International restaurant chain linked to legendary actor serves up classic dishes for 30th anniversary A CURATED menu of best loved dishes from all of its 75 outlets across Africa, Asia and Europe is how luxury restaurant chain Nobu is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Founded by Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa and American actor Robert De Niro in 1994, Nobu is presenting a menu made up of 14 dishes based on some of Matsuhisa’s earliest creations. “They are very close to my heart.
“When designing these menus, we wanted to honour our journey, the dedication of our team and the support we’ve received from our guests over the past 30 years,” said Matsuhisa in a media statement. At Nobu Kuala Lumpur, this menu is being whipped up by executive chef Philip Leong, an Ipoh native and old boy of SMK Anderson. Giving insights into the menu’s sensory profiles, Leong said diners could expect an interlayering of spicy and citrus dishes with richer items such as tempuras, grilled meats, and dessert.
Throughout the menu are elements of sharp sourness such as pickled vegetables in the sashimi samplers and meat dishes. The sauces are a well balanced contrast of citrus, salty, spicy, sweet and pungent flavours. It must be noted that sourness, in creating responses such as the puckering of the lips, also increases saliva production and heart rates.
This stimulates feel-good hormones like dopamine and endorphin, and has an exhilarating effect on the taste buds, opening up the appetite. .