LOCATIONOn the east side of Darling Harbour, five minutes from the city.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAIt may be modelled on a Japanese ramen bar, but few of Nippon’s noodle nosheries can offer up such magnificent views as this culinary gem. Sitting high on the King Street Wharf dining strip, Wagamama – the Japanese term for a naughty or wilful child – is a unique offering among the glitz and glamour of Darling Harbour. Fast, fresh and nutritious is the Wagamama calling card and, when matched with idyllic views of the harbour, this makes for a very popular pit-stop. Pan-Asian dishes cram the communal tables, where diners rub elbows and slurp generous portions of ramen. This is clearly a restaurant that has customer service down-pat. The entire process – from being handed browsing menus while waiting to be seated, to the waitstaff scribbling dish numbers on diners’ placemats, to the super-fast wok-handlers in the open kitchen – is efficient and professional.
Wrap your mouth around salty edamame beanpods while savouring an icy Asahi and admiring the water wonderland outside. For mains, ladle into a steaming bowl of chilli chicken ramen – a pork and chicken soup teeming with noodles and topped with grilled chicken breast, bean sprouts, coriander, spring onions, chilli and a wedge of lime. Suzushii chicken salad is a lighter option, with poached chicken, sweet red grapefruit, onion, carrot and snow peas bathed in a tamarind and orange dressing, served on a bed of leaves and herbs and garnished with fried wonton skins. Orders are transmitted to the kitchen via handheld order pads, where they are cooked and served at impressive speed, which often means meals can arrive at different times. The restaurant doesn’t take bookings, but large groups should phone ahead. Keep in mind that Wagamama can get very busy, but the wait is never too long. And, indeed, it is well worth it.
Lauren Barker, January 2009
