Egawa-An — Restaurant in East Perth

“Irasshaimase!” いらっしゃいませ！

Egawa-Ya is an experience. I've had the fortune of having dined there three times this year. Our first rapidly led to us securing another booking on the spot. After a number of recommendations from both foodie colleagues and hospitality friends, we were looking forward to what it was all about.

Located down a small alleyway off Adelaide Terrace (use the Comfort Inn as a landmark) and through a small entrance. Ushered into a waiting area before opening the curtain to reveal your place at the sushi bar.

Chef Andy and his maitre'd are proud of what they have achieved. And the provenance of their ingredients. Most are sourced from overseas to ensure quality and authenticity.

Beluga caviar as a starter. We will gloss over the political correctness of the origin. But the Unami of Beluga cannot be faulted. And a generous teaspoon is placed on your hand to warm to temperature before consumption. Silky Hiroshima Oysters with a vinegarette to follow.

Then the sashimi! Not for the faint hearted. O-toro Blue Fin Tuna. Fresh as the sea and amongst the best I've had in Perth. One time it was sinewy but every other, it has been perfect. Scampi. Blue Prawn. Yellowtail. Scallop. Salmon aburi. Do let them know if you have any food aversions and they will try to substitute but I do recommend trying it all. Every piece was as fresh as can be.

The Kagoshima A5 is exquisite. Only the Itoham Cherry Blossom Kobe A5 at Nobu compares. As the Maitre'd explains the provenance of the Wagyu about to be served, a copy of it's (Japanese) certification is passed around. And it is cooked in the back kitchen to perfection. Crisp on the outside and perfectly rendered to melt in your mouth delicacy. Salt and Yuzu Pepper as optional seasoning on the plate.

I can't quite understand the criticism of the Chawan Mushi on another review. On par with James Parker. The texture has been consistently silky smooth and perfect every time. I don't quite get the yellow bean. Yes, the Ikura is somewhat salty and I would prefer The Australian Yarra Valley milked Salmon Roe but I won't complain.

Then the puffer fish soup. The only puffer fish restaurant in Perth. Such delicate, clear broth. Try it with and without a few drops of the lime which mellows and transforms the flavour.

It appears they've taken on feedback and there is a light serve of truffled chocolate.

Everything is well timed for the two seatings.

They have a very palatable yuzushu and umeshu although a more comprehensive Sake menu would be nice. But the Egawa-Ya is BYO. Rare to find a quality Japanese restaurant that allows for this (Kiri is the other exception).

Room for improvement? The menu evolved only slightly between visits. But enjoyable none the less.

This is traditional Japanese, not the creative fusion you may experience at Nobu or elsewhere.

Will we come back? Do we recommend it? Well, in short. Yes. I could compare it to some of the hatted Japanese restaurants...

Exciting waiting but not at all after dinner.

Nice interior. Good place to take a picture. But dishes? Mm...so so.

I disappointed of the potato salad. Especially sauce. They used product sauce and onion was bit thick. Spring onion was dry on all plate. Prepare the wet paper kitchen towel and put it in the container. Can keep fresh longer.

Sashimi was nice. High quality.

Rice temperature and texture were no good in the nigiri. They might use cheap rice or their recipe might be wrong. Or they might keep wrong way. Over the 70%, good rice makes good nigiri. It is not only about topping. Rice is the most important ingrediant. For the topping, they need to do 'shime' as well. It gives more umami. I don't remember exactly which nigiri but yuzu sauce for the nigiri was not match with some nigiri. I recommend they serve wasabi and rock salt on the plate together for the nigiri.

I hope they put tempura dish in the course.

They should not serve the nigiri dishes during the chawanmusi course because dishes temperature are different. Chawanmusi is hot but nigiri is cold. It dose not match. Also it is not usual way. One by one.

I understand it is hard to find fresh unagi here but product usagi makes me disappointed. Just don't use. Ikura was too salty even mix with rice.

I recommend they serve dessert as well.

If you use high quality ingredients, dishes might be high quality but it is not only about ingredients. Related with chef's skill, knowledge and passion more than ingredients. Omakse is like a story. It is not just course.

Lastly, this shop is not $10-20 restaurant. It was $120(opening discount?). They said nomal price is $150. If their price is $70 or $80, will visit again. Over $120?? Of course not.

Hope you guys are...

A terrible experience that left me feeling like I had just been scammed.

You would expect such an intimate dining experience would include a bit of commentary from the chef, but the guy we had didn't say a word besides what was being served (and even then, it was usually the lady that told us). Every chefs table I have been to has had some form of interaction between the guests and chef, that's what makes the experience so unique.

You're probably thinking they must make up for it with a really cool visual experience? Think again! There is little to no cooking done in front of you, just some preparation and plating of the sashimi which is largely already prepared ahead of time. Any cooking is done in the kitchen hidden away from the table (this also means there's no chefs actually in front of you for over 40min).

The portions are small and in my opinion not nearly enough to warrant the cost. You could argue they are serving produce that's come straight from Japan, which sounds very fancy on paper but in reality the freight kills any aspect of freshness and you're left with a series or similar textured ("slimey" was the word my partner used) dishes, wondering why they didn't just serve local & in-season seafood instead. The exception to this, of course, is the A5 Japanese wagyu beef, and the 4 small sugar-cube-sized pieces I was served were delicious!

Just quickly, portions sizes were wildly inconsistent between guests and your standard chu-hi was $20, but you won't know that until you see the bill because there's no menus or prices on anything.

I let the staff know about my experience before posting this. I hope they take the feedback seriously because the place has so...