Went to lunch as a solo diner to Zén and was pretty blown away by the experience. I have been to one other three star restaurant in France, and while the food between the two was comparable, the service at Zén was undoubtedly the best I've experienced.
There was only one menu option being the lunch tasting menu for 395 SGD, with two optional courses — a scallop for 90 SGD and a black truffle french toast for 55 SGD; I opted for both! This put the food total to 540 SGD ~= $405 USD, before tax and service charge. I went a la carte for drinks and had some tasty champagne and G&T's.
1st photo: Quite a serene entrance into the restaurant, embodying the restaurant's name. To enter you ring a doorbell and a member of the service team meets you at the door before seating you at the first of three rooms you will dine in.
2nd-5th photos: Started off with an assortment of amuse-bouches. A roe and pickled shallot råraka, saba and cucmber blini, asparagus and pistachio tartlet, and a cep mushroom and girolle cheese vol-au-vent. These all were beautifully crafted bites with a perfect mix of acidity, texture, richness…I can go on. A perfect start to the meal.
6th photo: Shima aji crudo with an amalfi lemon kosho, fennel, and uni. I was blown away by the presentation, probably one of the most visually stunning dishes I've eaten. Another perfectly balanced dish with the acidity and slight heat from the kosho, the light and fresh shima aji, and the rich uni.
7th photo: Two words: caviar chawanmushi. The servers let me know that they always have some sort of chawanmushi on the menu, and it shows. Even after having spent a week in Japan prior to this meal, definitely the best chawanmushi I've ever had (maybe it's because of the caviar lol). It was accompanied by a white wine sauce and these little guanciale-esc pieces of some sort of meat.
8th photo: Onion, almond, & licorice. An odd sounding combination for sure but one of the staple dishes of the restaurant. It was really remarkable how three unassuming ingredients could mesh so well together and make such a harmonious bite. Probably my favorite dish of the meal, it was just spectacular.
9th photo: Turbot, razor clam, goat butter, teardrop peas. This dish was good but did not live up to the bites I'd had previously. They called the teardrop peas "green caviar" because of the little pop they had, which was charming. Not a standout for me.
10th photo: Grilled scallop with XO, finger lime, and chrysanthemum. This was the first of two supplementary courses. The scallop was giant and perfectly cooked as expected. Again though, the flavor didn't stick out as much as the first few courses. If I were to go again for lunch I would probably pass.
11th photo: Time for the main course, an A5 sendai wagyu with Périgourdine sauce, wasabi, Tokyo turnip, and kale. Perfectly cooked A5 will never not be delicious, and the accompaniments were perfect for supporting the meat while letting it shine. Stunning main.
12th photo: "Grande Tradition 2008" french toast, the second supplementary dish. Topped with some type of soft cheese spread (kinda like a super high end cheese wiz lol), 25 year aged balsamic vinegar, and a heaping pile of black truffle. The flavor punched you in the face in the best way, and was fantastic as a final savory course. Definitely my preferred of the two supplemental courses.
13th photo: Frozen lingonberry marshmallow with a blackcurrant granita. Deliciously light and refreshing while still being texturally interesting from the marshmallow. Great palate cleanser.
14th photo: Salted milk ice cream, rum raisin caramel, banana, and frozen shaved foie gras. The flavors paired shockingly well together with the fatty savoriness of the foie and the rich and sweet caramel. Although very good, it felt somewhat average compared to the quality of the meal before it.
15th photo: Miyazaki mango, white peach, muskmelon. The pinnacle of Japanese fruits. Probably like many of you, I cannot justify spending $100 on a mango but can somehow justify what wound up being a $600 meal which includes one piece of that mango. Sweeter than candy in the best way.
16th photo: A simple pistachio and miso macaron to cap off the meal.
I cannot overstate how blown away I was by this meal. The food was clearly excellent, and the service team seemed to go above and beyond with creating a fun and playful, while still elegant, environment. This is sometimes not easy to do with a solo diner but they crushed it. Whether it was going in depth about their massive gin list and the backstory behind some gins or bantering with them about their balsamic not being in the proper teardrop vessel, they truly made a meal and an experience to remember.
by pie8724