Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto to open first Dubai restaurant

The National -- Known at once by his trademark ponytail and for his creative dishes, chef Masaharu Morimoto will launch his first UAE restaurant, at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel in Dubai’s Business Bay, later this month.

The celebrity chef, who won audiences over with his nerve-racking knife skills on the Iron Chef and Iron Chef America television shows, will personally oversee the opening of Morimoto Dubai. Morimoto eateries can already been found in Tokyo, New York, Las Vegas and Bangkok, while those from India will be familiar with his Wasabi outfits in Mumbai and Delhi.

While the menu and the exact opening date are yet to be revealed, we are hoping some of his most exotic dishes – shrimp tartare with seven condiments; seabass with caramelised banana; and tuna pizza – will be on the table, alongside the sushi platters and robata grills.

Desserts, too, have become a hugely popular part of Japanese fine dining, and Morimoto specialises in such delicacies as mascarpone ice cream with hot green tea; kakigori, a shaved ice dessert with adsuki bean and jackfruit; and white chocolate lime ganache with yuzu pearls and coconut foam.

The two-level restaurant will serve sushi – the first dish he mastered at his hometown in Hiroshima – from a 24-seater sushi counter, as well as house a live teppanyaki corner, headed by one of the chefs from Morimoto’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Japan. Mixologist Shingo Gokan, named International Bartender of the Year 2017, has been roped in to curate the drinks menu.

The two-level space, which boasts views of the Burj Khalifa, also has a 22-seat private dining room, with a private-access terrace that fits 10.

Before he branched off on his own, Morimoto was the executive chef of the original Nobu restaurant and he’s also penned an award-winning bookbook on The New Art of Japanese Cooking. Here’s looking.