EPICURE NEWS
Spring into Zén
With just 20 covers a night, everyone who steps into Restaurant Zén is treated as a friend from the moment they ring the doorbell. The tasting menu ($450) comprises five canapés in the kitchen, eight courses in the Dining Room, and a multitude of sweets and coffee in the Swedish fika ritual in the Living Room. The layout of the three-storey shophouse, formerly the home of Restaurant André, lends itself well to this progression and appears similar to three Michelin-starred Restaurant Frantzén in Stockholm.
However, “we’re not a carbon copy of Sweden,” stresses executive chef Tristan Farmer, who worked closely with his counterpart in Sweden, executive Marcus Jemmark, and chef-patron Björn Frantzén to craft the luxe new dishes for the spring menu. The two kitchens keep in touch via live feed, though the only crossover dish is the iconic French Toast with truffled consommé, egg custard, 25-year-old balsamic vinegar, and 100-day-aged pork broth. This is served between the main protein – dry-aged and cured pigeon, barbecued and brushed with fresh wasabi, with morels and radicchio – and exquisite desserts.
From the canapés, Swedish vendace roe and liquorice reminds us of the restaurant’s Swedish origins, though equal emphasis is on Japanese ingredients and techniques. One of the most memorable new dishes is the black throat sea perch which is served with white asparagus, sea urchin and koshihikari rice. The fatty fish
