Ode to Nobu Malibu

One of our favorite restaurants on the planet is Nobu Matsuhisa's restaurant in Malibu. Everytime we go to Southern California, it's a mandatory stop for us. Celebrity sightings are an added plus or minus depending on how you view it. On one visit, we almost ran over Tommy Lee who inexplicably made a sudden mad dash across the parking lot, almost giving our elderly parents a small heart attack. We never order the sushi as you really want to focus on what they're known for---their specialty dishes.

What to Order:

Raw Dishes:
Tiradito: thinly sliced white fish delicately laced with lemon juice and adorned with a tiny Sriracha dot

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno: thinly sliced yellowtail with cilantro and a jalapeno sliver capping each slice; one of Nobu's signature dishes

Albacore Vegas Salsa with Avocado: thinly sliced albacore with avocado served with a refreshing blend of chopped tomatoes, cilantro & white onion.

Other dishes:
LIVE Sweet Shrimp fried in Phyllo dough (make sure that it's LIVE and you say "fried in Phyllo" otherwise you'll wind up with the raw version of live sweet shrimp)--you must ask your server if it is available as it is considered a special that is not on the menu. For the faint of heart, please note that the head will arrive to you separately flash-fried (with the antennae dusted with goldleaf no less). It is perfectly kosher for you to eat the shrimp heads, although I always pass mine off to my DH.

Lobster Salad: essentially, their Shitake Mushroom Salad served with fresh lobster. You can spend the market price of around $50 for the salad which is quite good, or if you're just in the mood for some greens, just get the Shitake Mushroom salad which eases the guilt that accompanies some of the richer courses.

Soft Shell Crab Spring Rolls--crisp rolls generously stuffed with soft shelled crab. Unbelievably good.

Rock Shrimp with Creamy Spicy Sauce and/or with Butter Ponzu Sauce: Tempura rock shrimp mixed with a creamy spicy sauce and topped with chives & shitake mushrooms; the Ponzu sauce variety is also good--the rock shrimp is tossed with a delicious butter and ponzu-based sauce.

Kobe Beef Special: thinly shaved and marinated Kobe beef prepared with crispy onions, sugar snap peas, and crisp shitake mushrooms (order at least 1 oz per person); my favorite dish by far. This would be my choice for a last meal. Be very descriptive when ordering this as Nobu prepares their Kobe Beef in a variety of ways. At Malibu, this form of preparation is unfortunately also known as "the Leg Spreader."

Miso Cod: by far, their most popular dish, although it definitely is not one of my favorites, but for the sake of fairness, will put it here b/c maybe I'm just missing the requisite tastebuds for this one.

Dessert: order the below and it will arrived on one platter; perfect for sharing

Bento Box: chocolate souffle cake with green tea ice cream

Spring Rolls: thinly rolled crisps filled with butterscotch, white chocolate and chocolate fillings served with caramel, chocolate and raspberry dipping sauces.

Shiso Crepe: filled with delicious bananas and served with ice cream

Beverages:
Now I'm quite a lightweight, but I do adore their fruit infused Sakes which come in a variety of flavors; we've tried Lychee, Passionfruit, Blood Orange, Strawberry, and Coconut. Passionfruit and Blood Orange were among my favorites. Availability varies daily.

Location:
Nobu Malibu (in the Malibu Country Mart)
3835 Cross Creek Rd Ste 18A
Malibu, CA 90265
310.317.9140

When to Go: supposedly fresh fish deliveries happen on Monday!
Hours: Mon-Thu 5:45pm-10pm
Fri-Sat 5:45pm-11pm
Sun 5:45pm-10pm
www.noburestaurants.com