The Nobu Experience

As part of my herculean efforts to dine at all the restaurants that made it to the The World's 50 Best Restaurant, I made a trip to Nobu London... it was my own little reward for all my hard work in pursuit of being a qualified actuary... a little treat for myself :)

Ranked 17 on this year's list, Nobu London at Park Lane was the first Asian restaurant to receive a Michelin star. It's international celebrity chef, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa is known for his fusion cuisine which blends traditional Japanese dishes with South American ingredients.

Trivia about Nobu:

1) Mr Nobu himself is friends with Robert de Niro and actually has a cameo appearance in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember as the Japanese business man "Mr Roboto" (not that I've watched the movie :P hehehe... but my my... the man CAN cook and act... not bad)

2) The tables at Nobu are always fully booked even on week nights... you usually have to book about a month in advance... and rumours have it that some celebrity figure actually paid a £1,000 bribe for a table on a certain night!

3) The broom cupboard incident - where tennis player Boris Becker had a tryst while his wife was in labour... which led to the birth of his illegitimate daughter...

Okay, okay... enough about facts and statistics... after all... I was there for the food! Since we wanted to try everything on the menu, we eventually decided on the tasting menus... to ensure that we sample all the signature dishes as well as the traditional dishes... we went for the Omakase (Chef's Choice) and Traditional multi-course tasting menus...

Shiromi Usuzukuri (Whitefish Sashimi)

Salmon Tartar with Caviar

Traditional "Nobu Style" Palette

Shrimps with Spicy Garlic Sauce

Tuna Tataki with Ponzu

Tomato Rock Shrimps and Scallops Ceviche

Salmon Kelp Roll

The Nobu Signature Dish - Black Cod with Miso

Anti-Cucho Peruvian Style Spicy Tea-smoked Lamb

Beef "Toban" Yaki

Traditional Sushi Assortments

Chocolate Bento Box with Green Tea Ice Cream and a French-infused Dessert

Hokusetsu Junmai Dai-Ginjo Sake in Bamboo

THE VERDICT:

The restaurant definitely lived up to it's reputation of being the elite socialite dining venue in London. And the food was simply fantastic... everything tasted so fresh and they melt in your mouth with its juices and seasoning tantalising your taste buds... it was also a fine dining experience with luxury additions like caviar and truffles added to the dishes...

Now... with 1 down on my list... I'll just have another 49 more to go...

On a brighter note, 7 of them are in the UK... so maybe it's not that difficult... hahaha... who am I kidding?