For Christmas dinner, Steve and I decided to leave traditions behind in UK and do something different. We'd been to Nobu for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it so we booked it for Christmas dinner. Originally we were going to go for lunch and experience the set menu but when we spoke to the hostess to confirm our booking, we discovered it was open for dinner with the usual á la carte menu so we decided to change plans and go during the evening instead.
This plan suited us more as it meant we could spend most the day in our pyjamas and we could choose anything we fancied from the menu. Given how much the set menu cost, we figured we could order a lot of food and drink and still be within that budget.
This plan suited us more as it meant we could spend most the day in our pyjamas and we could choose anything we fancied from the menu. Given how much the set menu cost, we figured we could order a lot of food and drink and still be within that budget.
I kicked off with an Apchee Martini which was a refreshing apple and lychee combination. Tart and sweet at the same time - delish! We had the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno pepper and coriander which is a firm favourite of our's and I think we'll order it every time we come if we're lucky enough to have more visits. I love coriander anyway so this is a winning combination for me and the warming jalapeno is just a great sensation and aftertaste. Love that tingle on the tongue!
Next up were the sashimi tacos with yellowtail, salmon, lobster and snow crab with a fresh tomato salsa. We both agreed the lobster and snow crab were the best. There was nothing wrong with this dish and it looks very pretty but now that I've tried it, I'd opt for another dish of the yellowtail sashimi instead of this.
Beef tataki with ponzu and garlic chips arrived soon after. This was a new one for us and one we will definitely repeat. Wafer thin slices of raw beef with a soy / citrussy dressing and what tasted like pickled garlic. Doesn't sound nice but absolutely delicious.
As we tucked into the beef, a couple similar age to us were seated at the table next to us and they commented on how appetising the dish looked. We proceeded to have some good conversations with them throughout the evening. Turns out they were from Sydney and were in Melbourne because he is a cameraman with Sky Sports and was filming the cricket. He's obviously a regular on the circuit as knows a lot of the people and commentators but he didn't name drop in an annoying way. Steve had mentioned before we went to Nobu that he was hopeful he'd spy some cricket related folk, probably not the actual players given it was the night before the start of the Test but perhaps some of the entourage. I guess this cameraman counts. He told us the England team were staying in South Yarra which is one of the suburbs about 10 minutes away and the Australian team were staying at the Crown Casino Complex which is where we were.
Back to the food; the crispy rice cubes with spicy tuna was next. We'd had this one last time and the rice cubes are just so deliciously chewy and crispy and moreish all at the same time that Steve couldn't resist and ordered this. The tuna is nice but it's the rice cubes that are the centrepiece of this dish.
Next up were the sashimi tacos with yellowtail, salmon, lobster and snow crab with a fresh tomato salsa. We both agreed the lobster and snow crab were the best. There was nothing wrong with this dish and it looks very pretty but now that I've tried it, I'd opt for another dish of the yellowtail sashimi instead of this.
Beef tataki with ponzu and garlic chips arrived soon after. This was a new one for us and one we will definitely repeat. Wafer thin slices of raw beef with a soy / citrussy dressing and what tasted like pickled garlic. Doesn't sound nice but absolutely delicious.
As we tucked into the beef, a couple similar age to us were seated at the table next to us and they commented on how appetising the dish looked. We proceeded to have some good conversations with them throughout the evening. Turns out they were from Sydney and were in Melbourne because he is a cameraman with Sky Sports and was filming the cricket. He's obviously a regular on the circuit as knows a lot of the people and commentators but he didn't name drop in an annoying way. Steve had mentioned before we went to Nobu that he was hopeful he'd spy some cricket related folk, probably not the actual players given it was the night before the start of the Test but perhaps some of the entourage. I guess this cameraman counts. He told us the England team were staying in South Yarra which is one of the suburbs about 10 minutes away and the Australian team were staying at the Crown Casino Complex which is where we were.
Back to the food; the crispy rice cubes with spicy tuna was next. We'd had this one last time and the rice cubes are just so deliciously chewy and crispy and moreish all at the same time that Steve couldn't resist and ordered this. The tuna is nice but it's the rice cubes that are the centrepiece of this dish.
Now for our hot courses. The black cod with miso was always going to be ordered. This is Steve's favourite dish of all time. He just absolutely loves it. He puts it down to the combination of taste and texture and being able to slowly savour it picking up each mouthful flake by flake.
We had a little interlude of tempura; scallop and shitake mushroom and they were both good. The Wagyu gyoza with goma ponzu was next. The goma ponzu is like a sesame and citrus dipping sauce. The gyoza were probably the only disappointing dish. They were tasty but just not that special and quite greasy so I'd give them a skip next time.
Steamed wole baby barramundi (I keep calling it barracuda - what's the difference huh?) with black bean sauce was one of my favourites. The flesh is like sea bass; soft and delicate and I loved the sauce that was just so tasty with the steamed rice. Steve still prefers the black cod but I like both and would be hard pressed to decide between them. Good thing that although both are white fish dishes, they are very different so we can always have both!
We had a little interlude of tempura; scallop and shitake mushroom and they were both good. The Wagyu gyoza with goma ponzu was next. The goma ponzu is like a sesame and citrus dipping sauce. The gyoza were probably the only disappointing dish. They were tasty but just not that special and quite greasy so I'd give them a skip next time.
Steamed wole baby barramundi (I keep calling it barracuda - what's the difference huh?) with black bean sauce was one of my favourites. The flesh is like sea bass; soft and delicate and I loved the sauce that was just so tasty with the steamed rice. Steve still prefers the black cod but I like both and would be hard pressed to decide between them. Good thing that although both are white fish dishes, they are very different so we can always have both!
By now we'd had a lot of food but given it's Christmas and the time of gluttony coupled with the fact that we hadn't over indulged during the day meant that we pushed the boat out a teeny bit further and ordered one more dish. We went for the tenderloin tobanyaki. The tenderloin is seared and carries on cooking in the ceramic pot which is glazed with butter and sake. It's quite an understated dish where the quality of the beef is the main star of the show. I really enjoyed this rare piece of steak and prefer it over the tenderloin with wasabi salsa we had last time. The wasabi salsa dish is very memorable because it's quite unique and packs a punch but I prefer the restraint of this dish.
We had finished our bottle of T Gallant pinot gris so ordered two glasses of the Victoria pinot noir. The bottle of white we had was from a vineyard in Mornington about 90 minutes drive away and Steve had been to the winery as one of his Christmas excursions with work.
We had finished our bottle of T Gallant pinot gris so ordered two glasses of the Victoria pinot noir. The bottle of white we had was from a vineyard in Mornington about 90 minutes drive away and Steve had been to the winery as one of his Christmas excursions with work.
Dessert time and Steve made our waiter's day by ordering the rice pudding. I'd heard him encourage other customers to try it as it was his favourite but I guess when there's chocolate fondant, Japanese donuts on offer, rice pudding tends to be overlooked. Steve really enjoyed it though and it was a little different to the usual rice pudding as it came with a giant crispy rice cracker which the waiter told Steve to crumble into the pudding to get some crunch in the texture.
I went with the popular satandagi which are Japanese donuts stuffed with chocolate and pistachio served with a ball of almond icecream. I asked for a dessert wine and our waiter said he'd come back with something special. What arrived was a small carafe of what looked like runny custard on a bed of ice. He called it a mango shochu and said it was made on the premises and in different flavours depending on what fruit was in season. It tasted like an alcoholic mango smoothie. Totally yummy. It looked so unusual that our neighbours were fascinated so I offered them a sip and they ordered one too! Steve and I are such trendsetters!
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. The service was impeccable; our waiter had such passion for the food and was so charming and the food was just glorious. Definitely need to go back again!
I went with the popular satandagi which are Japanese donuts stuffed with chocolate and pistachio served with a ball of almond icecream. I asked for a dessert wine and our waiter said he'd come back with something special. What arrived was a small carafe of what looked like runny custard on a bed of ice. He called it a mango shochu and said it was made on the premises and in different flavours depending on what fruit was in season. It tasted like an alcoholic mango smoothie. Totally yummy. It looked so unusual that our neighbours were fascinated so I offered them a sip and they ordered one too! Steve and I are such trendsetters!
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. The service was impeccable; our waiter had such passion for the food and was so charming and the food was just glorious. Definitely need to go back again!
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