Level 1 - 78-86 Harbour St
Haymarket Sydney
Its a pretty cool place and a fun concept with touch screen menu's and ordering system. But its more than that. The food is really good and the service is prompt and efficient. The food comes quickly and its not expensive at all. Its also licenced and byo for wine as well. Wagaya had been on our hit list for quite a while. The only downside was that we now wish we'd been there sooner. We really enjoyed it. The touch screens weren't hard to operate and you could see more detailed pictures of everything on the extensive menu (over 400 items) before you order. You also need to confirm every order so you cant really make a mistake. The first thing we had to select was the corkage option of $2.00 per person as we had brought our own wine - but they helped us with this so it wasn't a problem.
It was tough deciding what to start with but in the end its hard to resist Agedashi soft shell crab - or at least hard for me to resist it. What came out was great. It was a nice pile of soft shell crab nestled on top of some lovely fried bread pieces that seemed to have egg inside it - but I'm still not sure what it was. What I do know was that it all tasted great.
For only $7.90 it was great value. The crab was perfectly cooked too with a lovely crisp crunch to it and nice flavours. It was a decent sized serving too considering the low price.
Our next treat was the deep fried chicken karage. It was a decent sized serving again. Plenty of crisp but juicy chicken pieces with heaps of full flavour.
It also came with a salad side on the plate which was a nice palate cleanser.
The chicken was piping hot too - so it clearly was fresh from cooking and hadn't been lying around. It kept its heat too.
This good sized dish was only $7.30 - great value.
It also came with a salad side on the plate which was a nice palate cleanser.
The chicken was piping hot too - so it clearly was fresh from cooking and hadn't been lying around. It kept its heat too.
This good sized dish was only $7.30 - great value.
Calamari is also hard to resist - especially when it looks so good in the pictures on the menu. It seems to look even better on a screen too. Shown as Ika Fri - a hefty serving of light and crisp morsels arrived.
The batter for this was so light - almost a tempura batter - and it all melted in the mouth. It was so crunchy too - but not cremated.
This serving cost $7.90.
The batter for this was so light - almost a tempura batter - and it all melted in the mouth. It was so crunchy too - but not cremated.
This serving cost $7.90.
The Tonkatsu Kushiage also looked great on the screen and tempted us to order a serving. What came out was certainly tasty.
Two large crisp skewers of juicy pork on a side serving of salad. The meat was perfectly cooked and the crumbed coating was also excellent. It wasn't an oily dish like some of these can be.
For only $6.20 as well it filled us up and a meagre price.
Two large crisp skewers of juicy pork on a side serving of salad. The meat was perfectly cooked and the crumbed coating was also excellent. It wasn't an oily dish like some of these can be.
For only $6.20 as well it filled us up and a meagre price.
Tempura vegetables are often nice - but sometimes soggy and oily. These weren't. It was a huge serving too.
We had sweet potato, potato, capsicum, mushroom and pumpkin. They were big pieces too. The batter was extremely light - as good tempura should be.
The lot here cost $8.30.
We had sweet potato, potato, capsicum, mushroom and pumpkin. They were big pieces too. The batter was extremely light - as good tempura should be.
The lot here cost $8.30.
Wagaya is a great place for a meal. Its fun, has good food, decent service, good value and is memorable. The only downside, and its not much, is that the lighting is so subdued its very dark inside. Its well worth visiting though.
