THERE’S a feeling of spaciousness and a casual friendly vibe at the new home of Nobu at Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur. It’s still a restaurant with a view – of the fountains at the KLCC park, which burst into colours at night.

Co-founded by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, this world-renowned Japanese-Peruvian chose Kuala Lumpur as its first location in Southeast Asia six years ago, on the 56th floor at Petronas Tower 3. It’s now in a lifestyle hub, easily accessible and child-friendly. A sake room, sushi bar and private dining rooms are in this new Nobu.

Nobu signature dishes are in our launch dinner menu, beginning with Moriawase, of Japanese oyster, yellowtail sashimi and tuna tataki. The smooth, glistening oyster slides up, embellished with yuzu lemon juice, a tiradito sauce and Peruvian chilli, delivering a little tartness and spiciness to the sweet oyster. A fragrant and sweet baby peach at the side is for cleansing the palate.

There’s bite to the slices of yellowtail bathed in Japanese citrus soy sauce, with a spicy lift from jalapeno. Tuna Tataki is seared tuna with black pepper wrapped in a salad leaf and covered with Masuhisa sauce, a flavourful sesame soy onion sauce.

Foie gras with yuzu marmalade on sakura monaka is perfection in its rich creamy bursts melding with the citrusy and lightly sweet marmalade, and crumbling-thin wafer shell at the bite.

Nobu-style sushi presents kampachi, the silvery shad, Japanese baby snapper and scallop. I savour with relish the kampachi with jalapeno, the shad with grated ginger and scallion, the baby snapper with wasabi salsa and the sweet, luscious scallop topped with wasabi salsa and benitate, a red spicy micro cress.

Black cod with miso is a classic Nobu signature. The cod is marinated with sweet miso and grilled, and garnished with a pickled ginger stem and plump dried apricot. The moist creamy fish flakes off at the touch of a fork; there’s a tart lift from the ginger stem, sweetness from apricot.

Tenderloin truffle teriyaki had medium rare beef finished with a mildly sweet teriyaki sauce with black truffle. Roasted vegetables of eringi mushroom, young corn, lady’s fingers and cherry tomatoes and pumpkin puree were on the plate, complementing the meat.

Dessert has to be the Nobu cheesecake with blueberry cream, yuzu strawberry sorbet and raspberry sauce. We love the smooth sorbet imbued with yuzu fragrance and sitting on goma (black sesame) crumble, a delightful foil for the creamy, sweet cheesecake.

Nobu seasonal cocktails are a standout at this restaurant which has a sake room. I enjoyed Seasons in the Sun “Summer”, with Hoketsu Junmai “Sado No Shu”, GH Mumm grand cordon, elderflower syrup and Calpis. It all came together gently and melodiously.

Citrus kiss “Spring”, of Absolut Mandarin, limoncello, triple sec, royal orchid infused apple juice, delivered similar melodious, harmonious notes. There’s also wine and champagne by the glass and sake, such as the Honjozo Onigoroshi “Devil Killer” and Honjozo Ongkashu Koshu “Music Sake”.

Nobu offers a multi-course tasting menu (signature omakase) at RM388++, lamb chop with rosemary miso (RM170), shrimp kamameshi crispy rice (RM95), jumbo prawn anticucho hazelnut sauce (RM110), king crab tempura Ama Ponzu (RM120) and lobster creamy jalapeno (RM120) are other dishes on the dinner menu. There are classic cold dishes like miso chips with tuna or scallop (RM28), oysters with Nobu sauces (RM95), new style sashimi (RM80) and whitefish sashimi dry miso (RM75).

Nobu is at Level 4A, Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur. Dinner is only served now, but from March 29, there will be lunch and high tea too, from 1pm to 4pm at the weekend. For reservations, call 03-2380 0028 or WhatsApp 019- 389 5085. – March 27, 2021.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.