When Nobu Kuala Lumpur first opened on Level 56 of Petronas Tower Three, just below the illuminated spires of the Petronas Twin Towers, it came with the megawatt personality of Robert De Niro, one of its celebrity stakeholders as well as the originator of the successful restaurant and now, lifestyle brand, celebrity chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” . The latter’s blend of traditional Japanese and Peruvian ingredients has resulted in culinary signatures such as black cod in miso (which made De Niro a fan of the ‘Nobu style’ of food). Six years on since Nobu Kuala Lumpur’s grand opening, the restaurant is poised to relocate to the Shoppes at Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur and begin welcoming diners by mid-March this year.
We look back at the highlights, quirky moments and what follows, which has come to define Nobu Kuala Lumpur at its maiden location from those who have both served at this gastronomic destination, as well as the guests who have frequented, including: Gopinadh Kanala, General Manager Nobu Kuala Lumpur since its inception in Malaysia as the first Nobu restaurant in all of Southeast Asia (which has been latterly joined by Nobu in Manila), and long-time Executive Chef Philip Leong who had joined Nobu Kuala Lumpur with nine years’ experience at Nobu Restaurants and who now brings his 15 years’ experience its new location.
ON THEN AND NOW
“When we first arrived in Malaysia there was already a very vibrant F&B scene here but there weren’t too many upscale restaurants in comparison to now. I think specifically over the last two years we’ve seen an influx of so many different restaurants with various cuisines in KL alone. The plethora of dining options leaves Malaysians spoilt for choice and has helped bring tourists into the city as well.”
For Nobu Kuala Lumpur itself, there hasn’t been any drastic change and we’ve been very consistent over our six years here. Consistency in the standards of our food, guest experience, cleanliness and every other aspect of the business. These are the standards that we maintain as part of the Nobu brand. Our goal is and always has been to serve our guests world-renowned Japanese-Peruvian cuisine through unforgettable dining experiences.” — Gopinadh Kanala
“When we first opened our doors in 2014, Peruvian ingredients were not as popular here which made it difficult to find a local supplier. Over time you slowly saw a number of South American-influenced restaurants set up shop in Kuala Lumpur, therefore increasing the demand for those ingredients to be imported in. This allowed us to add more dishes into our menu instead of limiting availability to our Omakase promotions.
Aside from that, we have had different chefs from under the Nobu umbrella visit and collaborate on our menu to introduce different dishes from across the globe. We call these ‘World of Nobu’ dishes, where some are till today permanently on the menu whereas others are available during certain Omakase promotions. — Philip Leong
ON FONDEST MEMORIES
“Too many memories to choose as favourite, but one very close to my heart was the launch event with Nobu-san and Bob (Robert De Niro). It marked a new journey not only for Nobu but for me as well as being in a new country with a different environment.
The other one that comes to mind was when we had a full buy-out event for two days where they spent RM250k in total, that’s the biggest receipt we’ve ever seen at Nobu Kuala Lumpur. There was another memorable night where a group of 12 people casually walked in and spent RM52k. There are always big spenders coming to Nobu Kuala Lumpur and sometimes they’re very generous with the tips. There was once a table of four that ended up spending RM32k and left a RM4k tip for our staff.
As for events, the most memorable one would be a Japanese-themed night where the organisers booked out the entire restaurant and decorated it with Sakura trees and origami, all the girls present were dressed in kimonos. Everyone had a really good time and it’s one of my fondest memories from Menara 3 Petronas.” — Gopinadh Kanala
“I have many fond memories at the first Nobu KL location – many firsts and wonderful memories that I’ll cherish forever. I’ll certainly miss the familiar scenery from the 56th floor and dining across from the iconic KLCC. Spending New Year’s Eve 2020 at Nobu Tower Three was bittersweet as it was their last day operating there. Throughout the years, the quality and service has been amazing and consistent throughout. I’m certain the new location will be no less than what it was, so I’m excited to create new memories with Nobu KL and its wonderful team.” — Sofea Riana, long-time diner at Nobu Kuala Lumpur
“Nobu on the 56th will always be a special place for me. Nothing beats the view of the beautiful KL city from up top and not to forget the beautiful twin towers right opposite you. Lots of memories at Nobu, but my favourite memory is celebrating my 18th birthday party with my friends. I also celebrated my 19th birthday at Nobu and met Nobu-san – which was a memorable experience. On top of all this, Nobu was the place I had encountered my other half, it has been four years since and we frequently visit Nobu together monthly throughout the years. I’m glad I celebrated NYE 2020 and their last day at Tower Three.” — Dinesh Jayasimman, frequent patron at Nobu Kuala Lumpur
“Here at Nobu we serve world-renowned Japanese-Peruvian cuisine, but there was once a regular guest who asked for Chilli Padi and Telur Mata, to go with his Kamameshi Crispy Rice. I remember when the server who was waiting that table came back and notified the kitchen team, all of us stopped what we were doing and looked at him. We couldn’t believe what we had just heard! But Nobu is all about the guest experience, so we accommodate wherever we can in line with the “Nobu style” philosophy.
There is another locally inspired dish, the ‘Fresh Water Prawn with Anticucho Hazelnut sauce’, which is reminiscent of satay sauce. This actually became one of our director’s favourite dishes and he always orders it whenever he’s here. Since it’s not on menu, I sometimes have to specially source for the jumbo prawns.” — Philip Leong
ON STAYING THE COURSE
“We did things that we had never tried before and in a way I’m grateful that the circumstances pushed us to do so. We introduced our delivery service “Nobu At Home” where we were able to give guests a fine dining experience in the convenience of their own homes. We also started our affordable “For Two” promotions (buy-1-free-1 mechanic) as our way of making world-renowned Japanese-Peruvian cuisine easily accessible to those that had never tried it before.
I’m a firm believer that tough times don’t last, tough people do. So my takeaway from 2020 was perseverance in finding solutions to navigate the pandemic and ultimately come out of it stronger. It was because we persevered through these tough times that we were able to connect with our guests in unique ways.” — Gopinadh Kanala
“Our approach has always remained the same in trying to innovate our array of dishes by injecting local flavours into them. Nobu-san (Nobu Matsuhisa) always encourages us to support local produce and take inspiration from local delicacies across the country.
A great example of this would be our Merdeka Omakase from last year titled “14 Flavours by Nobu”, where we took inspiration from dishes such as Sticky Rice Dumplings and Chilli Crab. We have a wide variety of our own ingredients such as Spicy Miso that we use to take these local delicacies and add our Nobu Style twist to. Malaysia has so much local produce to choose from, so we’re always keeping an eye out for different kinds of dishes that we can incorporate into our world-renowned cuisine. Nobu-san always encourages us to take inspiration from local produce, so we’re definitely looking to introduce more dishes with these local twists to give our guests a unique dining experience.
What I’ve learned is that the chemistry among the kitchen team truly makes an impact in having a successful service. The harmony in the kitchen translates into the food that we serve so I’m really happy that we have such a wonderful and close-knit team. Over the past six years we’ve had people come and go but the one thing that remained consistent was the bond we had as a team. When the working environment is such, it makes everything more enjoyable.” — Philip Leong
ON NOBU’S CELEBRITY ATTRACTION
“Being a global brand, we have had the pleasure of hosting some big international names over the years. To name a few, there was David Beckham, Mariah Carey, Usain Bolt, Jack Ma and Ed Sheeran. It was a pleasure meeting all of them and they had some very nice things to say about the experience they had during their visits.”
When David Beckham visited us, it was right when we had first opened in 2014 and all of us were really excited to see him. Sometimes celebrities seem very nice when the cameras are on but are polar opposites in reality, David Beckham was far from that. He was a true gentleman and was really kind to our staff.
Even when Mariah Carey visited us, she was initially seated in the main dining area but a few of our guests were approaching her and asking for pictures. She was very sporting and obliged with every request but we wanted to ensure that she was able to enjoy her dining experience without any distractions so we offered to put her in the private room. She was so moved by the gesture that she came back again the following night.” — Gopinadh Kanala
ON BEST FOOD AND DRINK PAIRINGS
“I’m a little old school when it comes to this. In my opinion, Japanese cuisine and sake is one of the best pairing you can get. One of my favourite combinations is our Hokusetsu Nobu Daiginjo TK40 ‘The Premium Sake’ with our signature Black Cod Miso. If you’re someone that fancies cocktails, our bar team is extremely talented in concocting stunning drinks that pair very nicely with our dishes. I do also look forward to the different creations for their cocktail of the month, some of them taking inspiration from local ingredients.” — Philip Leong
ON THE MOVE
“We felt that after six years of being here it was time for a change in scenery. It also makes more sense for us to be set up at Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur rather than an office building. This will allow for a better customer experience, enabling us to do many more things like being child-friendly. Further to that, we’ll be the third restaurant after Nobu Doha and Nobu Lana’i to be housed under the Four Seasons umbrella.
Menara 3 Petronas is an amazing location with a priceless view that we will miss very much but I think that the move to Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur will allow us to improve the guest experience on another level. It may not be 56 levels high, but the view at our new outlet is very nice and complements the ambience quite well. Aside from the exterior, there are so many things to be excited about within the new outlet that we can’t wait to introduce.” — Gopinadh Kanala
Nobu Kuala Lumpur will open for reservations starting Monday, 15 March.
The restaurant is located here.
Make a Reservation: Call +603 2380 0028 or WhatsApp +60193895085. Email: nobuklreservations@noburestaurants.com.
