Nobu was definitely one of the highlights of my recent trip to Hong Kong. The restaurant’s perennial popularity is backed by its devoted following and celebrity cred (thanks to Nobu Matsuhisa’s partnership with Robert De Niro). Nobu is all about Matuhisa’s own spin on traditional Japanese cooking, marked by a blend of Western and Japanese flavours, resulting in “innovative” new-style Japanese food which quickly made his restaurants in New York one of the “It” restaurants to eat at (and be seen at). He draws upon culinary experience having worked in sushi bars in Tokyo, Peru, Argentina and the rest of the world. One of his famous specialities include the Black Cod with Miso, arguably Nobu’s most well-known dish (which, granted, in our part of the world is now rather passé).


The trendy vibe of the restaurant packed a real buzz – the main (and private) dining room and bar (both of the alcohol and sushi variety) areas were packed (mostly with expatriates, beautiful people types) and you could feel a real buzz of energy and excitement. The theme is dark wood, natural textures and Japanese countryside (including a sea urchin ceiling and bamboo-embedded terrazzo)– a real mix of the modern and a bit of the old – and designed by the same group behind Nobu New York. The restaurant also offers a priceless view of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island. Makes a great date joint, I reckon. However note the restaurant is pretty noisy.


The menu is extensive with a selection of both hot and cold specialties and main courses (including bento sets). Prices are not exactly cheap since we’re talking c.HKD200 per item, and given how “haute cuisine” often comes in small packages (and it doesn’t help that I eat like a bloke).


Hence the decision to order the omasake (chef’s special selection, HKD888 or HKD1188) as a newbie to Nobu so that I’d avoid having to make the painstaking choices by ploughing through the menu and I figured this was really the best way to get a real all-round taste of Nobu Matsuhisa’s adventures blend of western and Japanese cuisine. Not to mention that it really is also a more value-for-money route than ordering ala carte. Plus I am a sucker for surprises.


The whole dining drama begins with the first dish being served and the waitress rattling of what the dish constitutes of and also how it is best enjoyed. The first dish was a tuna tartar topped with caviar presented on a bed of ice chips in a Japanese ponzu-like dressing (this ponzu-like Japanese dressing seems to be quite a common theme across the dishes). There is also a Japanese peach to be consumed at the end to “cleanse the palate.” This pretty much gives you an idea of what Nobu's self-styled Japanese cuisine is all about.


Other dishes we had included the sashimi salad with Matsuhisa dressing, Jalepeno with sashimi, black cod with miso, a tasting platter which included a trio of different kinds of sashimi presented differently, Saga beef tenderloin with wasabi salsa and finally a sushi platter. Everything was presented beautifully and the fish was definitely top-notch. Having it omasake style just made the experience all the more enjoyable – it was a great experience going through each dish with little surprises in the sometimes unexpected pairing of ingredients used, Nobu-style.

I didn’t have high hopes for dessert (I’ve never heard anyone gush about desserts at Nobu) but my dining partner had to stop me from ordering another portion of our dessert – a 4 layer Whiskey/coffee concoction (think a posher tiramisu, almost) – cakes, ice-cream, coffee liquer, cappuccino chips (?) topped off by a whiskey foam. I could have died and gone to dessert heaven.

Does the food live up to its hype? To be honest I had a really enjoyable experience and I’m sure a lot of it was to do with going omasake. The food was undeniably fresh, I wouldn’t rate it _that_ highly on the innovative factor, but overall it is pretty fantastic Japanese food.

I’d definitely recommend that you order the omasake if it is your maiden visit to Nobu. I also learnt from our server that the omasake is tailor made according to the nth time you’re visiting Nobu. For example, if this is your 2nd time ordering their omasake, do let the service staff know so that the dishes served will not overlap with your 1st omasake experience and will be specially catered for a 2nd time visitor to the restaurant. I thought that was pretty cool, and is a huge go-back factor for me, ie incentive enough for me to pay another visit to Nobu if I find myself in Hong Kong again.