nobu: wasa-bae or wasa-no?

what's your favourite summer lunch choice?

Well, for guanie, yes that is me; my favourite summer food would be sushi - precisely nigiri. Tangy rice blanketed with silky, and hopefully fresh fish coloured in hues of translucent pinks. Talking about the sunny season, is it just me or are we all furious about how it is now December and the Melbourne summer is still missing in action, no where to be seen? Yes, I do acknowledge that a standard Melbourne day comprises of all four seasons in 24 hours. However, this year, our summer is like backlogged Tesla orders - so indefinitely late, that I've given up waiting for it! What can I say, I don't know if "winter is coming", but La Niña is definitely here.

Lacking patience, after glimpsing a splash of sunshine outside the car window, I decided that this was good enough weather for sushi. It was a now or never moment. So, where to get authentic sushi in Melbourne? Nobu! At least according to their branding they are. The hype infused and Kardashian saturated international Japanese chain is in no doubt boujee. But, are their bentos buck banging?

We ordered the nobu signature bento, valued $60 aud, and the festive special banquet, valued $85 aud pp which comes with a beverage of choice. I had the latter. Yes, undeniably and on its face very expensive. Did the food live up to its price? I mean, it was good. Just not as good as I expected it to be, considering that it is valued at $85 pp.

things that guanie liked:

• The tuna rolls were refreshing with a punch of spicy mayo.

• The pork belly don was nice.

• The kingfish nigiri was refreshing.

things that need improvement:

• The tuna nigiri was a tad fishy.

• The miso bathed cured salmon was a bit salty for guanie's liking.

• The service was not as good as my last dinner dining experience. However, our waitress did kindly apologies to us that the quality of service was impacted by how busy the restaurant was during the holiday season.

Adopting a retrospective glance, did I feel pressured to say that guanie really enjoyed the bento, when the waitress asked me if I liked the food? Yes ! Being brutally honest, I did. Analogous to how I feel pressured to say that I admire a Piccasso painting; when I think Cubism is chaotic. Honestly speaking, I believe my brother, who as he says himself, displays a "remarkable ineptitude" when I comes to art, could replicate it for hundreds of thousands less. Piccasso and Nobu, such big names with incredible reputation and acknowledgement from millions of people with fame, money and social status. Does my pressure to go with the flow stem from the fact that I am scared to have a different opinion from all those fancy folks? Perhaps due to social compulsion, I simply want to be as classy as Kim K with her birkin, sushi and unauthentically held chopsticks (not that I am a master at holding chopsticks the right way). The image of her sitting at Nobu eating California rolls seems so desirable. If she thinks Nobu is top notch, the best sushi you can get. Undoubtedly, it seems that the "whole world" would believe too that Nobu must be the best sushi out there. It takes guts to express a different perception, especially these days when we are so overly sensitive about being disapproved by others. It is tempting for guanie to opt for the easy way out: writing an article that freely extols Nobu, showering the restaurant in fabricated flattery and praise. But no, after reflecting on the whole experience, guanie has decided to stay true to herself. Is guanie scared that nobu is going to chase after her? No, guanie is not popular enough for that.

Guanie also believes that Nobu would like to hear different opinions. As only when we take into account opposing views and heartly suggestions, can we improve, right? Our standards, at least guanie's standard, for dining differs in accordance to how the restaurant prices their food. If the food and experience is more expensive, naturally we should impose a higher standard. If the bentos were $40 aud, guanie would not be so picky. But they are not. Nobu has priced them to be high end bentos. Guanie unapologetically believes that the bentos we had at Nobu Melbourne, did not live up to the $85 aud standard this time round.

Overall, the Nobu bento experience did not receive the guanie approval badge because the dishes in the bento, and service did not justify the price. Nonetheless, if you would like to experience it for yourself, guanie would recommend Nobu for its a la carte menu. The restaurant is spaciously furnished, with a warm atmosphere great for conversations and celebrations. Despite being pricy, the Nobu bento boxes may be great for corporate lunches. As the bentos have appropriate portions and are good for price control, especially when you are the one shouting, wink*.

.xx guanie ʚїɞ