Before there was Iron Chef Morimoto, there was Masaharu Morimoto who was hired to run the kitchen of Nobu restaurant in New York. And before there was Masaharu Morimoto there was Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, the 2nd son of a lumber merchant who incorporated foreign flavors into traditional Japanese cuisine. Chef Nobu’s restaurant empire now spans from Tokyo to London with more than a dozen locations scattered between.
The “Best” Japanese Food
We were motivated to try Nobu Waikiki during our brief vacation not because sis-in-law said it served the best Japanese food she’s tried but because my brother stated that Nobu in New York had the best Japanese food he’s tried. Not that we don’t trust sis-in-law’s palate but in one week, she had the “best” chicken dish and the “best” fish dish at the Halekulani. Since there must be all of 1,568,342 chicken and fish dishes in the world and that she had the “best” in a period of one week and that Nobu Waikiki is located in the Waikiki Parc Hotel which is the Halekulani’s sister hotel, we opted for a 2nd opinion. My brother’s confirmation seconded our decision.
A Rocky Start
I felt the initial storm surge when we arrived for our 6pm dinner and the hostess couldn’t find our reservation which was secured two weeks earlier. Especially when the Mrs. was asked if the person who called made the reservation under an alternate name – No, it was the Mrs. who made the call. Rule Number One; Never upset the Mrs. because “ain’t no one happy unless the Mrs. is happy”.
Luckily our actual “reservation” was early enough that there were tables open for couples. Whew! Our server was also very attentive and competent which calmed the seas for smooth sailing.
Decisions, Decisions
We started with the Shishito Peppers which were flashed fried and served with salt, lemon and a sweet miso sauce. They were just cooked and had flavors of bell peppers, okra and blanched green beans. Very good with the Prosecco!
Then came the hard part, deciding what to order. Nobu’s menu is split into Appetizers, Cold Selections, Hot Selections and Sushi/Sashimi. They are served family style and are meant to serve 2 to3 diners like tapas plates. We finally decided on the Omakase (chef’s selection, 4 cold, 2 hot and dessert for $75 per person). I couldn’t resist trying the Monkfish Pate’ with Caviar so that was served before our Omakase selections. The Pate was basically steamed anko liver served on a miso based sauce with a wild mountain peach as a palate cleanser. It had the consistency of firm tofu with a rich fish flavor. The Mrs. thought it resembled the fatty part of canned salmon. Oh well.
Cold Selections for the Indecisive
The chef’s selection started with the Toro or fatty tuna served over a mustard and shoyu sauce with a dollop of caviar. The toro was as fatty as I’ve seen, more white than pink though the mustard shoyu sauce did overwhelm the subtle flavor of the toro. The mountain peach must be a trademark of Nobu since it also graced this dish. Because it tasted like a cross between an ume and fresh peach, it did refresh the palate as promised.
We were then served Onaga (red Hawaiian snapper) sashimi with black salt, Peruvian pepper and lemon juice. The lemon juice and pepper nicely complimented the rich slices of fish. Finally, we had Nobu’s Sashimi Salad, several slices of tataki (seared) tuna with Mesclun greens with Matsuhisa dressing. The dressing was a nice blend of daikon oroshi, grated onion and sesame oil.
Nobu’s Sake
Since we were dining at Nobu’s, I decided to splurge and tried several of Chef Nobu’s exclusive sake. Produced by Hokusetsu in Sado, several versions are produced exclusively for Chef Nobu. I had the Junmai (semi-dry and very good with various dishes), Dai-Ginjo (fragrant but better with lighter dishes) and Y35 (expensive, but very fragrant with exquisite balance). If you choose to dine at Nobu, I would recommend the Junmai as it pairs with a wider variety of dishes… though the Y35 was VERY GOOD.
Hot Selections for the Indecisive
Next up was the Squid Pasta with Light Garlic Sauce. Finely scored thick rings of squid (to resemble pasta) cooked with long beans and shiitake mushrooms in a light garlic scented broth spiced with a touch of shichimi. All this needed was actual linguini and I would have been singing an aria. Okay, maybe just humming.
The final hot dish was the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce. Very lightly breaded rock shrimp flash fried then tossed in a mayo based dressing – a little like Chinese prawns with candied walnuts except that dressing had a hint of spice (I was already on the Y35 though the Junmai would have been the sake of choice).
Dinner ended with a selection of five nigiri sushi – maguro, hamachi, salmon, onaga and shrimp.
Dessert Anyone?
The molten chocolate cake with green tea ice cream probably impressed the Mrs. the most (of course, her motto is “life is short, eat dessert first)”. The molten cake had a very thin crust with that warm chocolate ooze contained within.
What’s the Damage?
I don’t believe that any of Chef Nobu’s restaurants are cheap. Remember that they spawned the future Iron Chef. Dinner alone was about $200 for two (without alcohol). It was very good though it didn’t reach the level of food epiphany. In all fairness I was raised on Japanese fusion cuisine (Hawaii immigrants did fuse Spam, Vienna Sausage and corned beef into their diets before Regional Hawaii Cuisine was a buzzword), so it does take a lot to reach Japanese cuisine nirvana for me personally. There were several other dishes not served with the Omakase selections that I would have liked to try but we were already in the red zone, cost wise. And though I would go back (if someone else was picking up the tab), Nobu Waikiki is the type of restaurant that’s reserved just for very special occasions. On my budget at least.
Nobu Waikiki
Waikiki Parc Hotel
2233 Helumoa Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
The “Best” Japanese Food
We were motivated to try Nobu Waikiki during our brief vacation not because sis-in-law said it served the best Japanese food she’s tried but because my brother stated that Nobu in New York had the best Japanese food he’s tried. Not that we don’t trust sis-in-law’s palate but in one week, she had the “best” chicken dish and the “best” fish dish at the Halekulani. Since there must be all of 1,568,342 chicken and fish dishes in the world and that she had the “best” in a period of one week and that Nobu Waikiki is located in the Waikiki Parc Hotel which is the Halekulani’s sister hotel, we opted for a 2nd opinion. My brother’s confirmation seconded our decision.
A Rocky Start
I felt the initial storm surge when we arrived for our 6pm dinner and the hostess couldn’t find our reservation which was secured two weeks earlier. Especially when the Mrs. was asked if the person who called made the reservation under an alternate name – No, it was the Mrs. who made the call. Rule Number One; Never upset the Mrs. because “ain’t no one happy unless the Mrs. is happy”.
Luckily our actual “reservation” was early enough that there were tables open for couples. Whew! Our server was also very attentive and competent which calmed the seas for smooth sailing.
Decisions, Decisions
We started with the Shishito Peppers which were flashed fried and served with salt, lemon and a sweet miso sauce. They were just cooked and had flavors of bell peppers, okra and blanched green beans. Very good with the Prosecco!
Then came the hard part, deciding what to order. Nobu’s menu is split into Appetizers, Cold Selections, Hot Selections and Sushi/Sashimi. They are served family style and are meant to serve 2 to3 diners like tapas plates. We finally decided on the Omakase (chef’s selection, 4 cold, 2 hot and dessert for $75 per person). I couldn’t resist trying the Monkfish Pate’ with Caviar so that was served before our Omakase selections. The Pate was basically steamed anko liver served on a miso based sauce with a wild mountain peach as a palate cleanser. It had the consistency of firm tofu with a rich fish flavor. The Mrs. thought it resembled the fatty part of canned salmon. Oh well.
Cold Selections for the Indecisive
The chef’s selection started with the Toro or fatty tuna served over a mustard and shoyu sauce with a dollop of caviar. The toro was as fatty as I’ve seen, more white than pink though the mustard shoyu sauce did overwhelm the subtle flavor of the toro. The mountain peach must be a trademark of Nobu since it also graced this dish. Because it tasted like a cross between an ume and fresh peach, it did refresh the palate as promised.
We were then served Onaga (red Hawaiian snapper) sashimi with black salt, Peruvian pepper and lemon juice. The lemon juice and pepper nicely complimented the rich slices of fish. Finally, we had Nobu’s Sashimi Salad, several slices of tataki (seared) tuna with Mesclun greens with Matsuhisa dressing. The dressing was a nice blend of daikon oroshi, grated onion and sesame oil.
Nobu’s Sake
Since we were dining at Nobu’s, I decided to splurge and tried several of Chef Nobu’s exclusive sake. Produced by Hokusetsu in Sado, several versions are produced exclusively for Chef Nobu. I had the Junmai (semi-dry and very good with various dishes), Dai-Ginjo (fragrant but better with lighter dishes) and Y35 (expensive, but very fragrant with exquisite balance). If you choose to dine at Nobu, I would recommend the Junmai as it pairs with a wider variety of dishes… though the Y35 was VERY GOOD.
Hot Selections for the Indecisive
Next up was the Squid Pasta with Light Garlic Sauce. Finely scored thick rings of squid (to resemble pasta) cooked with long beans and shiitake mushrooms in a light garlic scented broth spiced with a touch of shichimi. All this needed was actual linguini and I would have been singing an aria. Okay, maybe just humming.
The final hot dish was the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce. Very lightly breaded rock shrimp flash fried then tossed in a mayo based dressing – a little like Chinese prawns with candied walnuts except that dressing had a hint of spice (I was already on the Y35 though the Junmai would have been the sake of choice).
Dinner ended with a selection of five nigiri sushi – maguro, hamachi, salmon, onaga and shrimp.
Dessert Anyone?
The molten chocolate cake with green tea ice cream probably impressed the Mrs. the most (of course, her motto is “life is short, eat dessert first)”. The molten cake had a very thin crust with that warm chocolate ooze contained within.
What’s the Damage?
I don’t believe that any of Chef Nobu’s restaurants are cheap. Remember that they spawned the future Iron Chef. Dinner alone was about $200 for two (without alcohol). It was very good though it didn’t reach the level of food epiphany. In all fairness I was raised on Japanese fusion cuisine (Hawaii immigrants did fuse Spam, Vienna Sausage and corned beef into their diets before Regional Hawaii Cuisine was a buzzword), so it does take a lot to reach Japanese cuisine nirvana for me personally. There were several other dishes not served with the Omakase selections that I would have liked to try but we were already in the red zone, cost wise. And though I would go back (if someone else was picking up the tab), Nobu Waikiki is the type of restaurant that’s reserved just for very special occasions. On my budget at least.
Nobu Waikiki
Waikiki Parc Hotel
2233 Helumoa Road
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
(808) 237-6999
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