Nobu Hong Kong

Chances are, if you've ever had a conversation with me about food, somewhere along the line, I've mentioned Nobu. I had always had an appreciation for good food, but it was Nobu that awakened the beast within. My first taste of Nobu was nothing short of a revelation - a turning point in my food life that redefined my culinary understanding and, consequently, ruined me for life. I will never forget the tastes and smells of that meal. Years later, I can still vividly recall my first bite of hamachi tartare, then wanting to lick my plate clean of the Matsuhisa dressing on my sashimi salad. I remember how the salty-sweet taste of saikyo miso perfectly complimented the rich butteriness of black cod, and how each dish appeared to be a visual work of art. I have since been back to Nobu several times - always a good experience - but nothing resonates quite like that first time. Now that I've exposed myself as totally biased... (I'll try to be objective. Really.)

So it is that I was thrilled to try out the newest branch of the Nobu empire during a trip to Hong Kong in December. Residing in the glorious InterContinental Hotel, it's just reaching the first anniversary of operation. Frankly, it's about time I went to check it out.

From what I've read, it seems like this restaurant has been received less enthusiastically than the New York and LA originals (see this review for example). Nevertheless, it's only fair that I reserve judgement for myself. I was dining with a few companions who graciously allowed me to select the courses for the evening (poor souls!). I wanted to hit a few of the classic Nobu signature dishes but also try out new menu additions and some of the Hong Kong special offerings. Here's how it shook out.

Menu:

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
Salmon New Style Sashimi
Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa
Creamy Spicy Prawn
Black Cod Saikyo Yaki
Toro Collar Steak
Nobu Style Fish and Chips
Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles
Sushi - House Special Roll, Hamachi, Unagi, Mackerel, Ama Ebi

A beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline sets the tone for the meal to come.

Yellowtail (Hamachi) Sashimi with Jalapeño - Starting out with one of my all-time Nobu favorites. This was perfectly executed and tasted fantastic. I love the combination of the creaminess of the hamachi, the saltiness of the soy, the zing of the jalapeno, and the brightness of the cilantro and yuzu. Just a fantastic dish.

Salmon New Style Sashimi - Another Nobu standard. Hot oil is poured over seasoned raw fish, creating a half raw-half cooked preparation that melts softly in the mouth. This dish was also executed well, although, I confess that I kept thinking that I should have ordered the Kobe beef rather than the salmon for this dish. My bad.

Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa - This was a selection from the Hong Kong special section of the menu. While I did enjoy this dish, I had expected the XO salsa to pack more of a punch than it did. Hirame is rather bland and neutral as a raw item and I thought it could have been enhanced with a more flavorful garnish. I understand the philosophy of not wanting to overpower the natural flavors, but why go for pungent XO sauce in that case?

Creamy Spicy Prawn - I goofed and ordered this instead of the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce (another of my Nobu faves), but it gave me the opportunity to try a different arrangement of the same flavors. This dish was fairly substantial, featuring 6 large prawns topped with enoki mushrooms and creamy spicy sauce (basically homemade spicy mayo). While the taste was great, I was a disappointed that the prawns were overcooked and dry. Perhaps it was carelessness during the final pass under the broiler (notice the sauce on top is browned), or maybe they were already toast by the time they got there. Whatever the case, this shouldn't happen at a place like this. I didn't complain though, and give them a chance to remedy the problem. I have a hard time sending food back - it's just such a waste.

Black Cod Saikyo Yaki - Ah yes, the famed Black Cod with Miso. And with this dish, we were squarely back on track. The butteriness of the Black Cod (which isn't really Cod, but Sablefish) is a perfect foil for the sweetness of the miso glaze. And when the outside sugars are properly caramelized (as evidenced in this photo) and the inside is soft and moist... It was perfectly prepared. This dish so lives up to the hype.

Grilled Toro Collar - I had read that this recent addition to the Nobu menu was an instant sensation. Upon placing the order for this dish, the server advised me that it would have a strong fishy smell. Undeterred, I ordered it anyways. I suppose I thought that this would be similar to grilled hamachi collar I had eaten in the past - rich, tender, fatty flesh falling off of the bone. And toro being toro, I expected this to take the hamachi experience to the next level. Well, my inflated expectations did me in this time. It was, in fact, quite fishy, as I had been warned. There wasn't really a lot of fat in the meat, and it wasn't particularly soft in texture either. So 3 strikes. Considering that this costs twice the price of hamachi collar, I would stick with that next time.

Nobu Style Fish and Chips - Another newish menu addition I had read about. But this one delivered the Nobu experience. Cubes of golden yam and fish are formed into a terrine-like mold before being breaded, fried, and topped with a tartar sauce-like garnish. Crispy and delicious, each bite gets you that classic fried fish taste but also a bit of potato. So good, and unexpected from the outside appearance. I wish I had taken a photo of the inside of one of these lovely morsels, but they disappeared too fast.

Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles - I like the idea of taking something as pedestrian as cabbage and pairing it with something so over-the-top. The combination of the black truffles and the cabbage was remarkably good. The earthiness of the truffles really enhanced the subtle sweetness of the cabbage. My only complaint here was that the cabbage was not quite cooked as much as I would have liked. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but there was still a crunchy raw characteristic to it wheras I feel that a little more roasting would have softened the texture and enhanced the sweetness a bit more. Not to mention that this was being roasted in a wood burning oven, so there would have been additional flavor from longer exposure as well.

Assorted Sushi - House Special maki, with unagi, hamachi, saba, and ama ebi nigiri. Since I was lucky enough to choose, I made sure to hit a few of my favorites. The house special roll combines a bevy of fresh fish and is wrapped in a hand-cut paper thin sheet of daikon (now those are some serious knife skills!). A healthy dose of wasabi was the perfect compliment to the tasty sweet shrimp, but the hamachi and saba were utterly sublime and stole the show (mackerel can be strong and fishy sometimes, but this piece was awesome - as expected at this venue). The only disappointment was the eel - which tasted nothing like the fine specimen I ate on my very first Nobu visit - yes, even the eel blew my mind that day. This piece was not as fresh tasting, and the texture was not the fluffy perfection that I had expected.

At the end of the meal, my party and I were overall quite satisfied. There were some huge hits (hamachi with jalapeno, black cod with miso, Nobu style fish and chips) which were enough to outweigh the misses (toro collar, overcooked prawn). It appeared that the core essence of Nobu cuisine was indeed alive and well at the Hong Kong branch. I suppose if I have the chance to eat there again, I would stick to these classic dishes and sushi, which were all fantastic. It would be a stretch to classify dinner here as a great value proposition, but the quality of the raw ingredients is second to none. Of course, charging such high prices invites careful scrutiny. I doubt that any of the nitpicky complaints I mentioned would be quite as troubling at half the price.

Bottom line - if you want to see what Nobu is all about, don't be afraid to head over and give this branch a try. But do yourself a favor and choose the basic Omakase (chef's choice), where you will get a house selection of the signature dishes of Nobu Matsuhisa. Just make sure to consult with your server on any particular likes or dislikes if necessary. All said and done, I think my previous Nobu experiences have not clouded my judgement here, but rather have invited me to be even more critical than I otherwise might have been.

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