Wagaya, Haymarket
25 March 2009
24 Comments
$1140 later, we barely eat through half the menu
Wagaya has been around for a while now, but I’ve never really had a chance to eat there. After coming back from Japan, I’ve been raving and ranting about how good the Izakaya’s are there. So when I had the mandatory task of organising a venue for Linda’s birthday, a few people recommended booking a private room at Wagaya. Considering how much noise our group of friends make in public, I’m glad we did.
Wagaya is an izakaya style restaurant which usually has a massive hoard of people lining up to get a seat. One of the gimmicks is the ordering system, which is entirely operated via a touch screen. There is a hard copy of the menu with item numbers which makes ordering a breeze. I’m a big fan of this touch screen ordering because it means I don’t have to waste my time waving around for a waiter/waitress. It also saves me the hassle of pretending to stretch my arms when the waiter/waitress doesn’t see me signal them. The food comes out pretty quick as well.
We booked the biggest private room available, which sits 25 people comfortably and a few more if you don’t mind sacrificing a bit of leg room. You also need to take your shoes off, as there is a bit of a ditch beneath the tables for your feet to rest. All in all, makes for quite a comfortable dining experience. There are two touch screens in the room and my advice for a big group is to use one screen to order food and the other to order drinks. It makes splitting the bill easier if not everyone drinks! You also get a huge LCD with a DVD player which has Divx/Xvid support so you can play your favourite legally downloaded videos. There is also a Bose speaker system which allows you to plug your Ipod/MP3 player into it, the sound quality was amazing. Another huge plus is that the room is sound proof. We did some stress tests to see if this held true, and it is indeed a sound proof room and a pretty damn good one I must say. It got a bit rowdy after a few too many drinks and people dancing in the room.
Now onto the food. Considering how much stuff we ordered, I’m going to save you readers the pain by not describing every dish as a ‘delicious morsel of food cooked to perfection’ amongst other ‘foodie’ clichés. Instead, check out the photos and names of the dishes so you can get a fair indication on what Wagaya offers. The menu is massive, I think we barely touched the surface of it.
Grilled Squid ($13.50)
These were chewy albeit a little too salty. You see that puddle of mayo in the corner ? That was suppose to last us for all that squid.
Agedashi Soft shell crab ($7.50)
This was interesting as I’ve never had soft shell crab in this style before. The most important thing was that the crab was still crunchy by the time it got to us.
Squid mentai pizza ($8.50)
Generous portions of squid were layered onto this pizza, I think I also tasted some sort of pickles as well. Japanese Pizza’s are interesting because they are never crispy and always soft. Wagaya is no exception.
Spider roll ($8.90)
Portions of sushi rice were topped with decently sized chunk of soft shell crab.
Grilled buttered squid ($8.50)
This tasted exactly how it’s described on the menu buttery goodness.
Wafu Pizza ($7.90)
This soft based pizza is topped with copious amounts of cheese and chicken pieces. It’s ridiculously hot, so don’t one shot it in your mouth once it arrives.
Chicken Karaage ($6.90)
You can’t go wrong with chicken karaage anywhere. As long as it’s crunchy and tender, I’m sold. However once again they failed on the mayo.
Chicken skewers ($5.50 for 3)
Rainbow roll ($9.80)
Unfortunately I didn’t get to try the chicken or rainbow roll, but the rainbow roll looks good doesn’t it ?
Assorted Sashimi Large ($38.50)
For $38 you get quite a large selection of sashimi. In saying that, I don’t think fresh sashimi is Wagaya’s strong point. With such a vast menu, I’d probably stick to their cooked food.
Scallop Sashimi ($6.90)
Contrary to what I said above about the freshness, the scallop defied the odds and passed the freshness test.
Octopus Chijimi ($7.90)
Similiar to korean pancakes, but alot more chewier. These were crispy enough on the outside and were actually quite addictive,
Crumbed cheese ($6.50)
These are not good if you have a heart condition. Bite sized pieces of cheese are deep fried, resulting in a larger than average cheese ball. The pieces are hot and the cheese drips out with each bite.
Tonkatsu Kushiage ($5.90)
Crunchy and full of meat, topped with legendary katsu bbq like sauce.
Assorted Yakitori ($11.90)
Ox tongue (or perhaps it was beef), prawn, salmon and chicken are lightly grilled. Marinades and seasoning are limited but that is common with most grilled Japanese food.
Tako Gomadare ($5.90)
Octopus with gomadare sauce (sesame, soy) and a mixed leaf salad. The sauce is slighly sour but this is offset by the octopus and salad.
The infamous sushi roulette …
Salmon Sushi Roulette ($8.50)
I ordered this for all 25 people to see who would be the unlucky people to get the wasabi filled piece. Everyone seemed fine, or perhaps they didn’t want to admit they got the unlucky piece. However I had a feeling my friend next to me was struggling when his eyes started to water and his eyes were a bit puffier than usual.
Agedashi Tofu ($5.50)
Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, also lightly topped with bonito flakes. It’s your stock standard agedashi tofu, but what more can you expect.
Beef Tataki ($7.50)
A little different to what I expected as I usually see the beef drowned in some sort of ponzu dressing. Instead, the sauce comes seperate for dippage. The beef was a bit dry, not as tender and juicy as others I’ve tried.
Salmon Sashimi ($6.90)
Not the freshest I’ve had but the price is good for the portion. It’s similiar to what you can find in an off the street sushi train joint.
Soft shell crab salad ($9.90)
Crispy soft shell crab sits on top of a bed of mixed leaf salad and deep fried bamboo lotus chips. The portion is extremely generous considering the price.
Wagaya was a fantastic location for a big group of 22 people. It allows you to sample the ridiculously extensive menu, but we also found huge menus quite common in Izakay’s in Tokyo. The damage for 22 people was $1140 inclusive of drinks which everyone thought was a bargain. The food here is not the ‘best’, but it’s superb value and I’d definately come here again to try other things on the menu. One tip , don’t come to Wagaya expecting the freshest food or food which would make your taste buds salivate voluntarily. The service is quick, the food is more yummy that it is ‘wow’, and the prices are fantastic. I hope Wagaya stays the way it is, it would make a nice replacement for the 1am kebab run.
Wagaya
Level 1, 78-86 Harbour St
Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9212 6068
Y
Bubz || 
Arwen from Hoglet K
billy@ATFT
chocolatesuze
Helen
DAvid CC || 
FFichiban
suzie || 
Akwoo
goofus
Howard
Anita
Linda
kang
Simon Food Favourites
Di || 
Kevin || 
Aby || 
Looks like a great assortment of dishes. Love the concept of the roulette! The tech in the room looks great for a DIY party sort of arrangement.
One question though, with the last dish, is it not lotus root chips? That’s just how it looks to me from the pic.