Review: Sushi Zen 鮨然 – Teck Lim Road Omakase Opened by Beijing Chef

There seems to be great interest from chefs overseas to leave their imprints in Singapore. I am not just referring to those large franchises of well-known names. Even the independent ones are eager to set up an outlet here due to the strong foodie culture of the Lion City.

Recently, I got to try Sushi Zen which is located along the Keong Saik area, in Teck Lim Road to be precise. Sushi Zen is founded by Chef E Ran who has developed a loyal following over the years.

Sushi Zen is actually the offshoot of a popular sushi restaurant in Beijing which has the same name. In the 8-seater Singapore outlet, ingredients are sourced fresh from Toyosu Market, four times a week.

Sushi Zen offers both a lunch and dinner omakase. The lunch omakase starts from S$150 which comes with 10 pieces of sushi, miso soup and dessert while the higher-tier S$258 lunch omakase comes with additional appetizers. For dinner, one can order between the same S$258 omakase or higher-tier S$388 and S$588 which more premium sushi.

For this occasion, I tried the S$258 omakase which featured a combination of cooked items and sushi.

We started with a most beguiling soup made with junsui – an underwater vegetable that is notable for a jelly-like coating surrounding the leaves. This was the first time I have devoured such greens and if anything, the joy in this course lied more in the novelty of this chewy and bouncy plant. 

Next came a variety of grilled and fried fish. These all came well-cooked with the flesh inside still juicy against a golden brown in some of the fish courses. This culminated in the belt fish which came with Nanatsuboshi rice from Hokkaido underneath.

A string of 10 nigiri sushi came next. The types of fish vary each session, depending on what chef is able to get. Notable ones included sea urchin, conger eel and fatty tuna. The latter possessed a melt-in-your mouth quality. I found the rather prominent vinegar-y taste of the rice to my liking. It was also a delight to see Chef E Ran prepare the sushi up-close, as this is a rather intimate space with a smaller physical separation between diner and chef.

The tamago was pillow-y and light and I love how it possessed an almost chiffon like quality to it if one happens to get the edge part with the outer lining. The middle portion was more custard-like in texture.  

We ended the meal with a customary omakase dessert – the sweet Japanese honeydew. 

Sushi Zen
1 Teck Lim Road
Singapore 088379

+65 65502265