ZEN Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant

So sad....
due to its venue being enbloc & difficulties in finding alternative space with reasonable rental, Zen Jap ceases its operation for time being from 1 Jun 2012 til further notice...
One will have to move to Herbivores at Fortune centre to try signatory dishes of Zen Jap Vegetarian in future~
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Much had been talked about the new ZEN Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant among the Vegetarian bloggers. Finally, visited it this weekend with non-vegetarian folks.


The vegetarian Salmon Sashimi! What a look alike & what a taste alike! Had not touched it for years but with testimonial from non-vegetarian Japanese food lover folks, they too were surprised with the taste. Still defrosting when served to us, the coolness & freshness with the bite & taste of salmon slowly savouring in one's mouth. Even without the wasabi & soy sauce, it already tasted like the real version & was told it was made from beancurb, which one couldn't guess from the taste. (However, request from them to serve you in half derfrost stage as if they are being served to you in complete defrost mode, they won't taste as nice & you could easily guess the ingredients, best eaten when still in process of defrosting :P) Next, the vegetarian Unagi Don set. The refreshing salad and pickles with non-saltish soup and the vegetarian Unagi which also made of beancurb were complimented by the non-vegetarians. So, it is the sweet sauce that made the dish, not the poor eel~, leave it alone from now on...
For me, I preferred the vegetarian Katsu Curry Udon set. Finally, I could eat heartily the Japanese style Curry as the non-vegetarian version usually contains onion & beef extract. Well cooked udon goes well with more liquid style of curry with good portion of carrots, vege & mushroom. The Katsu or deep-fried pork cutlet well coated & fried had the right thickness of "meat" texture tasted so far of mock meat. The pickles and the small portion of strawberries, water-melon & honey-dew made the sets a complete satisfying meal, value for money with prices comparable to non-vegetarian Japanese restaurants.
Their alacarte side dishes, however, may be slightly more expensive in comparison but some specialty like the salmon sashimi is worth trying.

It is a small shop, so on a weekend, calling in advance for reservation is recommended.

Address: 122 Middle Road, #02-02, Midlink Plaza, S'pore 188973 (Opp Fortune Centre, towards Bugis direction)
Opening hours: 11.30am-10pm.
Tel: 6883 1586