces, egg and wasabi to mix. The thing I like about the stone pot rice at wagaya is that the bottom is extremely crispy. It's always nice to hear the pot still sizzling even when the it arrives at your table. The rice is very flavourful. With such a tiny serving of rice, it's not surprising the eel pieces are so hard to find.

wafu pizza ($8.30):

Japanese style pizza with rice cakes, chicken and mushroom. The pizza base is soft and extremely thin. It is topped with a copious amount of cheese. The addition of rice cakes is just so nice.

karaage ($7.30):

When in doubt, fried chicken will never be a bad choice.

sushi roulette ($9.90):

Salmon nigiri with a hidden wasabi bomb. I think it's obvious which one had to wasabi bomb in it. It's just oozing out. Too bad my dear friend found out she had it before she actually put it in her mouth. Extra karaage chicken was given as consolation.

mentaiko spaghetti ($9.90):

Creamy spaghetti noodles cooked to perfection with pollack roe, calamari rings and mushrooms. Everyone attacked the bowl of noodles before I got the chance to take a picture.

japanese style spaghetti ($9.40):

Hidden underneath that heap of al dente noodles are creamy mushrooms and scallops, topped with lotus chips. There is not a single pasta dish that I don't like from Wagaya - they're so perfect.

kimchi fried rice ($9.80):

takoyaki gratin ($7.30):

Takoyaki but with melted cheese.

soy sauce tonkotsu ramen ($8.90):

ox tongue nikomi ($8.90):

Tender pieces of ox tongue served with a tomato curry sauce. I've only ever had Thai/Laos ox tongue and ox tongue from Korean barbecue. Someone ordered it even though half of us didn't want it. Unlike the ones you find at barbecues and Thai/Laos places, it is really meaty and tender.

cold chicken ramen ($9.50):

Cold flavoured ramen noodles toppped with chicken and salad in a sesame dressing. I love cold noodles! I don't understand why people don't like it. It kind of reminded me Beijing sesame noodles. Loved it

iced green tea latte ($4.20):

Well received by everyone who ordered it. The additional green tea ice-cream to it is a bonus.

L: opal (grapefruit and lychee) R: amethyst (milk, strawberry, mint) ($5.90 ea)

I just remember the Opal drink had a really strong bitter after taste.

Now it's time for dessert - my favourite

green tea cheese cake & green tea ice cream ($7.50):

green tea ice-ceam ($4.50):

The green tea ice-cream is topped with a chocolate wafer stick and thin slice of strawberry. I loved how the green tea flavour was so strong.

Like the green tea ice-cream, it is presented with a chocolate wafer stick and a thin piece of strawberry. But unlike the green tea, this was a slight let down. There was only a tiny hint of black sesame flavour and I would definitely prefer the black sesame ice cream from Passionflower.

yoh assorted dessert ($11.50):

Cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, custard dessert set. The desserts were pretty ordinary. We just ordered them to indulge.

wa assorted desserts ($11.50):

Strawberry daifuku, black sesame ice cream and green tea mousse. I really liked the daifuku. Is there a difference between daifuku and mochi? The daifuku had a lovely red bean paste filling in the centre.

creme brulee & ice cream (7.50):

We were betting on how small the serving for the creme brulee was going to be when it arrived. We were looking forward to cracking that perfect glaze on top but there was no glaze to crack.

About $11.00 - $12.00 per person minus the drinks and desserts!

wagaya
level 1, 78-86 harbour street
haymarket NSW 2000
t:(02) 9212 6068
w: http://www.wagaya.com.au/