I've been contemplating this restaurant (100 Orchard Road, #03-25 Lobby Level, Le Meridien, tel:6732 2911) for a while now, wondering about how much it might cost to eat here since this place is associated with the now defunct Akane - a bastion of quality Japanese cuisine. That translated into expensive. Fortunately, lunch was still a viable option. While one cannot reasonably expect to eat for low cost here, there is still an element of value for money as the restaurant did appear fairly affordable if you picked the appropriate options.
The food here was good. No complains at all. What I have are comparisons between the other places. Chiraishi ($35 with chawanmushi) here looked visually slightly less impressive than say Sushi Yoshida, Botan or the mazechiraishi from Aoki, but the quality was by no means inferior. Let's just say that frills are minimal, but the quality remains unquestioned.
The order of otoro ($24 for 2) and uni ($20 for 2) came out exquisite as I had anticipated. They were very enjoyable. The well marbled otoro had arrived with the requisite smooth fattiness and I thought that it was almost buttery as the tuna belly fell apart in the mouth. The uni was very well chilled and creamy and was definitely one of the better ones I've had. I'd eat loads of them if they weren't so costly.
Here's their chirashi set with the sashimi served in a separate container. The sashimi box included sake, maguro, chutoro, ama ebi, some white fish which I couldn't identify and something which appeared to be a cross section of a thick sliced squid tentacle. On the main box with the rice were some boiled vegetables (root and green), tamago, ikura, shredded egg, nori and sakura denbu which I like. The steaming chawanmushi came with a single fat shrimp and a chunk of chicken. Miso soup was likewise, just a plain miso soup with the usual tofu cubes and seaweed. It would seem as they claim, that their focus is on the freshness of the ingredients, not embellishments. Accompanying fruit dish comes with a fragrant and sweet slice of rock melon.
The food here was good. No complains at all. What I have are comparisons between the other places. Chiraishi ($35 with chawanmushi) here looked visually slightly less impressive than say Sushi Yoshida, Botan or the mazechiraishi from Aoki, but the quality was by no means inferior. Let's just say that frills are minimal, but the quality remains unquestioned.
The order of otoro ($24 for 2) and uni ($20 for 2) came out exquisite as I had anticipated. They were very enjoyable. The well marbled otoro had arrived with the requisite smooth fattiness and I thought that it was almost buttery as the tuna belly fell apart in the mouth. The uni was very well chilled and creamy and was definitely one of the better ones I've had. I'd eat loads of them if they weren't so costly.
Here's their chirashi set with the sashimi served in a separate container. The sashimi box included sake, maguro, chutoro, ama ebi, some white fish which I couldn't identify and something which appeared to be a cross section of a thick sliced squid tentacle. On the main box with the rice were some boiled vegetables (root and green), tamago, ikura, shredded egg, nori and sakura denbu which I like. The steaming chawanmushi came with a single fat shrimp and a chunk of chicken. Miso soup was likewise, just a plain miso soup with the usual tofu cubes and seaweed. It would seem as they claim, that their focus is on the freshness of the ingredients, not embellishments. Accompanying fruit dish comes with a fragrant and sweet slice of rock melon.
10 comments:
Can't wait..! i love Nogawa.. ;)
hello its my 1st time here. u have an interesting name and a interesting food blog! :) makes mi hungry hee
Good to know I'm making people hungry. ;)
Yes.. nogawa is a wee bit ex.. but worth every penny.. if i remembered correctly.. :)
doesn't the sashimi slices come together in the main bento box coz that's what i rem...
the white fish may be kanpachi belly. =)
we seem to be suffering fr the same Jap flu bug coz i was planning a visit there sometime next week too. and also for the chirashi. =P
$24 for 2 pcs of otoro is quite expensive but i guess quality is assured, like you mentioned. the "well marbled" part really got me salivating :)
@ ice
I had thought that the sashimi would be in the same box as the rice to. I was expecting that, but apparently they didn't do it that way when I was there.
The Japanese flu bug is always buzzing around me. Lately, the Indian flu bug has joined the party too.
@ nic
actually nic, it's quite reasonably priced. It cost $17 a piece at Sushi Yoshida. I don't remember if there is any other place that sells them cheaper, but I do recall that most if not all that I've encountered cost more. Except for the pre-packed ones I got from the Hokkaido fair which were surprisingly quite good.
how much u pay for total bill?
sorry LSD rewind abit. was it during lunch or dinner that u went that day? could that be the explanation for the different presentations for the chirashi?
juz wondering. thanx.
@ ladyironchef
I forgot the exact amount, but it's $140+ for 2 chirashi sets plus the uni/otoro.
@ ice
This was lunch, I don't know if there is any difference for lunch and dinner in terms of presentation since this is my first visit at Nogawa. I would think that there shouldn't be, but I can't be sure about that.
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