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In the 1980s, it was said that you could tell whether a city was gastronomically sophisticated by one sure sign — did it have a Japanese restaurant? At that time the world was discovering the simplicity of a cuisine which matched the desire for a return to basics, natural, unalloyed and fresh flavours combined with exquisite design, a combination made in heaven. If Philip Starck represented the new minimalist aesthetics of contemporary design, then Chef Nobu represented this trend in cuisine. But as has been remarked upon, the Nobu style of cooking is far removed from the traditional Japanese oeuvre. The use of mayonnaise, for example, is completely alien to Japanese cooking as is much else you would find. But it is cutting edge, Pacific rim, Asian fusion.It is this cuisine which is today winning over every celeb from the Russian Oligarch to the super model (sushi has been memorably described as ‘cat food for the catwalk’).

Where did this tradition start and where is it going?Its origins are extraordinarily humble. A young and highly talented Japanese chef called Roy Yagamuchi was given free run of a restaurant in the Sheraton in Los Angeles airport in the early 1980s.He is of mixed Japanese and Hawaiian parentage, and he sought to combine Japanese and French cooking techniques to stunning effect. His signature dish was a seared swordfish teppanyaki style; the French twist was added by flavouring it with a wasabi beurre blanc and shiso leaves. If Roy was the pioneer, a major populariser was the Trader Vic brand, ostensibly a lounge bar; it boasted such novel delights like the crab Rangoon.
Several Japanese chefs in Los Angelos experimented with what is called ‘nouvelle cuisine franco japanonise’ and this led to the emergence of a Japanese Peruvian Chef by the name of Nobu Matshushisa, a name to conjure with.

Nobu had become the Versace of modern cuisine, originally funded by the actor Robert De Niro, who admired his food so much, the celebrity halo lingers.He may be accused of style over substance, but so what? He has brought sex and fun into modern cuisine.
His achievement has been famously described as “parleying his Japanese Peruvian style as a fashion label”. Nobu’s protégé is the great Morimoto, a genuinely Japanese chef from Hiroshima, who has made an impact here with the Wasabi brand in the Taj Mumbai and in the Taj Man Singh in New Delhi. The original excitement of this cuisine, unfortunately, has diminished. The signature “black cod in miso” is now being retailed in the rather down-market Yo Sushi at a fraction of the price it would command in Nobu.Testsuma in Colaba does a rather good one and it is well priced.

If the Japanese-Franco collaboration appears to be running out of steam, the Chinese influence in Asian fusion is rising.Alan Yua’s Hakkasan in London desperately requires to be replicated in Mumbai. It is one of two Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants in London, the other being its sister restaurant ‘Yauatcha’.It produces one of the most exquisitely innovative dim sums in the world; my own favourite is the prawn har gau.
The popularity of dim sums now exceeds sushi amongst the celeb crowd in Mumbai at least.

Email: javed.gaya@gmail.com