It definitely makes for a special
occasion. As you arrive, a valet service is on offer, so there's no
worry about parking and so on. When you walk into the grand hotel,
there is a warm greeting and of course, once at Nobu the service is
of the utmost best.
The sommelier guided us through the
wine selection, and as we were both trying the new Bento Box options,
we needed a wine that could hold it's own against varied flavours,
but not outshine the food. And we felt like a red, which is not
always the easiest to pair with sea food. But the sommeliers
recommendation of Muratie's pinot noir went down extremely well. As
we are already fans of that particular wine, it wasn't hard to
convince us.
The wine list also contains a variety
of sake, wines and bubbly by the glass (including French Champagne)
starting at Graham Beck Brut NV (R55) for the bubbles, Ken Forrester
Sauv Blanc (R42) for the whites, Springfield Whole Berry Cab Sauv
(R65) for the red and a one rosé
option, a Mulderbosch Rosé
(R35).
If you're in the mood for a cocktail,
there are some interesting martinis, sake combinations and classics
available, starting at R55. Plus there are some virgin cocktails
(R35). There is also an interesting selection of beers and if you're
feeling extra flush, some top international wine labels.
We were brought a bowl of warm soya
beans while we waited for our boxes to arrive. It wasn't long before
the first one did – and we were taken a back by how much food was
on offer. We managed to consume everything from both the boxes...
but three people could have easily shared two if you know what I
mean.
The first bento box (R275) consists of
a tuna sashimi salad, assorted sushi rolls, sashimi in the famed
jalapeno sauce, white fish tempura, nasu miso (eggplant in miso
sauce) and chicken teriyaki. It is then followed by a 'Suntory whisky cappuccino' dessert, which is actually a layered dessert in a
cappuccino cup, consisting of coffee-flavoured Crème brûlée and
other crunchy and creamy bits that I couldn't quite identify, but it
was amazing!
The second bento box (Deluxe at R375)
includes salmon sashimi salad, assorted sushi pieces and sushi rolls,
white fish new style sashimi, beef wing rib anticucho miso, sauteed
spicy vegetables, and tiger shrimp tempura. A smaller bento box
dessert followed, containing a decadent chocolate fondant and a
gorgeous ball of 'green tea' ice-cream – which, even though it
sounds odd, was delicately balanced as the ice-cream wasn't
particularly sweet, making a perfect partner for the rich fondant.
Our bests of all the little dishes were
the beef ribs, the eggplant in miso sauce, the salmon sashimi with
jalepeno sauce and the green-tea ice-cream. We had an interested
selection of unusual fish such as yellow tail and marlin sashimi,
which we thoroughly enjoyed.
The Bento Boxes will be available until
the end of September.
Dinner is served from 6pm – 11pm
(Closed Mondays). To book, call 021 431 4511
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