00:00I always advise young people, if you want to do something, don't wait, just do it.
00:22Hello and welcome to Cutler 365 with me, Adil Halim.
00:26On this episode, we take you on a culinary journey that's sure to tantalize your taste
00:30buds.
00:31I sat down with the world-renowned namesake of the iconic Nobu brand, Chef Nobu himself.
00:37And Ioanna Hughes joins a tasting tour in Sukwakif to take a bite out of the best breakfast
00:42options on offer.
00:44But first, Lila Humaira went to Japanese restaurant Morimoto Doha, where she found out the art
00:49of tuna carving is anything but fishy.
00:56Kotaro Hayashi is a master sushi chef by day, but for tonight, he's also a culinary showman.
01:03This isn't Chef Kotaro's first rodeo.
01:06In fact, he's done this for years.
01:08So he's more than used to the bright lights, the audience, and coming face to face with
01:14a massive tuna.
01:15A crowd of excited diners are here to experience a rare form of live culinary entertainment,
01:21the kaitai ceremony, a Japanese tradition dating back centuries and passed down through
01:27generations of master chefs.
01:29The art of carving out a whole 150 kilogram tuna brings out the unique flavor of each
01:35part of the fish.
01:37And for Chef Kotaro, it's all about making the right cut.
01:52Since launching the first edition in 2022, the kaitai ceremony has become one of Morimoto
02:00Doha's marquee events, a clear crowd favorite.
02:04It's been very, very successful since then.
02:07And it just made sense for us and the team to continue on, on introducing it to our guests,
02:13bringing a bit of culture from Japan and, you know, letting people know what, what it's
02:17been done in Japan and how can we translate that here in Doha.
02:22But bringing kaitai to Qatar is more than just about satisfying the taste buds.
02:26It's also about educating and appreciating a skill that can itself be considered a cultural
02:32heritage.
02:47In the winter, the price of tuna skyrockets, with a single 100 kilogram fish fetching up
03:04to a million dollars.
03:06The tuna belly, or otoro, is the most coveted part.
03:34And for Morimoto Doha, founded by the famous Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, the restaurant
03:39hopes to continue the chef's vision to make food the ingredient that brings people together.
03:45Morimoto-san has always had in mind creating a bridge between the Japanese culture and
03:51the Western culture.
03:53I think the chandelier that we have just behind us is a prime example of that.
03:57And I think the menu of Morimoto is pretty much the same, the same features, the same
04:01characteristics.
04:02Nobu.
04:03It's one of the most iconic restaurants in the world.
04:09And 2024 marked the brand's 30th anniversary.
04:13With more than 50 locations worldwide, including this one here in Qatar, Nobu's namesake,
04:18Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, is a world-renowned restaurateur, chef, businessman and best-selling author.
04:24I got a chance to sit down with Chef Nobu during his recent visit to Doha.
04:32Chef Nobu, welcome to Doha.
04:34You're here to host several exclusive events, from masterclasses to a seven-course menu
04:39curated by yourself.
04:41Now, why did you decide to stop here as part of your year-long celebration of 30 years
04:46of the Nobu brand?
04:47Well, it's like since 1994, you know, so 30 years, amazing for me, because time to
04:55fly.
04:56But between these 30 years, so we have like 56 Nobu around the world, including five continents.
05:05I'm so much proud that we're doing well, and all the teams, you know, some of the teams
05:12include Doha.
05:13So Middle East, it's growing so fast, and the people know it's good food, too.
05:20Now, each Nobu location is very unique in its design.
05:24Here in Doha, for example, it's a closed oyster shell, which is symbolic of the country's
05:28rich pearl diving history.
05:30Why is that important to get part of the design process to reflect the place that you're in?
05:35For me, so restaurants, most important, good food, good service.
05:40And of course, it's like design means customers stay here, start eating.
05:47You know, you can see the nice view, and good space, you know, it makes more feel comfortable.
05:55And especially this one, its image, it's like more ocean, also Nobu restaurant, a lot of
06:01seafood, including sushi.
06:03So I think that this Doha location, it's the beautiful, most beautiful location.
06:09Across many parts of the world, wherever the Nobu restaurant is, you have celebrities,
06:15you have food lovers who flock to your restaurant.
06:18So many happy moments have been created now, but you had a difficult childhood.
06:22Your father passed away at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident.
06:25He left school at 17.
06:27What kept you going to persevere?
06:29Always I advise young people, if you want to do something, don't wait.
06:36Just do it.
06:37Even if I make a mistake, so smart people learn from the mistake.
06:41I learn to appreciate, love, and support, you know, everything from my experience, learn
06:48from the mistake.
06:49It used to be that Japan, it's like Japanese food have to be this way, but my experience
06:56went to Peru, then traveling all over the world, so start my mind to change to more
07:03like free.
07:04So my life and my experience changed my cooking style.
07:09Now I'm going to get to join Chef Nobu in the kitchen.
07:11I'm really excited about this.
07:13So can I show you my couple signature dishes for you?
07:17Absolutely.
07:18So first one, this is the fresh yellowtail, very simple, clean flavor, very simple, and
07:26I think it's too simple, but people love this one.
07:30We call yellowtail jalapeños.
07:38Try this one.
07:39Okay.
07:40So how to eat this, like a piece of the cilantro on top, then rolling like this, and dip sauce,
07:51you can eat it.
07:53You can use this chopstick.
07:54I'm left-handed.
08:01Amazing.
08:06And a little bit of spice, not a lot.
08:09That's right, that's right.
08:10If you don't like the spicy, you know, you can slice more thin, but have to be, each
08:17dish have to be some point, you know, not like a soft, sour, and spicy.
08:23I like to order this kind of combination.
08:25This is like a Nobu style.
08:30From fine dining and Japanese cuisine to culinary delights closer to home, Yohana Hu's had an
08:34early wake-up call and joined a breakfast tasting tour right here in Suquakef.
08:41They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and in the Middle East, they quite
08:46literally don't take that lightly.
08:48Friends and families, or in this case, foodies, gather for big breakfast spreads like this
08:53one at Abu Sharia Restaurant in Suquakef, which has been serving traditional breakfasts
08:58for decades.
09:00Since 1950, in Palestine, and then we go to Jordan, we open, like, now we have more than
09:0520 branch in Jordan, and we open in Qatar here, Suquakef.
09:09It's Middle East food, Arabic food, like hummus full, falafel, fattah with meat, hummus with
09:14meat, it's Arabic food.
09:16Arabic food is just one of the many cuisines that Terry Booth spotlights in his tasting
09:21tours.
09:22Formerly an oil and gas, the retired Brit has turned his passion into a profession.
09:28He regularly takes food lovers across Doha to try new restaurants and has even written
09:33a book about Qatar's culinary scene.
09:35So, I've been doing the tours for just under three years now, and it's not just a good
09:40foodie destination, it's a great food destination.
09:43The country claims to have approximately 90, 95 different nationalities represented.
09:50Even in the souk here that you can walk around in 20, 25 minutes, you can probably experience
09:5630, 35 different cuisines maybe.
09:58Stop two on the tasting tour is this hidden gem, Kabab Al Tayab, one of the oldest traditional
10:03restaurants tucked away in the alleys of Suquakef.
10:06It's a little bit hard to find, but exactly the kind of place that Terry likes to take
10:10his diners to, a spot that they might not know exists, where they can try food and flavors
10:15that they might not be that familiar with.
10:19Although I've been here for 24 years, we tend to go to the same places.
10:24So, it's allowed me to kind of discover new places in Doha.
10:28Some of the tours have been street food tours, some of the tours have been in nice fancy
10:33hotels, some of them have been sort of lower end, high end, but it's also been great in
10:40discovering and meeting new people as well.
10:43So, when we started running tasting tours, we sort of evolved into tasting tour community.
10:50So, I've only run, I think it's 78 events now, but I've had people who have been to
10:5525, 30 of them.
10:56There's a lot of chit-chat and chatter, old friends, new friends, and even people that
11:01decide to come on their own.
11:03People are just there for good food, good conversation, and to have a nice time.
11:07Our bellies are full, but a tasting tour wouldn't be complete without a dessert.
11:12So, we've come to Halwa Al Saigal for a coffee and a Qatari pastry to end a satisfying morning
11:19on an even sweeter note.
11:20I thought it was a great success.
11:22I've got business for these small restaurants, and they're trying somewhere, and they're
11:26trying somewhere new.
11:27The second restaurant we went to, at least half the group have said, I've walked past
11:31this place so many times and never gone in.
11:33They'll now go in.
11:34I think we did good today.
11:39From chopping it up with celebrity chefs visiting Doha, to sampling authentic local foods in
11:44one of the most iconic parts of the city, we hope you enjoyed this episode.
11:48That's all the time we have for now.
11:49For more, check out euronews.com and connect with us through a hashtag.
11:52Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.
Comments