This Japanese restaurant is located in the InterContinental Hong Kong, facing the Victoria Harbour and enjoying a wonderful view of the harbour and the buildings on the HK Island. The restaurant showcases Nobu Matsuhisa's innovative Japanese cuisine, inspired by his culinary life in Tokyo, Peru and Argentina.
Seated at the window side with a gorgeous view, my first impression however was in fact on the rather non-descript and simple furniture, with a simple circular wooden table and likewise basic chair, plus very rudimentary table setting. Maybe it was the design but it did not create much of an ambiance I would expect from the fame of the restaurant and the hotel itself.
Ordering the Winter Omakase ($1488 each), the first course was Sweet Shrimp with Sapporo Jelly, and Snow Crab with Lavender Sauce. The shrimp and jelly was very bland in taste and I did not appreciate much. The snow crab was more flavorful, with the melon and aioli providing the sweet and savory to accompany the delicate crab meat, and the lavender sauce giving further floral fragrance, making it interesting contrast which helped to rescue some of my faith on this restaurant right from the beginning.
The second course was sashimi but rendered in a contemporary style. Featuring Hokkaido ingredients, the Hooknose is a specialty in Otaru area and rich in taste. The Smoked Salmon wrapping Hokkaido Cheese was intense but well-balanced. And the Sea Urchin and Tuna was a great complement. I was very impressed by the quality of the sea urchin, not just very fresh but also having that sweetness and nice taste that only the best ones could offer. A great effort by the chef.
The third course was sushi in more traditional style, including a Tuna, Salmon, Horse Mackerel and Sea Urchin. Continuing the great taste I started with the sea urchin roll and again it was truly wonderful. The horse mackerel was also nice, without any fishy taste and showing again how fresh the fish had to be. Both the salmon and tuna were also good, but personally they were rather too 'commonplace' to arouse my interest and appetite. Still a nice assortment and got me keen to come for their sushi in future.
The fourth course was Seared Scallop, cooked perfectly to caramelize the outside while keeping it moist and soft on the interior. But in order to achieve that result the scallop could not be cooked for too long, and one might feel that it was not 'warm' enough. A trade-off to balance, nevertheless the taste was great and the condiments on top added the extra dimension on flavors to the dish.
The fifth course was Grilled Capelin, with the staff recommending us to squeeze some lime juice on before eating. The fish was grilled perfectly, giving a bit of crispness while not over-burning the skin. The whole fish could be eaten, sweet and the lime juice did bring out the freshness also. Another good dish on the night.
The sixth course was Grilled Wagyu Beef with Seasonable Vegetable. The beef got nice fat and oozing with fragrance, intense on the taste and the accompanying sesame sauce balanced the fattiness of the beef with a bit of acidity. For me, however, the vegetable was better in taste. Both the asparagus, shiitake mushroom and baby corn were all beautifully grilled, seasoned well with salt to highlight its original flavors.
The seventh course was Fish Soup with Salmon. The soup was rich and intense in taste, complex in flavors wit the leek giving a delicate fragrance on the background. On the other hand I thought it was a bit oily on the palate for me, and the salmon pieces were also a bit too fishy in taste cooked in such manner.
The eighth and last course was dessert, Cheese Tart and Apple Sorbet. The tart was great in taste, with the cream cheese rich and flavorful, balanced well with the light and slightly acidic apple sorbet. A good finale for the meal on the evening.
The service was decent though I would hope they did a more thorough job explaining the dishes to us. My biggest issue for Nobu was that the environment was just too noisy. Even though the tables were not exactly very close to each other but the noise from the other guests really making it uncomfortable. If I went to a Izakaya I probably would accept it but this is a high-end restaurant in a 5-star hotel. Probably a bit too much for me...
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