Obon Sushi and Ramen
The blending of national cuisines has become such a constant that the use of the word fusion to describe them has been virtually dropped. At Obon, one of the newest spots to open in Scottsdale Quarter, the menu is a true confluence of Korean and Japanese. The mergers of the styles are seamless and give the menu some unique creations as well as flavors. Chef Paulo Im, was born in Brazil to Korean parents and has taken those heritages and blended with Japanese styling. The Fukushu Food Concepts Company started in Tucson in 2015, with the original Obon. They have grown to include two other food concepts and now have spread to Scottsdale with this location.
The interior décor is sleek and modern, but still keeps a comfortable charm. They utilize all of the corner unit windows in order to make it feel bright inside and yet added decorative touches at the windows to make you cozy. The menu while not overly extensive does have quite a lot to pick and choose from, everything from Sushi to Ramen and a lot of unique items in between. We arrived post lunch hour and pre-dinner seating so we were able to have a quiet meal amongst only a few other patrons. But as we were getting up to leave, the restaurant was slowly filling up for the dinner rush.
We started with the Steam Buns (2 for $10 or 3 for $14). There are four different options for fillings you can do all of one or mix and match. We decided to select three of the fillings to try. The first was the Crab filled steam bun. This is a crispy soft shell crab that is placed inside the steamed bun and topped with citrus dressing and red bell pepper. The crab was perfectly cooked crispy to the bite and tender inside. The citrus and bell pepper added the extra bunch of flavor that rounded out the dish. The next was the Pork bun. This had sweet pork belly, spicy mustard and a sliced pickle. The pickle added the little acid that was needed to cut through the richness of the pork. It was delightful couple of bites and I recommend ordering this one. The last steamed bun was the true star of the trio that we ordered. The Fried Chicken steamed bun had a good size piece of crispy boneless fried chicken, pickles, hot sauce and mayonnaise all piled into the steamed bun. It is finished off with a little diced scallion as well. The crispness of the chicken and the added heat from the hot sauce will confuse your brain into a delightful sense of creative flavors when all wrapped inside the steamed bun.
The next dish we tried was the Strip sushi roll ($15). This is a shrimp and cream cheese sushi roll that is topped with spicy crab and drizzled with eel sauce. The roll was difficult to pick up with chopsticks even for the must deft and experienced chopstick user. But the flavors were phenomenal. I raved about this sushi roll to everyone I came into contact with the first few days after. It is even finished with a piece of edible fried rice paper on top that is both creative and a nice texture change.
The final dish was the Street Noodles ($15). This is yakisoba noodles, minced chicken, bean sprouts, and peanuts all mixed together and served steaming hot in a large bowl. It is a very large dish and I feel it is very easy to share amongst two or three people. The flavors all married together perfectly and you really got the feeling of a skilled chef at work in the kitchen. Some diners should be aware of the heat level in this dish. As it had some kick on the taste buds. You are also able to pump up the flavor with Obanchan add on ($5). The Obanchan consists of Kimchi, pickled relish and pickled eggplant to add to the dish. The dish is served with sliced limes, which I recommend you squeeze over the dish if you want to dampen down the heat index.
The entire meal was delightful and the service was impeccable. I am excited to return for more Steam buns, Sushi and to try some of their creative Ramen dishes. This restaurant is great for a sit down meal or a quick stop with friends for a small bite to eat at the bar area. During the nice weather months they also have outdoor seating too. So rush to Obon when your stomach is craving a nice meal and tell them you are baegopeun.
Location and Website:
Scottsdale Quarter – 15037 N Scottsdale Rd J1-95, Scottsdale AZ 85254 https://fukushuconcepts.com/obon/scottsdale-quarter