We were at a sushi restaurant yesterday and one of the dishes had some lovely aromatic leaves as 'backdrop' for the food. Being the plant nerd that I am, I asked the waitress for the name of the plant and she said 'olba'. It was about the size of a half a dollar bill, and bright green with somewhat frilly edges. It smelled of a cross between basil and fennel. Nothing plant-like comes up when I google olba. Any ideas? The waitress said it was edible.

Perilla frutescens? ooba in Japan (bigleaf) and served with shashimi The link shows image.

"The Japanese name for the variety of perilla normally used in Japanese cuisine (Perilla frutescens var. crispa) is shiso (紫蘇?). This name is already commonplace in US mass media's coverage of Japanese restaurants and cuisine. The Japanese call the green type aojiso (青紫蘇?), or ooba ("big leaf"), and often eat the fresh leaves with sashimi (sliced raw fish) or cut them into thin strips in salads, spaghetti, and meat and fish dishes. It is also used as a savory herb in a variety of dishes, even as a pizza topping (initially it was used in place of basil). In the summer of 2009, Pepsi Japan released a new seasonal flavored beverage, Pepsi Shiso.[3]"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...

Perfect thanks. That's it!

You are most welcome. happy to help.