Whitefish adobo sushi, tuna sisig cut roll—why not?

Everyday Filipino grub is transformed into culinary sensations at Nobu at City of Dreams Manila. It’s a gastronomic spread that celebrates the culinary sensibilities of Japanese-Peruvian and Filipino cooking.

Sisig, staple bar chow best enjoyed with beer, is gentrified and turned into a tuna cut roll. Cooked and chilled, mixed with red and green chili, onion, mayonnaise and calamansi juice, it is then rolled with asparagus and nori.

‘Sisig’ with goose liver

In another version, it becomes the Kurobuta and Foie Gras Sisig “Pica Pica”—sous vide pork belly, seared foie gras, chili, onion and yuzu soy sauce.

“Some people don’t like the idea of eating pig’s brain,” said Nobu Manila head chef Michael de Jesus. “So we put a little luxury with the foie gras. As a chef, I would probably have the foie gras a little softer, but I tried to approximate the texture of brain, which is kind of gummy.”

Chef Michael is a Fil-Am who was born in Manila but grew up in the US. He started his nine-year career with Nobu in LA, and moved to Nobu Las Vegas before coming to Nobu Manila early last year.

He recalled childhood memories of assisting in the kitchen to prepare simple rice dishes for the family.

The experience inspired him to create unique dishes for foreign and Filipino palates. “Sisig is something I heard about and learned as a teenager,” he said.

His sushi bar specials include Seared Tuna Sushi with Ginataan, a lightly seared tuna topped with ginger and garlic, then topped with green chili pepper (P490); Whitefish Adobo Sushi, lightly marinated fish with traditional Filipino adobo spices topped with garlic chips and micro greens (P390); Snapper Sushi with Tomato Salsa and Salted Egg, local snapper with tomato onion salsa and bonito cured egg yolk (P350); and the aforementioned Tuna Sisig Cut Roll (P380).

Hot kitchen specials

His finest dish, however, is in the Hot Kitchen Specials: The Nobu Palabok has tiger prawns, onsen egg, udon noodle with uni palabok sauce (P1,240). This is udon noodles with a creamy sauce made from shrimp stock, dashi (fish stock) and uni (sea urchin), with tiger prawns and a slow-cooked egg on the side, topped off with bacon furikake instead of chicharon.

“We made our own version of chicharon,” chef Michael said. “You’ll love the texture. If you mix real chicharon with something else, it becomes overpowering. I wanted a balance of flavors here.”

Other Hot Kitchen Specials are Wagyu Beef Short Rib Kare-Kare Anticucho or braised short rib, Japanese eggplant, baby bok choy with kare-kare anticucho sauce for the Peruvian influence (P1,915); and Kurobuta and Foie Gras Sisig “Pica Pica” (P530).

Dessert is Nobu Halo Halo made with Fiji water snow, yuzu gelee, green tea crisps, adzuki bean, coconut sesame mochi, sweet condensed milk, and ube ice cream.

For this gastronomic feast, chef Michael infuses distinct Filipino flavors and ingredients to complement basic tastes of Nobu cuisine popularized by celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

The idea of a fusion of Filipino classics and Nobu cuisines was timed to coincide with Flavors of the Philippines, the annual gastronomy festival mounted by the Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board.
Available till June 30. Nobu Manila is open for dinner daily, 6-10 p.m., and till 11 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Call 8008080 or 6912882. E-mail guest [email protected]