Nobu
Crown Complex
Southbank, Melbourne
03 9292 7879

I last mentioned Nobu, the four-letter word synonymous around the world with exquisite Japanese food, after a dinner prepared there last year by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa himself.

That was back in 2008 and a lot has changed since then at this much-heralded eponymous eatery at Crown. For starters, Nobu himself has gone. Only a year after his flying visit with partners James Packer and actor Robert De Niro for an opening night party jammed with about 600 people in a space designed for about 200.

Some senior chefs and front of house people have also gone as the restaurant has been taken under the Crown umbrella of eateries like JJ’s, Number 8, Breezes and Koko.

Luckily some things haven’t changed. The signature dish of black cod from Japan with miso and ginger sticks is still there. And as sublime as ever. I mentioned it my last review as something I would put on my Last Supper menu. And still would.

Also still there, and still as good, the Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeno. And the improbably named Sashimi Tacos. It sounds like Toranaga meets Pancho Villa but it works.  Crisp, fragile, mini-Taco shells variously house morsels of raw Atlantic salmon, yellowtail, crab and lobster.

Mrs. Nosebag is not a great lover of Japanese food, especially my penchant for raw tuna –which I intend to indulge to the hilt with a foray into ‘ahi-land’ the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i later this year.

She did enjoy the crab Tacos but was holding back for a huge dish of Tempura vegetables and Tempura prawns.  More on that later.

Nobu has a vast menu of sashimi  and sushi, a range of hot dishes including squid, scallops, lobster, soft shell crab, tiger prawns and abalone. For more western tastes they have wood oven dishes like a whole chicken (with moro miso) beef tenderloin with wasabi salsa and several Wagyu steaks.

You can have an eight-course chef’s dinner still named after ‘Chef Matsuhisa’ for $110 a head.

Most of the dining at the ‘new Nobu’ is downstairs. And that’s a shame. On a recent Saturday night it was big, bustling and loud. Almost a steakhouse atmosphere.  The noise level was not helped by several Oriental hen’s parties with tables of ten to fifteen with the bride-to-be in those tacky headpieces adorned with flashing lights or devils’ horns.

I actually associate Japanese dining with an almost Zen-like tranquillity. The food tastes are so subtle, the food decorations so intricate and delicate and the service usually so smooth and unobtrusive that it’s almost a religious  experience. And I’m an atheist.

Upstairs at Nobu has all that with dark-stained wooden floors, comfy lounges and  subdued lighting but they are trying to develop that as a trendy bar with ‘Aperitivo Fridays’ where they serve complimentary canapés with cocktails, sake and wine from 5-7p.m.

But back downstairs to the Tempura trials and tribulations,    

The vegetable tempura menu is endless: asparagus, capsicum, tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, eggplant. And for seafood, there’s prawns, squid, scallops and whitefish. There are two pieces per order and the vegetables range from $2 to $5 a serve. We ordered heaps.

While waiting, Mr. Know-it-all extolled the virtue of Tempura batter. Only the Japanese really knew how to make it and serve it. Even the lowliest Japanese foodhouse could make it. So light and tasty. It’s like beautiful pieces of colourful vegetables caught in gossamer. Quite poetic actually.

And then it arrived. The batter was not only too thick it was soggy, claggy, anaemic. It was OK on the prawns but on the vegetables it was undercooked and unacceptable. We sent it back.

They fixed it. Or tried to. Ever had re-fried, deep-fried, Tempura tofu? It’s like getting a battered sav or a potato scallop from the local fish and chip shop. All taste obliterated by the calorie-crammed fatty batter.

It should never have left the kitchen. Sad proof that ‘Nobu has left the building’.

March 30, 2009