Lunch at Sushi Nogawa Le Meridien(Concorde Hotel)

Special Sushi Set $30 & Unajyu Set
Awakening my tastes buds for my upcoming Tokyo trip..

Appetizers - french beans(green beans?) with miso ( Nothing to shout about ) The sushi is just alright, the rice is firm and holds itself.

(Not in the pics) 1 kohada + 1 uni .. not very memorable.. the yuzu seasoning sort of overwhelmed the tastes of the kohada abit, the flesh is very tender. The uni nigiri , buttery, abit watery, couldnt taste the uni from the wasabi..

Chawanmushi - Soft and Eggy , good, with chicken bits inside. Miso Soup - Normal , with some tofu.

Didnt taste the unajyu set, so cannot comment.. hehe.. I prefer Shiraishi @ Ritz Carlton

pictures HERE at my blog

I been going to Nogawa quite regularly for lunch for the last few months when Ko was going thru a transition period getting a new head chef. Missing my monthly fix, we went to Nogawa at Le Meridien caused my sis remembered about their bentos which we like when they still had a branch in Taka.

We were so impressed with the quality of the food that we been going back there quite often and it always good to get a sit at the counter.
Me and my mum would usually look for Chef Kelvin and he does look after us well... that now this has become another monthly resturant for me.

We love their sushi set lunch and their bento which standard has not drop since day 1

I would like to make it short and sweet, because the previous one I wrote got deleted by accident.

Service :-

1) We had to asked for tea several times and got a rebuke when we reminded the lady again.

2) My dishes were rearranged while I was having my meals halfway. An absolutely NO - NO for me.

Food :-

1) chirashi bento :- our version of chirashi bento is an example of poorest relative compared to the chirashi bento of another reviewer we saw. I feel the owner of this place should set a standard what a chirashi bento would look like.

2) Nama uni :- maybe it's our fault that we did not asked to see the live ones when we ordered this. But ours is confirmed dead, esp with its lingering "I had been put in the fridge for so long, that I am absorbing the BO of the fridge" taste.

3) Sashimi :- scallops were fresh. As for the selection, I don't think the price I had paid is worth it. A shrimp, two slices of scallop, 2 tuna (not even an otoro), 4 slices of some other fishes. I can get so MUCH MUCH better elsewhere.

Enivornment :- Although we are given the best seats @ the counter, for the attention we are given, I would be much happier sitting at a normal table. Counter seats should be given to people whom the chef wants to entertain and not any tom dick harry or "lunch".

If you don't have any other japanese places to go, this might be one place you would want to consider. Or it would be better trying some other types of food. For the price you have to pay, you can easily get a few kgs of FRESH seafood else where.

I thought I wouldn’t be writing anymore on this place coz I think I’ve already extolled her virtues more than enough.

But at the gentle behest of a gracious diner and avid reader of HGW whom I opportunely met today (Hello Hi! If you are reading! :) ) at Nogawa, I was prompted to post another review *yes another but I swear this is the last*.

So I shan’t bore you to tears with my lengthy descriptions…just some pictures to tantalize you. See the whole set if you may. :)

Disclaimer: The Chirashi bento shown here may be very skewed in the items featured. So don’t believe everything you see. :)

Oh yes! Chef Kevin asked me to help him find a wife through HGW. lol. Any takers?

Hmm…seems like HGW has found itself another function. keke

Please read Disclaimer above:

Any self respecting Jap connoisseur will know that creating a Chirashi don, or any Jap course, is subject to the Chef’s whim, and any worthy restaurant will pride itself by serving their patrons the freshest produce of the day. So what a previous diner had before might not be what the future diners would get when they dine there. The same logic goes for an omakase/ kaiseki meal. The Chef would only serve what he deems as fresh and also subject to whatever is available for the day.

Thus I Reiterate: What readers SEE in my bento box might not be what they would get if they would to choose to have the same thing on the day of their visit.

went for dinner recently, in le meriden hotel, reminds me of the late 80s, as the place was quite old not to mention the restaurant itself.
My friend made reservations and was usher to the counter seats, and sat beside a jap couple. wasnt too happy given the counter seats even though we could see the chefs, as it was quite squeezy and wasnt enought room to rest our arms and we were packed next to other people even though lots of seats were free up.

(having counter seats are fine BUT imagine you had to sit there for a couple of hours eating your meal and having elbow battle with friends, then its takes the kick out of ANYONE) unless you are really really tiny then you may want to sit there) so take note if you do not want counter seats pls ASK them first.

food wise, we ordered sashimi, green salad, black pork, chawaNmushi, EBI and mixed vege tempura
overall food was good, the salad sauce was good, veges were fresh .
service was quite good, as staff would always be around if we need anything and constantly change our hot green teas as they were getting cold.

I would defintely not be back at least for now (cause its too OLD for ME), as one meal could burn a tiny hold on your wallet that is depending on the things you ordered. (this info is for ppl who havent been there before as I did not have to PAY A SINGLE CENT FOR THE MEAL)

The chawaNmushi alone costs $10. per cup so that says it all. (HOWEVER even though steamed egg is very easy to cook, but at least I tasted the effort put in for the $10 cup egg and I didnt even have to pay haha.)

I would be better off in other MORE MODERN jap places like Waraku, or tatsu @chjimes.

overall I guess I am TOO young to appreciate this KIND of japanese style, I better make a trip to Japan soon to see if every restaurant is like this haha

Cheers