Simple and serene

On a warm autumn night a group of strangers sits at a round table and within a matter of moments, everyone is laughing and telling stories — the way you would with an old mate.

We are sitting in a peaceful garden under a canopy of walnut trees alongside chutes of bamboo. Japanese bonsai and round lollipop shrubs dot the area around the landscaped pavement. No, we are not in the countryside near Kyoto. We are in Nobu's new Japanese garden and our host for the evening is Chef Nobu Matsuhisa himself.

The Japanese garden, tucked outside near the back of the restaurant at Atlantis, the Palm, is the latest addition to his thriving restaurant business here in Dubai.

A world apart

The quiet beauty of the garden is simple and feels a world away from the urgency you feel on an ordinary Thursday night in Dubai. It even has a few plant boxes, which grow herbs brought over from Japan and make appearances in the chef's Japanese fusion cuisine. "But it's not like Japan here," Nobu says. "We have to support Dubai and so we use local products too."

Our host is friendly, affable and almost disarmingly humble. When I ask what the strangest thing a guest has asked of him is, I expect him to recount some wild demand from a Cavalli-clad, fussy eater. Instead, he says: "I find it strange when they ask me why are you a success? I can't answer that," he says. "I don't think of myself like that."

But much has changed for Chef Matsuhisa since his brother took him to a sushi restaurant in Tokyo for the first time as a boy. Since then, the celebrity chef — although he is modest and takes exception to the term — has opened 29 restaurants in 21 cities on five continents.

For the love of food

He does this for the love of food, for the art of creation and for the look on his guest's faces when they take a bite of his spicy salmon taco. "That is my special moment," he says, looking down at his folded hands, smiling.

He introduces us to Hervé Courtot, the chef de cuisine at Nobu Dubai, a likeable man with a warm smile and a hearty laugh, who heads the kitchen in Dubai.

Before we tuck into each (countless!) course, the pair come out from the kitchen to see how we're enjoying our meal, to answer any questions and just to chat. We're so at ease in this zen space with this warm entrepreneur that we barely recall that we're in the presence of food royalty.

Matsuhisa is 62 but appears to be showing no signs of slowing down. The morning after our dinner, he flew to Perth, where he is opening a new restaurant. After that, he will be off to Japan, then Peru, where he works with various charities, including one to help victims of the tsunami in his home country. He's on the road 10 out of 12 months of the year. This, he says, is how he can check up on his restaurants around the world, and to work with the chefs to make sure they're all up to par.

In the pipeline

In addition to the new restaurant in Perth, Nobu is looking forward to publishing a new cookbook (in January) filled with vegetable recipes. He is also working on opening two Nobu hotels — one in Las Vegas and another in Riyadh. He expects both of those to open next year. What keeps him going? It's his love for what he does. "Passion makes happiness," he says. "Passion makes success."

Despite his busy schedule, he still finds time to cook for his friends and family. Just recently his daughter was married in Japan and he held a party in his home and made sushi for all his guests. Both his home in Japan and his home in Los Angeles have sushi bars, which he uses whenever he gets the chance.

The outdoor garden at Nobu has three tables and can also be booked for private functions. The limited number of guests outside gives the garden a spacious yet intimate feel. The area is exclusive without any airs of pretence. It's not over the top, or ostentatious. It's simple and beautiful, the way a Japanese garden ought to be.