Matshuisa - NOBU in Beverly Hill

We were told we would die and go to Japanese heaven if we ate at Nobu Matshuisa's place in Beverly Hills so of course we needed to try it! I mean this is NOBU so after a pretty tough day it was completely something to look forward to!



We arrive at a very humble no nonsense and traditional restaurant that seemed dated in it's decor and drawfed by it's neighbours of chi chi and modern flare.  I mean we were in 90210!

The menu had a lot of variety that appealed to our senses and although we could've selected our dinner options, we figured that since this may be our one and only chance, we should do the best of the best and chose their Omakase which is their tasting menu. There are three different levels - $90; $120; $150 per person.  We don't skim but we don't want the most expensive so we selected the one in the middle
Almost immediately our first dish arrives which was

Toro Tartare which I was pleased with because this is the coveted piece of the fatty tuna belly topped with a heaping serving of black caviar served in a bed of shaved ice and an unique ume-looking plum which was sweet/sour.
Then a duo of appetizers came out which was fresh white fish sashimi layer on cucumber served fresh with rice vinegar and on the other plate - the fish sashimi was drizzled with yuzu ponzo and siracha sauce to give it a kick.

Then almost to cleans our palette we were served a sashimi salad with a selection of rare and common pieces of sushi including blue fin tuna (very rare and controversial) to seared tuna and scallops.  The fish was very fresh and mild.
Then a sizzling platter of kobe beef came out with aromas wafting up to our nostrils.  The sautéed enoki mushrooms alongside the asparagus and onions were a flavourful compliment in senses and texture.
One more memorable dish was something that I didn't expect to be served at Nobu which is a Chicken Ball Soup - the thinking behind being served this dish was to warm our soul and soothe the palette after all the different dishes ahead.  The broth was very tasty and the balls were delicious.

At this point, Chef Nobu-san was circulating around the table with his tie dyed pants and ninja style head band.  I was star struck at this point and begged my dining companion to indulge Nobu in conversation and take a photo of us.  At the end of this, I managed to shake chef Nobu-san's hands and tell him I enjoyed the dinner very much.
The dessert finally came and was the show stopper for me - it was the Green Tea snow dessert.   It looked like white cotton candy until you poured the green tea syrup on top of it and it turned into a green mountain of ice.  It was flaky and light and melted in your mouth, well i mean it is flavoured ice.  Apparently Nobu flew in a special ice shaving machine from Japan to make this dessert.  Once you dig further into the dessert, you find the treasures of red beans and vanilla ice cream - it was a fun and interactive way to finish our meal!

At the end of the day our bill came and we were a little baffled that such a simple and humble dinner cost us a bit of a small fortune and we were left wondering were we better off just ordering a few items off the menu that we would want to eat instead of a tasting menu giving up our control.  Don't know if we'll ever figure that one out as it'll probably be the one and only time I head to Matshuisa.
*** stars
Matshuisa

129 N La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
(310) 659-9639
www.nobumatsuhisa.com