Grand Finale Year End Promotions For Two Nobu KL

Grand Finale Year End Promotions For Two Nobu Kuala Lumpur

Words: Kitty Noble
Photos: Monica Tindall

“Irasshaimase!” is the refrain called as you walk into Nobu restaurant. Loosely translated as “Welcome, come on in,” indeed, it makes us feel warmly received!

After a particularly unusual year, we find ourselves already in the run-up to Christmas. Nobu Kuala Lumpur has done what they do best and pulled out another blinder of tasting courses for the festive period. For their last hurrah, they have tastefully decorated the wood-laden restaurant with twinkling baubles and tinsel with cheesy Christmas music playing to set the mood.

Nobu Kuala Lumpur’s Last Days in KLCC

What marks this as all the more exclusive is that this will be their last month in the current location. In the first quarter of 20201, Nobu Kuala Lumpur will be relocating to the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel. So, if you want those iconic sweeping views across the city from the fifty sixth floor and overlooked by the twin towers, do snag yourself a table ASAP. Places are selling out fast.

Christmas Cocktail

As ever, we start with their Cocktail of the Month, which is a Genmai Toddy (RM 55). In keeping with the Christmas theme, it arrives bedecked with a red ribbon around the stem and an entwined cinnamon stick. Hennessey VSOP is combined with genmai cha tea, smoked honey, ginger and orange marmalade and vanilla momokochan bitters (made in-house of course). Think Japanese twist on a mulled wine. Served warm, this is sure to keep the cold away.

Grand Finale Year End Promotions For Two

The seven-course menu for New Year (RM 728++ for 2) is almost the same as the five-course Christmas menu (RM 488++ for 2), with wine pairing included (RM 988++ for 2) and a few additional items which can be purchased as an add-on for the Christmas menu (noted in the review). If you are a drinker, I’d recommend taking the alcohol option!

To Begin

We embark with an Irish oyster, raspberry puree, wasabi salsa and foie gras (add-on, RM 48++ for Christmas). The briny oyster slips down nicely and the topping of foie gras and caviar gives it an extra special, indulgent note.

Secondly, toro (tuna belly) with spicy miso, crispy kataifi (filo pastry), fills a teeny, tiny butterhead shell, which we are advised to pick up in our fingers and enjoy in one bite. We are then guided to eat the mountain peach, which serves as a palate cleanser.

Next is yellowtail or hamachi, with amazu basil (sweet rice vinegar) dressing, parmesan cheese and pickled mango. Not as subtle as I was on previous visits, this time I get caught wiping the sauce up off the plate with my fingers! The best, left to last, is salmon with kelp, burdock roots and ponzu. The combination of flavours is perfect! All of this is paired with GH Mumm, a creamy champers with a fine mousse. Yummy Mummy!!

Sushi

Next we have the sushi selection which is paired with Hokosetsu Ginji Nigori – an unfiltered, bone dry sake. The first sushi comes in the shape of toro, kampachi with jalapeño and coriander and garlic puree with yuzu and lemon juice and is a cacophony of flavours. White bonito with sesame, ginger puree and scallions comes next, then jumbo shrimp, with an onion salsa and finally tuna. The three with special toppings don’t require the soy sauce at all as they are individually unique and together create a fab flavour profile.

Uni Soba

For our next dish, we have uni soba, made with dashi, soy milk, cheese, garlic and butter and fresh uni, topped with seaweed and a little parmesan. The pink echinoderm captures the taste of the ocean and whilst I had every intention of just having a taste for reporting purposes, it was so magically delicious with the silken homemade noodles that I wolfed it all down!

Served in a gorgeous hand-thrown earthenware bowl, this dish of loveliness comes paired with premium sake. TK40 is the private collection sake which is crystal clear with slight aniseed on the nose, once again, a perfect partnership to the plate.

Palate Cleanser of the Year

An interlude of ceviche sorbet is a palate cleanser before the hot dishes, served in a custom Nobu caviar tin. Think of this as a ‘rest course’ if you will, with a brief relief from the booze. For something that is meant to cleanse your palate, it sure does pack a punch. We had fun guessing what ingredients were tingling our tastebuds, with the sourness of yuzu, lemon, ginger and the hit from the black pepper, yellow aji amarillo and aji panco and balanced with sugar. The dressing, chef Philip Leong’s concept, we are told, contains SIXTEEN ingredients. Odd as it may seem, this was my favourite dish of the lot! Here’s hoping this makes it to the regular menu!

Lobster

Moving on to the hearty mains, we are served half a lobster (additional upgrade (RM 70++) from the steamed lemon sole, found on the Christmas menu), thoughtfully removed and served back in the shell, with sake, soy and truffle sauce. It comes paired with Joseph Drouhin St. Veran Burgundy. Chardonnay, for me, is a classic combo when it comes to seafood. The crustacean is served with crunchy veggies of carrots, baby sweetcorn, mushrooms and asparagus along with the sauce mentioned above. Something Nobu does splendidly well is their sauces and in this case, we requested a spoon to slurp it all up.

Wagyu

For the last of our savoury dishes, we are delighted with Miyazaki wagyu A5 with jalapeño miso, tomato puree and grilled vegetables (an upgrade on the Christmas menu from the Aberdeen Angus at RM 175++). The slightly crusty, salty outer of the meat is beautifully contrasted to the fatty centre. Of course, the wagyu speaks for itself, but the vegetables are each treated with the same care and attention as the beef. Slivers of turnip and beetroot are lightly pickled and the broccoli chargrilled to perfection.

The pairing for this dish is an Argentinian Malbec with strong overtones of red and purple fruits. It hails from Bodegas Norton, a winery of over a century in age.

Dessert

Green tea mince pie with charcoal meringue, rice ice-cream and flambeed at the table with Grand Marnier is indeed a grand finale. The pastry of the mince pie is light as a feather with rich, Christmassy filling of apricots and raisins and a dusting of charcoal meringue decorating the plate. The ice cream, as I’ve come to expect, is creamy and silky smooth. The pairing for the dessert is a Hokosetsu Umeshu, plum wine, with just the right level of acidity and sweetness to complement the pud and the end of our meal.

Grand Finale Year End Promotions For Two Nobu Kuala Lumpur

Finishing with very full bellies, Nobu never disappoints. Each and every individual component of the feast is treated with love and respect. At just a touch under 1K for two, this is incredibly reasonable for a new years’ eve meal, including drinks. With any luck, the fireworks will finish off the night and indeed the year. 

• Note that the upgrades for Christmas are per portion.

Reasons to book the Grand Finale Year End Promotions For Two at Nobu Kuala Lumpur: Fantastic NYE and Christmas menus offering great value for money; sweeping views of the city (and hopefully fireworks – who knows?); consistent attention to the smallest of details; last chance to enjoy the spectacular views and setting before relocation.

Address (for now!!)
Nobu Kuala Lumpur
Menara 3 Petronas, Persiaran KLCC
50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
www.noburestaurants.com
+60321645084

Nobu Kuala Lumpur Opening Hours
Mon-Fri Lunch 11:45pm-2pm
Mon-Sun Dinner 6pm – 10:30pm

Last day of operation in the current location: December 31, 2020

Reminisce with us here by taking a look at Nobu over the past five years in close to 25 articles on their cuisine and experience by The Yum List.

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