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2009-05-25
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When I first moved to Manhattan, Nobu, located in Tribeca which was extremely close to where I lived and worked, was one of the restaurants that I rushed to try. Why? Because it was THE place – it’s the first Nobu or the flagship store, so to speak, and you frequently see celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, the Olsen twins, etc., to dine there. At that time, I was quite impressed by the combination of food and chic décor, which wasn’t common in Japanese restaurants in NYC at that t
When I first moved to Manhattan, Nobu, located in Tribeca which was extremely close to where I lived and worked, was one of the restaurants that I rushed to try. Why? Because it was THE place – it’s the first Nobu or the flagship store, so to speak, and you frequently see celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, the Olsen twins, etc., to dine there. At that time, I was quite impressed by the combination of food and chic décor, which wasn’t common in Japanese restaurants in NYC at that time. Unfortunately, as the Nobu’s empire expanded, the quality of the food went in the opposite direction. The head chef, aka the Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, opened up his own restaurants in Philly and NYC. Tons of competitors, from haute fusion restaurants to small Japanese eateries, put Nobu’s signature dishes on their menu; some even managed to surpass Nobu’s renditions at a cheaper price. Gradually, I found myself distant from Nobu except when invited by friends. I somehow stopped going to Nobu in Manhattan.
When a friend organized a reunion dinner at Nobu at InterContinental Hotel, I tried to put my prejudice aside. I realized that many of them were excited about the dinner, as they had never been to Nobu before. After all, I haven’t been to this particular branch, so maybe there would be surprises? As a large party, the restaurant already helped as to set up the menu which included most of the signature dishes which were arranged into platters large enough to share rather than in individual sizes (we had two large platters of everything). Once we placed orders for our drinks, the cold dishes promptly arrived.
The Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño, a famous Nobu’s original creation, was invented by Chef Matsuhisa in the attempt to get Westerners to eat raw fish long time ago. But were the ultra thin slices of hamachi, which completely lost their texture, also an effort to fit the Westerners’ palates? For those who were used to eating sashimi, this dish was probably doomed to be too uninspiring, with the thin slice of jalapeno barely giving any kick to the tastebuds.
Fortunately, they did get the Tuna Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing right. The dressing tasted exactly like the one I had at Nobu NYC (note: at one point, this dressing was available in bottles in US supermarkets, so mass production shouldn’t be a problem for them). The sweetness of Maui onion was balanced nicely with the acidity of the rice vinegar. The intense black peppery seasoning was dominant and was needed to cover up the otherwise bland tuna tataki pieces. I happily mopped up all the dressing with the daikon “noodles” and almost forgot about the tuna.
The large pile of Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce was served hot and was seasoned properly. Nevertheless it was unable to completely invigorate my palate with the wet-doughy batter coating and overwhelming mayonnaise sauce. This dish was far better at Morimoto, an evidence that the student can sometimes go beyond the teacher.
If there is one dish that Nobu always gets it right, it is the Black Cod Saikyo Yaki. I have had plenty of cod saikyo yaki when I worked in Japan, and Nobu’s version isn't one that is just good enough for foreigners. It is indeed an excellent rendition of this authentic traditional dish. It is also the signature dish that happens to be consistently good over time. While cod with miso glaze has become a ubiquitous dish (much to Nobu’s influence) and is literally available in every Japanese restaurant in NYC, the one at Nobu remains to be the one of the best available. It didn’t disappointed this time at Nobu InterContinental, with the saikyo miso penetrated into the plump, meaty, and delicate fish. Not to forget is the hajikami (the pickled ginger stalks) on the plate. They aren’t just there for garnish; they serve as a great foil to the sweet fish meat, much like the gari you have with sushi.
Each of us also ordered individual dishes such as sea urchin and king crab tempura, saga beef tataki, before the platters of nigiri sushi, maki rolls and Nobu signature rolls arrived. Sushi is a weak offering at the Nobu in Manhattan, and it seems that I wasn't able to escape this unfortunate fate. None of the nigiri sushi was particularly impressive, with the fish just of average quality and freshness and rice not molded very skillfully. The signature rolls with fried soft shell crab wrapped in sushi rice, seaweed and daikon once again reminded me of the Nobu in NYC, as they tasted very much the same. But the rolls also reminded me of many average fusion restaurants, like the neighborhood sushi eateries or chain establishments, which also churn out something similar with flavor more or less the same.
The savory portion of the dinner was completed with a bowl of udon in soup, which was as average as you could get beyond instant udon. The dessert platters of fruits, mochi ice cream, and petite four were dramatically presented all at one time. But with the fruits so sour that puckered my lips, and the mochi ice-cream that resembled those from Dairy Farm, who cared even if they were plated on diamond plates?
In the end, this dinner confirmed my belief about Nobu. It was once a great restaurant, one that provided innovative dishes that tried to make Japanese cuisine appealing and approachable to a wider audience. The motive was noble; the dishes were unconventional and delicious. But that was 10 or 15 years ago. With the rest of the world continues to improve, progress, and innovate, the benchmark for excellence in Japanese cuisine has been significantly raised. Nobu, on the other hand, remains where it was in the past. The menu hardly ever changes, and quality, on the other hand, drops with the nonstop expansion. Now, when I go to Nobu, instead of paying for food, I find myself paying for a brand name in history.
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