At Nobu Kuala Lumpur’s second Bluefin Tuna Auction, a 124-kilogram fish from Japan commands the room, and then the kitchen across ten dishes of the Tuna Osusume menu until 30 June 2026.

It is not every day you get to see a whole bluefin tuna being butchered and auctioned off to the highest bidder, and even rarer so when it is a massive 124-kilogram fish that required six pairs of hands to be hoisted from its icy bed. When it finally emerged and was brought to the central cutting stations, everyone had their phones raised and bodies pressed forward, jostling for proximity to the great fish.

Nobu Kuala Lumpur’s Corporate Sushi Chef Toshiyuki Shiramizu presided over the butchery, switching through a collection of knives before wielding a single-edged katana blade to separate the prized cuts of tuna from the body. Now in its second year of hosting the Bluefin Tuna Auction, Nobu Kuala Lumpur is saying that the fish itself is the event, and that the most effective theatre requires no script. Last year’s fish came in at roughly 70 kilograms, and this one was nearly double of that.

The individual cuts, once separated, were arranged on platters like objects in a display case: kama-toro, harakami, haranaka, each representing a different geography of fat and flavour within the animal. The bidding that followed was spirited enough that several cuts cleared RM1,150 per kilogram, a figure that speaks not just to appetite but to the particular pleasure of owning the finest piece of something.

In the wake of the auction, Nobu Kuala Lumpur is offering its now-annual Tuna Osusume menu, a collection of recipes that puts the spotlight on all things tuna, and lets it sing in every possible register.

Tuna Osusume

In the Cold

Showcasing the three most known cuts of tuna—lean akami, medium-fatty chutoro, and the piece de resistance otoro—the menu starts with the Tuna Tasting, a portrait of Nobu’s culinary lineage. Tracing the restaurant’s Nikkei roots is the Akami Ceviche dressed with lime, fresh onion and cilantro to yield something between a classical ceviche and a Hawaiian poke. Chutoro Yuzu Miso is softer, the mid-fatty cut wrapped around a slice of avocado and glazed in a yuzu miso that is as flavour-dense as its name promises. Otoro Jalapeño is a riff on Nobu’s signature yellowtail preparation, but the substitution of otoro makes it silkier and richer with the jalapeño’s heat against fat rather than lean flesh.

Chutoro Crudo comes slicked in aromatic yuzu olive oil, with dried miso powder providing a pleasant sandy crunch and caviar delivering salinity. Fatty tuna with caviar risks feeling like an overplayed pairing, but the yuzu keeps it from becoming heavy, and the result lands as harmonious rather than indulgent. Taking indulgence up a notch, the Otoro Truffle Jicama is more audacious—the fatty tuna belly so intensely marbled it is visually indistinguishable from a premium slice of Wagyu, and texturally just as yielding. Wrapped around a core of crunchy jicama and dressed in an intensely truffled sauce, it is one of the most luxurious bites on the menu.

The Maguro Yukhoe takes a Korean detour, thick slices of akami arranged with a quail egg yolk and a chili garlic sauce that you should approach with restraint, lest the clean flavours of the fish be overpowered by the dressing. The Tuna Crunchy Roll returns to surer Nobu footing: chopped tuna belly dressed in aji amarillo aioli, the rice threaded with tobikko for texture, a drape of chutoro over the top softening the whole thing on the finish.

Rounding out the cold menu, Tuna Tartare is crowned with a disc of iced wasabi and cucumber, the cold shards cutting through the minced tuna with each bite. The bed of caviar alone would have been the more elegant choice, with the icy topping dividing opinions.

In the Heat

From the hot menu, the Dashi Potato with Tuna Tartare feels like a nod to the Peruvian causa, which in its traditional form is built on canned tuna and mashed potato; here Nobu reimagines it with considerably more prized ingredients but every bite still honouring its Nikkei origins. It is presented as thick rounds of potato simmered in dashi until it has absorbed the stock’s depth, topped with chopped toro tartare and a dollop of sour cream.

The Tuna “Mille-Feuille” is the standout of the evening. Layers of tuna, each seared to a different degree of doneness, are built into something both technically impressive and pleasurable to eat—the gradient from firm outer layers to a barely-touched translucent centre giving each bite a different quality of warmth and texture. The shiitake mushroom sauce is savoury and creamy in a way that anchors the construction without overwhelming it. Blistered shishito peppers and a thin wafer of wakame seaweed crisp add crunch and visual flourish to the plate.

Not for the faint of heart, Bone Marrow refers to the spinal jelly found in between the fish’s vertebrae. Here it is presented in the spinal cavity itself, still attached to a long arched rib bone that doubles as vessel and handle. Soft and packed with collagen, it is meant to be slurped rather than eaten, dressed with wasabi soy and finished with caviar. The flavour is almost mostly neutral with a hint of ocean brine, the experience entirely textural, and it is the dish most likely to divide a table and be the last thing anyone forgets.

The Grilled Tuna Cheek closes the menu on a note of generous satisfaction. The portion is substantial, the flesh marked with a hashed char that gives way to something considerably softer underneath than the exterior suggests. The balsamic teriyaki glaze lends a sweet edge that sits well against the rendered fat of the cheek—present enough to define the dish without tipping into sweetness.

Across ten dishes, cold and hot, the Tuna Osusume shows that a single animal, in the right hands, blossoms under creativity and resists exhaustion. The menu runs until 30 June 2026, which by the time you read this, leaves very little time.

noburestaurants.com | Tuna Osusume Menu | Reservations

Images courtesy of Nobu Kuala Lumpur.

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