Zest Japanese Cuisine

peace and serenity coupled with sushi and sake...ahhh true bliss

Food:

Dishes that were devoured:

Wakame Sunonomo: Seaweed and cucumber dressed in a light, tangy and uber refreshing vinegarette. The wakame was chopped up differently here and Scoe described it as tasting so fresh, it tasted as if it was just harvested from the ocean, right behind the restaurant, lol.

Spinach Gomae: Lightly dressed in an "original blend of saiyo miso and sesame paste", foodmatik appetizer staple

Tuna and Salmon Sashimi: Sockeye salmon and albacore salmon - freshness at its best

Tuna Takaki Salad: a generous amount of nicely-seared tuna sitting below a bed of fresh greens with a delicious miso-type dressing with a strong wasabi kick! Loved the dressing.

Tuna Amigos Roll: My favourite of the rolls - a Zest original spicy tuna roll with a homemade miso-based spicy sauce.  Coated in crispy flakes of tempura batter throughout - spicy, crunchy, soft flavours all in one roll!

Soba Crab Rolls:  Most unique rolls of the night. Buckwheat noodles and crabmeat wrapped in seaweed and deep-fried, served with a sauce similar tasting to tempura sauce.  Loved the uniqueness, crunchiness and distinct appearance to the roll, disliked the semi-tasteless aspect of it

Crunchy Ebi Avocado Roll? (cannot recall actual name): Listed on specials menu.  Nicely-battered and deep-fried ebi (prawn) roll and topped off with slices of avocado.  One can never go wrong with this combination!

Special Honey Pork Roll? (cannot recall actual name): Listed on specials menu. Honey-marinated pork roll with slices of mango (or egg) on top (can't believe I don't remember! :( ). The roll itself was ok - I like fusion but definitely think that pork and sushi should not be paired together, lol

Service:

Pleasantly warm and genuinely friendly service

Value:

Prices are on the higher end, but still more affordable than restaurants of similar calibre - e.g, Tojo's, Miku

Ambience:

Loved the serene and elegant ambience coupled with dim lighting and tables fancily clad in white table cloth, good thing we made reservations as we were seated in a very spacious corner window booth :)

Overall: 8/10

Yay:  Come here for fine, modern Japanese cuisine,  warm and genuine service, quiet neighbourhood, parking in back,

Nay:  Higher-end Japanese cuisine = $$