What’s it like ordering Japanese from a touchscreen menu? Nick Dent finds out.

A fussy eater since childhood, I respond well to anything that makes a game out of dinnertime. (If all foods were shaped like choo choo trains, then there wouldn’t be a problem.) At Wagaya, a new Japanese restaurant on the fringe of Chinatown opposite the Entertainment Centre, they have more than a few fun ploys up their sleeves to tempt sulky reviewers.

There’s ‘SUSHian roulette’ ($8.50), for starters. Six identical pieces of salmon nigiri sit innocently on a plate; five contain a little bit of wasabi, and one contains enough wasabi to blow your head off. My date and I narrowed our eyes at each other across the table, and the game began. I went first. Good raw salmon, a little spark of heat, but no nasty surprises. C’s first piece was safe too.

Losing nerve, I cheated and bit my next one in half. What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. C gasped and pointed at the morass of green paste poking out of the uneaten portion between my chopsticks. Every sushi bar I’ve ever eaten at flashed before my eyes, and then a searing heat forced its way up my sinuses like a red-hot anaconda trying to squeeze into a worm’s pyjamas. Tears fell onto the generous plate of sashimi scallops ($6.90) but I was OK again in a few moments. So I shrugged and ate the other half.

The simple act of ordering at Wagaya is fun too, thanks to touchscreen menus at most tables. You select what you want, press a couple of buttons and a waiter brings it to you a few minutes later. You can even review your bill to check how much you’ve spent.

One assumes there are restaurants in Shinjuku where you can also get schoolgirls’ underpants at the touch of a button.

Eschewing lingerie, we chose some tasty barbecued Crystal Bay prawns on skewers ($6.50) and a delightful seafood nabeyaki ($13.50). This udon noodle dish featuring prawns and squid came out sizzling on a hotplate and as fresh tasting as you could hope – not drab and overcooked, as certain noodle chains around town serve up. Asahi and Sapporo beers were a reasonable $7.50 each.

The touchscreens sped up the dining process considerably, and the food they brought out was excellent for the price. I was slightly disappointed that it was not delivered to the table by a robot child whose only wish is to have real parents, but I have a feeling that’s coming soon. 

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