Nobu-fied feast
Nobu New York executive chef Ricky Estrella do and Nobu Manila head chef Michael de Jesus recently collaborated for an unforgettable feast that “Nobu- fied” timeless Filipino recipes.
The two-night event highlighted the collaboration of two talented Filipino chefs who have both worked with the renowned chef Nobu
Matsuhisa for years. Chef Ricky, who has worked with Nobu for 22 years, oversees both the Nobu New York in Tribeca and Nobu Next Door on Hudson Street. Chef Michael, a Fil-Am who grew up in the US, started his nine-year career with Nobu in its Los Angeles restaurant. He worked in Nobu Las Vegas before coming to Nobu Manila this year.
The dinner highlighted Nobu- style interpretation of Filipino classic cuisine. We started with sisig foie gras on a gyoza cone followed by seared tuna kinilaw tartare with kizami wasabi, then an
ubod salad lapu- lapu shiso crepe with jalapeno and Matsuhisa dressing. One of Nobu’s signature dishes, Yellowtail new style sashimi, was reint roduced with a green mango purée and dried bagoong (fermented shrimp) while the spiny lobster tempura was served in miso sinigang consommé. The entrées were sous vide crispy pata with amazu ponzu and Brussels sprouts laing and beef short ribs kare- kare anticucho, which offered a refreshing perspective to the traditional Filipino pork and beef dishes.
Before dessert landed on the table, an array of sushi was served such as saba tinapastyle, local tuna toyomansi,
whitefish sarciado- style, salaysalay paksiw and mixed seafood kilawin taco. The Nobu-style water halo-halo (with shaved frozen coconut water instead of ordinary shaved ice) offered a delightfully sweet ending. I couldn’t decide which one was my favorite as I loved them all.
I met Ricky years ago in New York and his cooking was still as good as I remembered it to be in Nobu New York.