We started our anniversary weekend with dinner at Nobu, Waikiki. The Nobu fine dining chain is one of my favorites in the world, so it seemed appropriate to start there. We got there in time for happy hour and started at the bar, where signature drinks were $8. This is the Matushisa Martini:
Premium Hokusetsu Sake & Ketel One Vodka garnished with cucumbers
I don't drink much, but I took a sip of this cocktail just for good measure. It was too boozy for me, but there are plenty of other signature cocktails that are sweeter and all of them are $8 at Happy Hour. I actually had the Signature Shiso tea which was AMAZING (if you're a huge tea lover like I am). It was a white peony tea with shiso, really subtle in its flavor and perfect for the post-flight headache that I walked in with.
We decided that we wanted to focus on the local fish of the islands. We've been to a couple other Nobu locations (Los Angeles & Las Vegas Hard Rock) so we thought we'd try dishes & specials that might be more unique to the Waikiki location, unfortunately, this means that I didn't catch all of the names of the fish that we ate, not being very well versed in Hawaiian fish names :(
Whitefish Sashimi with Dried Miso
The whitefish sashimi with dried miso is one of our favorite Nobu dishes and the Nobu Waikiki version uses a local whitefish which is slightly firmer than the whitefish normally used at the other locations. I love this dish because the citrus of the yuzu with the savory of the dried miso, and contrasting textures of the garlic chip & whitefish make a perfect combination in your mouth, with just a hint of onion from the chive. So delicious!
Bigeye Ahi Poke NOBU Style
Our next dish was the bigeye ahi poke Nobu style which was pretty much all local, from the island. The bigeye tuna was locally caught and the seaweed & heart of palm garnish were also harvested from the island. I had this seaweed several times during our stay on the island and I loved it. It provided a nice textural crunch and saltiness without being very briny. This wasn't my favorite dish, but my husband loved it (which is perfect because then we didn't fight over it ;) ) . It was too earthy and savory and I'm not a huge heart of palm fan, but if you are, it's a great dish to try.
Tempura Monchong with nori, jalapeño, cilantro, & red onion on a light ponzu tempura sauce
I don't think I've ever had Monchong before, but this was delicious. The tempura batter was perfect, the sauce was light and it was really balanced on the palate. I really enjoyed the hot crispy tempura with the freshness of the cilantro & onion and a bit of sweetness with the ponzu sauce.
New Style Salmon Sashimi
New style salmon sashimi is my go-to dish at every Nobu. I love it so much. The salmon melts in your mouth and blends perfectly with the soy, sesame, hint of chili oil and chives. I loved the roasted tomato on the plate--the skin was crisp and it was delicious. This is probably not my favorite rendition of this dish (I like it better at the Las Vegas Hard Rock location), but it was still definitely a winner.
Finally, what took the cake (literally) was dessert:
Drunken Cherry Tobanyaki
I think this is the best dessert I've ever had in my life. Zaya rum-soaked cherries, mochi sponge cake, macadamia nut brittle, warm spiced caramel and amaretto ice cream. This was seriously AMAZING--as in, I am actually salivating writing this blog right now in remembering the taste of this dessert amazing. The brittle with the amaretto ice cream & caramel were seriously magical. I liked that the cherries weren't overly tart or sweet, but really balanced and the sponge cake was a really nice texture. I seriously would eat this a million times. In fact, I wish I was eating it right now.
Well, that's a fitting note to end this blog on--as I look longingly for some poor substitute for some dessert around the house. But, stay tuned for more culinary adventures from the Hawaii trip soon on the blog.
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