On an ice cold night in New York, we headed to Nobu New York for a warming modern Japanese American meal. I had heard many good things, and was excited to taste Nobu Matsuhisa’s fusion cuisine. He is, after all, one of the pioneers of Asian fusion cuisine.

Typically, I’m wary of an kind of fusion cuisine, because a lot of it just not well executed. Many chefs just smear some soy glaze on a typical western creation and call it a day.

Unfortunately, even though there were some interesting highlights, Nobu failed to impress. Many of the dishes simply had poor execution–faltering on basic elements like seasoning and rice preparation.

We decided to go with the omakase, leaving it to the chefs to serve their best dishes. The following was our evening.

Toro Tartar

The toro was served over a rich cold broth of wasabi and soy. The toro tartar was very fresh and delicate, but overpowered by the inordinate amount of wasabi in the broth.

Oysters Kahata with Soy, Citrus, and Oil

The oysters were fresh, but the sauce was overwhelmingly salty. Again, a potentially great dish that was ruined by poor seasoning.

Yellowtail with Yuzu Soy Dressing

Again, the Yellowtail was firm and fresh, but was over-salted. I could barely taste the Yuzu.

Lobster Tempura

This was one of the better dishes of the night. The lobster was nice and tender, and the tempura batter was delicate. However, the rich creamy sauce made the tempura soggy. It would’ve been better if they had served the sauce on the side.

Black Cod Miso and Foi Gois

This is Nobu’s signature dish, and was well executed. The cod was very tender and nicely flavored throughout by the soy and miso. The outside was nicely browned, and the foi gois added an exceptional richness. There is an almost identical dish that is served at the Mayflower Restaurant in San Francisco (at a cheaper price, of course).

Sushi Course

This was probably the worst dish of the night. Of all the dishes, I thought Nobu would be able to execute sushi flawlessly. Instead, the rice was too dried out and not properly seasoned (needed more vinegar). The fish was fresh enough, but not anything extraordinary. Very disappointing.

Chocolate Green Tea Molten Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream

The night finished with a molten chocolate cake. I thought this dish lacked any originality. The addition of the green tea sauce within the cake didn’t add much interest to the usual molten cake dish. The green tea ice cream was made in house, and had a subtle and natural green tea flavor.

Overall, Nobu just didn’t leave me with a good taste in my mouth. The dishes were not well executed, and many lacked any kind of originality. Even though Nobu is hailed as the pioneer of fusion cuisine, it managed to lose its attention to detail, which is very sad indeed.