by Dino Crescini
It was a lazy Friday evening and nobody in the house wanted to cook or prepare dinner. So my wife and I were invited by my daughter and her husband to dine out. After a 40-minute drive via M2 and Cross City Tunnel, we found ourselves in the heart of Sydney – in Haymarket, very close to Paddy’s Market. We were to eat at Wagaya Sydney Restaurant, a Japanese Restaurant in Chinatown.
Walking from the car park, I found the place teeming with Asians, mostly Chinese and Japanese teenagers. From the street up to the first floor reception, we were told that there was a 45 minute wait.
It actually took only 20 minutes for us to be given a private room, Japanese style. As I expected, we had to take off our shoes and rest our feet on what felt like a tatami mat.
I patiently waited for a waiter to come over to take our orders. But lo and behold! Food started pouring in. It was only then when I realised that there was a touch screen inside the room where one could place an order by simply touching the picture of the food of his choice. Presto! Food was delivered even before we knew it.
Food was extremely delicious and truly mouth-watering. On the touch screen, there must have been over 200 choices, maybe 300. For the first time in my life, I became fickle-minded, so I chose what I thought looked familiar – assorted sushi and sashimi. After a couple of minutes, it was delivered steam boat style, resting on a wooden tray. Everything was raw – Atlantic Salmon, scallops, seaweeds, uni sushi (sea urchin) flaming-red tuna slices, and delicious crab meat. I consumed everything except the raw prawn served with its head and tail. It really looked yucky but my son-in-law who has voracious appetite volunteered to consume it.
Apart from the touch screen TV, there was also a huge flat screen plasma television on the opposite side of the room that entertained my one-year-old grand daughter who was getting bored.
When it was time to go, we again pressed the touch screen to have the food bill delivered. To my surprise, the amount my daughter had to pay was much less than what we spent in a popular Japanese restaurant in Blacktown. For four adults who ate a lot of food, she spent less than $100. Now, that’s a real bargain. I have no doubt I shall be going back for another delightful gastronomic experience.