Ogawa Traditional Japanese Restaurant in Manila- A Taste of Little Tokyo in BGC

Ogawa Traditional Japanese Restaurant, the newest talk of the town, opens at The Fort Entertainment Complex, The Fort Strip in Bonifacio Global City. Ogawa in Manila is brought to us by Mr. George N. Pua of No Limits Food Inc., (the group behind Tony Roma's, K-pub, Yummy Soy, Modern China and Modern Sichuan Restaurant) alongside renowned Japanese Chef Kiyoshi Ogawa (former head chef of Senju, Edsa Shangrila). Experience a taste of traditional Japanese cuisine as Ogawa transports you and your taste buds to one of the best food capitals in the world- Tokyo.

I was invited to a sneak peek of Ogawa a day before its opening, to personally experience the "authentic and traditional" vibe it upholds. Indeed, stepping into the restaurant transports you to Japan with its cultural decors and traditional dining setup. Even the wallpaper by Ushio Sekiguchi creates a natural landscape of pine trees, leaves, branches and sparrows that gives customers a breath of fresh air while dining. Ogawa’s antique main door in the reception area also embodies the heritage that the restaurant is aiming to preserve.

The central dining area is a teppanyaki counter with an open kitchen where chefs and even Chef Ogawa himself, skillfully prepare the dishes to be served. It features an area for different Japanese cuisine specialties such as Teppanyaki, Yakitori, Robatayaki, and Kamameshi.

The sushi station, across the teppanyaki counter on the other hand, is for those who appreciate the art of sushi making as chefs carefully prepare fresh slices of sashimi, temaki, nigiri and maki rolls.

Upon settling in one of the few couch seats for a more private dining setup, one of the servers asked us to draw a piece of rolled paper from a bowl which will determine the food that they will serve us.

I picked out Ogawa's Ryo Goku Gozen (P550) from their bento set menu which came in this beautiful furoshiki wrap giving it an element of surprise and anticipation.

The bento came with miso soup, salad, wakame, picked appetizers and chawanmushi. Every set also comes with a dessert (ice cream/coffee jelly) served after the meal.

The first layer on my bento set was an assortment of appetizers (tamago, futomaki, kaaraage, beef cubes and veggies) with gindara teriyaki and three kinds of sashimi (salmon, tuna, hamachi).

The second layer has the mixed tempura served with fragrant Japanese rice shaped in a flower.

All these for P550? I say it's quite a steal as you can get to try little bit of everything for that price. The six slices of assorted sashimi alone can cost you P200-P300, while the miso soup and chawanmushi sells for a little over P100 per order in other Japanese restaurants. If you add the pricier ebi tempura and gindara teriyaki, you might need to shell out more that that when dining somewhere else.

One might think that dining in a Japanese restaurant in BGC with the kind of ambiance Ogawa has would require shelling out extra bucks than the usual. You'll be surprised to know that while there are a number of pricier selections from Ogawa's menu (Teppan Wagyu Gozen P2,500-P4,500 and Teppan Lobster Gozen P1,800), they also have affordable set menu choices ranging from P320-P550.

One of the less expensive sets aside from the Ryo Goku Gozen is this Tempura To Yakizakana (P430) (mixed tempura with grilled fish) which also comes with the regular sides of picked veggies, salad, wakame, miso soup, and dessert.

Amidst the growing and innovative culinary scene in the country, Ogawa embarks on a traditional journey to share to Filipinos what Japanese cuisine is all about- Quality and Freshness.

Ogawa promises to provide only the best quality ingredients to its customers- from the finest meat and freshest seafood, down to the pristine vegetables used in all their dishes. After all, the restaurant is built upon the heritage in Japan, wherein quality and freshness are keys to excellence in food service.