A pot of homecooked pork adobo — in all its greasy glory — will always be special, but it’s nice to see how dynamic Filipino food can be. It’s refreshing to see our beloved dishes methodologically arranged, with finesse and elegance.
Nobu — the famous global Japanese restaurant with Peruvian influences — gives a fresh take on Filipino favorites in a limited-time menu that celebrates the flavors and traditions of Japanese, Peruvian and Filipino food.
This isn’t the first time Nobu has offered something like this. Late last year, Nobu New York executive chef Ricky Estrellado and Nobu Manila head chef Michael de Jesus collaborated on an eight-coursme dinner, which magnificently strung together the three food cultures. It was only available for two nights.
Fortunately for us, Nobu is offering a similar Filipino-inspired à la carte menu that’s available from April 1 to June 30.
Chef Michael said he was excited about adding the Filipino aspect to Japanese-Peruvian cuisine. His mom is from Ilocos Norte and his dad is from Zamboanga. He pretty much grew up helping them prepare Filipino dishes for the family.
Here are the dishes you can enjoy:
Sushi plate (Prices range from PHP350 – PHP490)
We started with an intriguing plate of sushi. The ingredients were unexpected: adobo spices, garlic chips, coconuts milk, salted egg, onion salsa and sisig. Every piece was a pop of Filipino flavor highlighted by the freshness of the fish. Soy sauce and wasabi were obviously unnecessary.
Kurobuta and foie gras sisig ‘pica-pica’ (PHP530)
Chef Michael explained that he didn’t use pork brain for this version of sisig, but he tried to achieve the texture of the classic Kampapangan dish by adding foie gras. Some might prefer it to be a bit spicier and with a bit more grease, but I liked the smooth and clean taste — plus it looked so beautiful with the edible flower. It’s a very friendly way to introduce sisig to someone who hasn’t tried it before.
Uni palabok (PHP1240)
It was like my favorite palabok, but cooked with the subtlety of Japanese culture. The flavors were not as strong and as bold as what most Filipinos are used to. Chef Michael’s creamy sauce was made from uni, shrimp stock, and dashi (fish stock). He also used Japanese udon noodles. In lieu of chicharon, he used bacon furikake for flavor and crunch. The palabok was served with tiger prawns and slow-cooked egg.
Kare-kare (PHP1915)
Chef Michael’s kare-kare made me appreciate the importance of every ingredient that goes into the dish. It was a nice play of texture, flavor and color. The sauce had a Peruvian touch with the anticucho spice (a Peruvian stew made usually made with offal spiced with cumin, garlic and other spices). The meat was tender, and the piece of tatami iwashi (crispy sheet of baby sardines) was an interesting touch.
Bonus: Nobu style halo-halo
This is a thing of beauty. The popular Filipino shaved ice dessert was brought to the next level with an intersting mix of ingredients like leche flan, matcha chocolate, sweet bean, yuzu gelée, and ube ice cream. It was topped with freshly-made mochi balls rolled in coconut and sesame seeds and drizzled with kurumitsu, a dark Japanese syrup similar to caramel. Interesting trivia: Nobu only uses Fiji water snow. It’s the perfect way to end a meal on a sweet note.
See you at Nobu?
1/F Hotel Nobu, Aseana cor Macapagal Avenues, Entertainment City, Parañaque; +63 2 8008080, www.nobuhotelmanila.com.
Photos: Ching Dee
