De Niro to attend opening of Nobu in KL

KUALA LUMPUR - Hollywood actor and producer Robert De Niro is expected to fly in here for the official opening of Nobu restaurant, a brand he co-owns with chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and Holly­­wood producer Meir Teper.

Some 350 guests have been invited to Wednesday's cocktail event.

The 71-year-old veteran actor will arrive the afternoon before and leave right after the launch.

It is a tradition for all three owners to be there at the official launch of every Nobu restaurant.

They will take part in a traditional Japanese sake ceremony in which the lid of a sake barrel is broken with a wooden mallet and the sake served to everyone present.

Because of the lid's round shape, the kagami biraki ceremony is regarded as a symbol of opening to harmony and good fortune.

Nobu KL's Malaysian partners Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Tan Sri Syed Yusof Tun Syed Nasir would not be participating in the sake ceremony.

Instead, there will be another "surprise" launch act for the five stakeholders - a third partner in the KL venture is Singaporean hotel tycoon Datuk Ong Beng Seng whose presence has not been confirmed.

De Niro starred in over 90 mo­­vies and got his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, playing the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather: Part II (1974).

He scored his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980).

Nobu KL at the Petronas' third tower has been opened to the public since September.

The restaurant on level 56 of Menara 3 Petronas is designed by architect Severine Tatangelo of Studio PCH, California.

The outlet has a 360° view of the city, an open kitchen, sushi bar, dining room, bar and a club lounge.

Presiding over the kitchen is Ipoh-born Philip Leong from Nobu London Berkeley Street, who carries out Matsuhisa's new-style Japanese-Peruvian cuisine.

The Nobu brand has 33 restaurants worldwide.

Nobu KL will be the first in South-East Asia and the highest altitude Nobu restaurant pre­sently.