Wired Cafe: A Different Take On a Popular Tuna Dish

Negi toro is a popular tuna on rice dish in Japan. It consists of the prized fatty part of tuna chopped up into a paste, or essentially ground. The fat gives it a nice flavour as you would get from eating a slice of toro sashimi and because it is ground, a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture. Eating negi toro you get the flavour of expensive cuts of sashimi, but for a fraction of the price.

Normally it is found in Japanese food restaurants that sell sushi or those that specialize in kaisen don (sashimi rice bowls). This is why I was curious about the cafe’s take on it. At Wired Cafe, on the 12th floor of the JR Gate Tower at Nagoya station, there is a dish on the menu called the Negi Toro Bowl (980 yen plus tax).

Negi Toro Bowl

I was actually pretty impressed by this version of the negi toro don because it’s a complete balanced meal all in one. The negi toro was flavorful and went really well with the nori tsukudani sauce (a sweet and savory soy sauce based seaweed paste) and the mayonnaise, a combo not usually found on traditional negi toro don. The carbs seemed a bit healthier than plain white rice because it was mixed with some millet grains. You can't go wrong with onsen tamago (like a poached egg but the whites are softer); when the yolk is broken it runs over the tuna and rice creating the perfect combination. The protein in this meal of course comes from the egg and tuna. The salad provides a variety of vitamins and nutrients. You also get healthy fats from the avocado which was a lovely ripe colour and actually goes really nicely with Japanese food that uses soy sauce. Toppings of takuwan (pickled daikon) and tobiko (fish eggs) add a great flavour changer and savoury accent.
The restaurant itself is quite busy and often has a line up but once your seated it's a good place to relax alone or chat with friends. Half the cafe is in an open space surrounded only by a low portable fence so it may feel a little less cozy there. American pop music was playing softly in the background. It's a lively atmosphere, but not so noisy that you can’t hear the person next to you.

Area: JR Gate Tower, 12F (Nagoya Station), 名古屋駅JRゲートタワー12F
Restaurant: Wired Cafe　ワイアードカフェ
Map and Website: https://www.cafecompany.com/brands/wiredcafe/nagoya/
Hours: 11am-11pm (LO 10pm)