We had a nice night out at Industry Zen, the Japanese restaurant across the street. An extensive and somewhat bewildering menu featuring enigmatically-named tapas. Order several, share them and savour, order several more, and repeat until full.
All delicious stuff, just amazing. The freshest seafood, cooked to perfection. Six or seven dipping sauces with each dish. With our charcoal-grilled fish, we had our choice of white, pink or black salt-- brought to the table in grapefruit-sized chunks and applied through vigorous application of a metal grater.
There was a big focus on detail and presentation-- for instance, here is how our oysters arrived at the table: I know it's a bit blurry but we've got a big ice bucket with a (plastic) bonsai tree in it. And the half-shell oysters nestled in its branches.
Halfway through the meal, a drummer began to dramatically beat the large drum in the middle of the restaurant. A large screen, which had been showing Japanese soap operas, slowly rolled up to reveal the glassed-in kitchen and all of the chefs standing at attention, facing us. They shouted their welcomes and assured us that they would do their best for us tonight. With that, the restaurant's spirited theme song burst forth and we finally understood --from inside-- what was up with all the brief commotion we hear every night between eight and nine.
So what did we have?
--Edamame soybeans, served on a miniature zen-garden of raked salt
--Sliced deep-fried lotus root in a basket lined with Japanese newspaper
--A squid--rings, legs, fluttery little tail and all--grilled on a flaming tabletop brazier
--The aforementioned North Island oysters with whole saffron threads and a citrus yuzu sauce
--Sweet-soy dipped chicken yakitori skewers
--Melting kingfish skewer (with the black salt!)
--A prawn croquette battle: crispy vs. creamy
Yeah.
All delicious stuff, just amazing. The freshest seafood, cooked to perfection. Six or seven dipping sauces with each dish. With our charcoal-grilled fish, we had our choice of white, pink or black salt-- brought to the table in grapefruit-sized chunks and applied through vigorous application of a metal grater.
There was a big focus on detail and presentation-- for instance, here is how our oysters arrived at the table: I know it's a bit blurry but we've got a big ice bucket with a (plastic) bonsai tree in it. And the half-shell oysters nestled in its branches.
Halfway through the meal, a drummer began to dramatically beat the large drum in the middle of the restaurant. A large screen, which had been showing Japanese soap operas, slowly rolled up to reveal the glassed-in kitchen and all of the chefs standing at attention, facing us. They shouted their welcomes and assured us that they would do their best for us tonight. With that, the restaurant's spirited theme song burst forth and we finally understood --from inside-- what was up with all the brief commotion we hear every night between eight and nine.
So what did we have?
--Edamame soybeans, served on a miniature zen-garden of raked salt
--Sliced deep-fried lotus root in a basket lined with Japanese newspaper
--A squid--rings, legs, fluttery little tail and all--grilled on a flaming tabletop brazier
--The aforementioned North Island oysters with whole saffron threads and a citrus yuzu sauce
--Sweet-soy dipped chicken yakitori skewers
--Melting kingfish skewer (with the black salt!)
--A prawn croquette battle: crispy vs. creamy
Yeah.
2 comments:
Sounds absolutely amazing! A feast for the whole person, appealing to the taste buds and and the soul!
I went to google maps, street view, and to the Industry Zen website, looking at all their photos.
I almost feel as though I was there too, except that I am still hungry...
What a place! And to have it across the street!
I'm happy you had such a nice night out.
Post a Comment