First Taste: Nobu Hits the High Notes

Iain Shaw | Feb 26, 2011 11:39 pm | 1 comment | 3257 reads
the Beijinger was lucky enough to be the first media invited over to Nobu to check out the much-hyped restaurant's Japanese-with-a-hint-of-fusion cuisine last night (Feb 25). Celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa's Beijing project has been over a year in the making, but the early indications are that it's been well worth waiting for. The dishes we sampled were broadly of a very high quality, but at its best, with dishes like the trademark black cod, Nobu scales heights only a few Beijing restaurants can rival.
The highlight, perhaps predictably, was Nobu's black cod, saikyo yaki. Paired with a sweet, nutty sauce, the cod was simply beautiful, layers of fish that peeled away with ease, the skin browned for a sweet, crisp counterpoint to the smooth meat. I felt a wave of warmth around my head and shoulders. I think my pupils dilated. I made a mental note to go home and find out whether cod has any opiate qualities. One of our number claimed the dish almost brought them to tears (of joy). I could go on and won't, but on the evidence of this single tasting, this is one of the finest dishes on a menu in Beijing and worth saving your money to try at least once.
On to a few other highlights from the eight-course tasting menu put together for us by restaurant manager Dorothy Wong. We were served two courses of sashimi, both featuring fresh, tender fish. Each really soared thanks to the deft flavors teased out by subtle dressings. The first, fluke sashimi, was topped with rich spices and a lemony olive oil dressing. This was fine on first taste, but, like an enduring relationship, grew in strength and depth with time. As we concentrated for a few minutes on other dishes, the initially powdery spices paired up with the dressing and soaked up moisture from the fish.When we turned our attention back to the sashimi, we were blown away by an irresistible balance of flavors. If this is intentional, it’s a masterstroke. It’s tempting to imagine executive chef Oyvind Naesheim as a dramatist, creating dishes as characters, giving them room to develop as the larger plot unfolds around them. If you order the sashimi, don’t rush it– give the flavors time to blend.
I didn't expect anything special from the tuna salad, but was surprised. The spicy dressing, reminiscent of a Korean chilli sauce and lightened with citrusy lemon flavors, is the key. Like a great band's rhythm section, it provides consistency, allowing the other players (generous chunks of cucumber, tuna and fresh lettuce leaves) to rise to the top of the mix.
The meal finished with a selection of sushi; the best of these featured several types of fish, wrapped in seaweed and a sliver of radish. There was one final surprise: tamago (sweet egg omelette) on a bed of sushi rice can actually be memorable.
The restaurant looks great – as it should, having cost an estimated RMB 40 million to fit out. Diners enter via a small bar area, dimly lit with a handful of comfy seats. (Smokers, this is the only area of Nobu where you're able to light up.) The dining area is stylish but understated– quality wood, leather seats and bare lightbulbs dangling overhead – with nods to Japanese art. Ranks of chefs mill around the open kitchen, with a handful of chefs manning the sushi bar, which can seat eight diners.
Service is competent and efficient, with manager Dorothy running a tight ship. I'd like to see the waiters offering introductions to each dish, down to the details of the ingredients used to create each flavor. This would round out the sense of discovery and confirm the sense that dining at Nobu is an experience rather than a meal. However, they are off to a good start and have plenty of time to grow.
Maison Boulud's opening in 2008 was the last great watershed in high-end Beijing dining, a moment when it was clear that the bar had been raised. Two years from now, it’s entirely possible that we’ll look back on Nobu's arrival as a similarly epic development – the first truly serious challenge to Boulud's recent dominance of Beijing fine dining. What distinguishes Nobu from all but a few is that in the restaurant's finer moments, you forget that you're eating beef, or tuna, or a piece of cucumber, the ingredients themselves fading away to the point that all you're aware of is a taste. Or better – an emotion. It seems to me that's the difference between a great restaurant and one which is merely good. On early evidence, Nobu Beijing has the makings of a great restaurant.
Initially, Nobu will only be open for dinner – opening hours have not been set in stone yet, but we're told the restaurant will likely be open from around 6-10pm. Nobu's "soft" opening period begins on March 1, with the grand opening party scheduled for April 7. Jackie Chan, Nobu co-owner Robert de Niro and other celebrities, as well as Chef Nobu himself, are all tipped to attend the grand opening.

Nobu. 1/F, JW Marriott Hotel, China Central Place, 83 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (5969 6988) 朝阳区建国路83号华贸中心华茂万豪酒店1层

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