Few chain restaurants can arrive on any shore with the kind of pomp and circumstance Nobu dictates. With early whispers of its impending arrival in Kuala Lumpur, the blogosphere buzzed along with a flurry of geotags on Instagram the moment its large double doors opened on the 56th floor of the Menara 3 Petronas. At the helm of the Kuala Lumpur chapter of this franchising juggernaut is Chef Philip Leong, himself already a familiar name to the London set who frequent the fashionable Nobu on Berkeley Street, returning to weave some local colour into Nobu’s already intriguing Japanese-South American cuisine.
I arrived on a wet Friday evening a few weeks after the opening and was ushered into a lift the moment I arrived at the building’s lobby. The service was alarmingly attentive and we were escorted through two separate elevator rides until we arrived at the right floor. There’s nothing like a bit of theatre as an aperitif. The interiors of Nobu Kuala Lumpur were as expected, beautiful with classic muted tones of timber, glass and cream. The entrance leads to a waiting room that I suspect doubles as a private dining room when called for, with the dining room centered by an imposing and dramatically lit bar. The restaurant has unrivalled views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline and from our table, a front row seat of the lit Twin Towers.
Now on to some personal disclaimers – my first experience of Nobu was at the very heart of the chain, a small and visually underwhelming eatery in New York City. The food blew me away. It was one of those perfect culinary experiences coupled with a perfect jazz evening that becomes mythical in one’s memory, the pinnacle of New York, New York. These were followed by lackluster meals at the Nobu in Park Lane, London in my earnest attempts to recapture the magic of New York. I’ve come to the simple realization that Nobu was not unlike what Mel Brooks thinks of pizza or sex – When it’s good, it’s really good. When it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.
On that evening in Kuala Lumpur, a quick glance through the menu informed that like other Nobu restaurants, Chef Lim had tweaked his offerings to suit local palates as well as ingredients. The Monkfish Pate with Caviar was missing, as was the incredibly addictive Snow Crab in Creamy and Spicy Sauce found in London. Nevertheless, many of Nobu’s greatest hits were there for the picking and I went first for the Tuna and Salmon Tacos, deliciously tangy with the accompanying salsa. The legendary Black Miso Cod was seared with a crispy edge and a melty center that was cooked just right; the sauce was well infused into the clear white flesh and it went down with a lingering, smoky aftertaste. The first true triumph of the night. After that, the shimmer of Nobu’s adventurous culinary offerings fade with several misteps –one of which I was particularly disappointed about: The Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno. It’s my favourite dish at Nobu. A love affair that began in Manhattan – it flew with me to London where I would hunt down replicas including the similar (but far less expensive) yellowtail appetizer in Bone Daddies. The dish on this evening looked exactly the way it should: the yellowtail glistening with life and the yuzu dressing generous. The trouble is that the jalapenos, well, they tasted more like green chillies instead. It’s certainly a local twist, but a shocker. It felt like I bought seats to a Stones concert only to hear “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” hammed up by a cover band instead. When I asked my very friendly server if they used a local variation instead, he insisted that it was definitely jalapenos. Perhaps it is the Malaysian soil? What followed was a dull, overcooked Roasted Local Shrimp with Shiso Salsa, followed by a bland Chef’s Selection of Sushi with the fish falling off the pearls of rice, a sure sign of haphazard sushi construction. Needless to say, by the time the desserts were ready to be served my excitement had deflated substantially.
The dessert however, was delightful. Chef Lim’s adaptation of a Malaysian favourite was particularly noteworthy in Ice Kacang Nobu Style, basically a deconstructed ice kacang with yuzu, shaved ice, coconut milk, mango, green tea mocha, roasted coconut and azuki beans. Alternatingly chewy and crunchy, the flavours were wonderfully paired. A clear winner. The Yoghurt Sub Zero was also done well, tangy and sweet. This time it came with a “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate sauce on the large plate it was served in, another testament to the attentiveness of the wait staff. The service at Nobu KL is truly faultless.
At the end of the day, Nobu KL came with a couple of hits and misses, but I won’t be writing it off just yet because of the sheer strength of the menu. Another question I’d like to have answered in time is how will Nobu’s expensive dishes hold up against the Malaysian spending propensity? Already the Omakase menu comes in at a pricey RM380++, a sum higher than that of other excellent Japanese restaurants in the city like Sushi Hinata and Kame Sushi. The Black Miso Cod is also an eye-watering RM160, and Nobu is not a restaurant you go to for no frills sashimi flown in from the Tsukiji market. You go for the theatrics – and that means ordering its greatest hits dressed in yuzu, miso and coconut, not the more affordably priced sushi platters. Nobu is not exactly value for money. You will laugh, and then tear slightly when contemplating the maddening prices on the menu, but you will come back for a special occasion for one more bite of that cod, or to at least try the first Nobu on this side of South East Asia.
The Culianary Arts 