Rouse your senses

Attractive and tasty food, served in a delightful ambience, makes one feel thankful for being alive. This is what Zen (蝶1903) tries to offer to its customers. The Cantonese restaurant located in 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, known as the Legation Quarter, is having a trial opening. General manager Ernest Ip from Hong Kong has opened restaurants with the same name in six Chinese cities, as well as in London, Mexico City and Australia's Gold Coast.

The food deserves a high 90 points out of 100. The chef does a good job of making the dishes look enticing. For example, the crunchy and sour-tasting carrot and turnip rolls ((菊花萝卜卷)) are arranged like a beautiful chrysanthemum. Sautéed beans, water chestnut, black fungus, pumpkin and lotus root, make for a plateful of tempting colors, and is poetically named "moonlight in lotus pond" ((荷塘月色)).

Most other dishes are also very well presented. Among these are the dim sums, such as Zen signature shrimp dumplings ((采蝶水晶虾饺皇)), and steamed scallop dumplings with Chinese parsley((香茜带子饺)), which come in half transparent wrapping, and the seafood inside has a very natural flavor.

Many of the dishes are light tasting, but there are some that offer a rich, strong taste. For example, spicy chicken with red pepper ((红椒美人鸡)) is a rather tasty appetizer, and in the glutinous rice roll with bamboo leaf wrapping ((竹叶糯米饭)), the rice is full of pleasant, rich flavors of preserved pork and ham. Another winner is sautéed diced wagyu beef chops and diced goose liver with fresh black pepper ((鲜磨黑胡椒鹅肝和牛粒)). The goose liver and beef absorb the flavors of the seasoning, and have an original taste.

The restaurant's "whatever"(是但) or assorted seafood on steamed egg custard, and braised spinach noodles with spotted grouper fillet ((香茜东星斑片炒菠菜面)) are highly recommended.

The second floor's public dining area is lined with French windows allowing plenty of natural light, besides an unobstructed view of the yard inside 23 Qianmen Dongdajie. The 1st floor has 7 fully decorated private rooms. The interior decor is modern and relaxed. Once the weather turns even warmer, it will be possible to dine in a terrace in front of the restaurant. The wait staff while attentive, could do with more training on how to make customers feel really comfortable. The average bill is 200 yuan per person.

Daily 11 am-10 pm. Legation Quarter, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Chongwen district. 6559-9608. 崇文区前门东大街23号