The family wanted to have a special dinner out because I’ll be leaving Hong Kong soon and won’t be returning for who knows how long. The last time I went back we tried this all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant that we liked, so we decided to do it again — which is funny, because the brother and I will be travelling to Japan in two days.
Wanya (碗屋) is located in Central, Hong Kong, and is apparently a very popular restaurant that is impossible to book unless you do so way, way ahead. Mum made a phone call anyway *cough* to the manager directly *cough* and we got ourselves a table and a big dinner.
The place was indeed quite packed and noisy. We were lucky enough to get a private booth, or we would probably not have been able to talk to one another. The all-you-can-eat hotpot wasn’t available the first time we went there, but it was available that night. Even without it, there were plenty of other options on the menu, anyway! We ordered everything that piqued our interest, meaning one of almost every item from the menu. Various sashimi, wagyu beef, rib-eye, pork, mutton, chicken, oyster, scallop, cod fish, mackerel, mochi…
The food came out relatively quickly. The sashimi was fresh and other dishes nice and hot. For dessert, we got complimentary ice-cream of various flavours: green tea, black sesame, mango. I ate. And ate. And ate.
My favourite dish the first time I visited was the cod fish (silver cod), and it’s still my favourite this time (but like I always say, I am positively biased because gindara/silver cod is just my favourite fish). Perhaps there was expectation being the second time I was visiting, or perhaps I was comparing with my Sokyo experience in Sydney earlier, this time, I left Wanya feeling a little underwhelmed by the quality. Quantity is absolutely satisfying, though!
I would still recommend the place and go to Wanya again.
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