14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase – Merdeka Menu

14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase – Merdeka Menu

Words: Alison Christ   Photos: Monica Tindall

Nobu Kuala Lumpur is celebrating this Merdeka by incorporating traditional Malaysian flavours into a special menu called 14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase for RM398. The 14 flavours represent each independent state in Malaysia. You can celebrate Malaysian Independence Day the entire month of August at Nobu. Omakase literally means “I’ll leave it up to you,” so from the 1st to 31st of August you can leave it up to Executive Chef Philip Leong and his team to take you on a culinary journey through Malaysia’s proudest flavours while staying true to the Japanese-Peruvian theme they are known for.

If you haven’t been to Nobu Kuala Lumpur yet then you’ll be in for a treat. Once you pass through the almost airport security of the building, you’ll arrive in what feels like another land far away from the hustle of KL. We are greeted at the front desk by staff who have a lovely international air. The 360-degree view of the city is absolutely one of the best in KL. I thought I could see Thailand in the far-off distance. I recommend arriving early when the sun is still shining so you don’t miss the epic sunset, which for us, is temporarily a distraction from our mission. As we are enjoying cocktails we sit in awe over the stunning view and close to the day. As we finish the last sip of our drinks, the dining room is miraculously transformed into a dimly lit, romantic setting. I love the complete contrast the room quickly offered from day to night.

Nobu Cocktails

Since it’s all about enjoying the flavours of Malaysia, I try the Nobu Soju Dragon (RM45) a cocktail made with Nobu Soju, fresh dragon fruit puree, elderflower and lemon. Dragon fruit is personally my favourite Southeast Asian fruit, normally I prefer red but this cocktail is white with just the right amount of elderflower and sweetness. The texture of the dragon fruit is pleasurable on my palate; almost a meal in itself and feels good to drink. If you prefer a lighter, refreshing cocktail with a touch of spice the Mia Margarita (RM60) with Don Julio Añejo Tequila, passion fruit puree, shichini and fresh lime juice should do the trick.

After the sunsets and you’ve tried at least one cocktail off of the exciting cocktail list you’ll need to decide if you want wine or sake with your omakase experience. I opted for sake while Monica went with wine. Both options pair well, but if you’re a sake lover then Nobu is definitely not going to disappoint you, they offer an impressive list of over 20 choices of sake by the glass and premium sake bottles.

Sake

In my experience as a sommelier, I can safely say that you are either a sake lover or you are not. I am a huge sake fan and I always try to push people over to the other side. Sake can be a bit intimidating and confusing. Nobu, however, has a description of the flavour profiles of each on offer, which is helpful with choices.

Nobu has his own label of sake as well and this is a great place to ‘get your feet (or your tongue) wet’ so to speak. Chef Nobu has sourced Sake from the Hokusetu Brewery on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. He has the international rights to sell Hokusetu outside of Japan and has put his name on the labels. All of the dishes at Nobu will pair well with sake but if you want to stay in your comfort zone, fret not; there are a dozen wines available by the glass, something for everyone, ranging from RM45-129, from Rosé to Champagne.

14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase

By now we must be hungry and honestly a little scared of how to manage 14 dishes in one seating. As we travel through the eight courses, though, it’s surprisingly not difficult as Nobu serves the dishes in groups as you will soon see.

Sashimi

The omakase starts with a threesome of fresh seafood, which is as equally delightful to look at, as it is to eat. We are instructed to work our way from left to right by our knowledgeable server who also explains to us the “secret” ingredients in each dish that celebrate the flavours of Malaysia. The three-way starts with sweet and fresh kampachi with karashi-su miso and a generous topping of local Malaysian caviar. Progressing on in intensity of flavours is a new style of botan ebi with uni. Botan ebi is a special prawn typically found in Hokkaido. The juicy shrimp is delicate and buttery with yuzu soy, hot sesame oil and ginger. Thirdly we enjoy the tuna tataki with jalapeño dressing, fresh diced pineapple salsa alongside crispy shitake and torch ginger.

Nobu’s Own Sake

The first and second course I enjoyed with the Nobu Junmai Daiginjo “The Sake” (180ml, RM150). It’s clean and complex with a medium body and floral notes and comes in many sizes ranging from glasses to big bottles.

Sushi

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Nobu experience without the Chef Sushi Selection prepared by Head Sushi Chef Chico. If you’re like me a great meal isn’t complete unless one of the Chefs comes to your table. If Chico isn’t too busy, ask to speak with him. Besides his intense knowledge of sushi, he has cool stories about his experiences working with Nobu all around the world.

The sushi trio is toro (fatty tuna belly, absolutely my favourite cut of raw fish). It melts in your mouth, literally like butter. Japanese “madai” sea bream is one of the most prized fish in Japan and literally translated means “wanting” or “admiration” and is often used during celebrations. Unagi followed the madai. The Japanese have a word for everything and so we got a bit of an education as well, unagi versus unago equals freshwater versus. saltwater eel. Becoming a professional sushi chef requires a lot more than just knowing how to handle raw fish I learned.

Salad

The third course is a salad course consisting of Seared Scallop Wasabi Salsa with three slices of super fresh and delicious scallops and an umami-packed wasabi salsa (this is my favourite of the seafood dishes). The second salad is indeed a salad and is texturally and visually pleasing – the Dragon Fruit Dry Miso Salad. We find this reminiscent of the Malaysian rojak, as the locals would say; a jumbled mix of sweet and spicy fruit salad.

The Nobu version vaunts flavours of gooseberry, jicama, onion, cucumber, and heirloom yellow tomato, topped with yuba skin, little bits of dried tofu inspired by the Chinese culture of Malaysian cuisine. I really enjoyed picking through each piece with my chopsticks and examining the different textures and flavours on my tongue.

More Sake

Here I switch to another Sake, Honjozo Ongakushu Koshu “Music Sake,” which the menu describes as…aged to classical music, full-bodied and rich with earthy flavours. This sake is actually aged for seven years to classical music on a boat in Japan. A 120ml pour is RM90 and if you’d like a magnum it’s yours for RM1300.

Sorbet

Next, we are invited to cleanse our palate with a refreshing Tomato Sorbet, which does refresh my palate and also brought on strong visuals of Andy Warhol’s famous pop culture “Campbell’s Soup Can” painting.

Chilli Crab

With palate cleansed and more “Music” sake in my mouth, we happily dive into the local “Chilli Crab” served in a tangy and spicy sour egg sauce. We are instructed to mix it all up, which is easy to do as the shell is completely removed. The crab, most likely still swimming moments before we ate it, is as fresh as can be and the sauce is mildly sweet with subtle chilli that doesn’t mask the beautiful crab flavour.

Main Course

On to the main course, which could easily be mistaken for dessert, the Short Rib topped with Cacao Truffle Miso. In parts of Mexico, it’s common to incorporate chocolate into savoury dishes. Nobu does a smashingly enjoyable job of adding locally produced chocolate sourced from Alor Gajah to this Australian Angus short rib. Often, I find adding truffle to dishes can overpower all the other flavours, but here it is just waving at us from behind the curtain, the chocolate is still the star. On top, a little dab of cucumber and sesame enhance all the flavours of goodness into one. This short rib will certainly fall apart if you stare at it long enough. But don’t wait too long! Get in there and swallow it all, no need to chew! We did actually joke that you don’t need teeth to eat this dish.

Red Wine

With the Short Rib, we are talked into trying the 2017 Alamos Seleccion Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina (RM62), which undeniably is a perfect pairing with beef. I like my reds at cellar temperature and if you do too it won’t hurt to ask for that in advance. I cheat a little with sips of the Music sake and surprising as it may sound, the sake pairs great as well.

Rice

At this point, if you think you can’t eat anymore, you better change your mind. As in perfect Chinese tradition after a big meal, one must continue on with rice. Rice is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture and at Nobu as well. The Unagi Chimaki served in traditional bamboo leaf reminiscent of sticky rice dumplings, is stuffed with unagi (a second visit from the freshwater eel), 10-grain rice and chestnuts. The sticky concoction is nutty with a balance of sweet and saltiness and is an enjoyable progression after the short rib.

Dessert

Finally, we were on our way to the finish line for the final dish of the night Ryugan (longan) Kakigori inspired by Sweet Lotus Seed Soup, made from monk fruit sorbet, fresh persimmon, green kelp and basil seed. The monk fruit sorbet is creamy like chestnuts and surprisingly thick without the addition of cream. Here again, we were treated to a textural adventure with the tiny balls of basil seed popping in our mouth. The Longan left us happily satiated and excited to join in on the Merdeka 2020 celebrations!

Reasons to try the 14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase: The sensory exploration of flavours, textures and visuals, the short rib, the view, the sake and to celebrate Merdeka.

14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase
Nobu Kuala Lumpur
Level 56, Menara 3 Petronas, KLCC
50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+603 2164 5084
[email protected]
www.noburestaurants.com

14 Flavours by Nobu Omakase Timing
Monday – Sunday
Dinner: 6 pm – 10:30 pm until the end of August

Find more Japanese restaurants in KL here, and stay up-to-date with the latest gourmet and travel recommendations for Malaysia here and here.