Zen Japanese Cuisine

Value for money ala carte buffet

Chose this quiet spot for a company dinner, and ala carte's buffet always a good choice as guests then do not worry about ordering more items and thus adding costs, and there's no need to walk about and disrupting conversations.

The ala carte buffet is a quite comprehensive range of starters, mains, soups, and desserts; including oysters and sashimi, sushi, and shabu shabu. $42 per pax for weekends and $52 for weekdays seem like an odd promo at first but perhaps given that most of the weekend crowd there will not consider this as a dining option, it is a good pull factor.

We had the long booth seat for our big group on the mezzaine level which provided maximum privacy but it meant a difficult task getting the attention of service staff. They also have pull out drawers for your shoes while providing slippers if you like. Nice touch.

Shabu shabu - this is one of rare times I actually like beef. Thinly sliced beef sloshed in stock was very good and indicative of the things to come.

Salmon sashimi - thickly sliced and very fresh. We ordered more than 1 serving of course.

Vegetable spring roll - a little like the Vietnamese spring roll but without the beehoon. Refreshing on the palette and a healthy option against all the meaty stuff.

Deep fried shrimp - the first time I tried is was at Ichibantei at Liang Court and was hooked. The shrimps were deep fried to a nice crunch and was very addicitvely savoury.

Asparagus in blue cheese sauce - Im not a blue cheese fan and found the cheese overpowering. Couldnt actually taste the sweetness of the veg. Strange combination too.

Prawn tempura - sweet crunchy prawns in non-oily batter, done very well.

Eel fried rice - I didnt taste too much eel but was too full by then to take a second bite.

Coconut creme brulee - yes I know, creme brulee in a Jap restaurant? It turned out to be one of their signature dessert and although I dont like creme brulees in general and declined to taste it, I know of ladies who can take 4 servings at one go, after dinner.

Guests can be seated at 6pm and leave at 11pm, so you can basically stuff yourself for all you want and stagger out of the place thereafter. Its probably better for catching up with girl friends than dates or couple's night out though.