We Try Out Zen by Mel, A Japanese Fusion Omakase Experience

Zen by Mel boasts a more elevated concept, an omakase, offering Japanese fusion fine dining.

Launched on 1 November 2022, the restaurant has a minimalistic interior with beechwood furnishing and muted tones resulting in a soothing ambience.

Lights have also been placed above each diner to strategically shine lights on the dishes so that you can fully appreciate what you are eating, with 12 seats arranged in a ‘U’ shape so that you can see the chefs preparing the food only several metres away.

They also have a private room called ‘Zen’s Chamber’ to cater to private functions for 4-6 pax. Interestingly, the menu changes according to the seasons in Japan as many of their ingredients are sourced from the country as well so we were served the winter menu with 11 courses priced at RM498 each.

There are two sessions daily –– 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm and 8.30 pm to 10.30 pm so be sure to head there on time if you’re planning on making a visit as the entire group is served simultaneously and arriving late can disrupt the experience for everyone else. They also take into consideration if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, or if you don’t take any red meat.

The outlet evidently paid special attention to the service and training of their staff, which was excellent, with three to four waiters on hand despite the limited number of diners. We were greeted by a friendly staff by our names as we entered the waiting area of the restaurant and were also given a basket to keep our bags. I even found my napkin refolded after I came back from a trip to the restroom and the utensils were changed as each dish is served.

Chefs at Work

Chef Jordan Alexis Yap helms the kitchen at all three outlets, an impressive feat even though he is only 28 years old. He brings to the table his experience at Braci, a 1 Michelin star Italian fine dining restaurant in Singapore and later as he says, “I decided to kick myself to Tokyo to learn the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine,” both of which can be seen on the menu at Zen by Mel.

Assisting him is Chef de cuisine Mohd Syafik Mohd Taufik who has 27 years of experience in the industry, utilising his background in French and Italian cooking at Zen, having previously worked as a chef at ZENZERO Restaurant & Wine Bar.

The power duo brainstormed on the current menu for two months and Chef Jordan shared, “We sometimes brainstormed from 10.00 am to 12.00 am, making seven changes before coming up with our finalised version. We had the idea of highlighting local ingredients and elevating Japanese dishes that usually have subtle flavours.”

Don’t head here looking for a quiet and romantic meal, as our dinner was more of an interactive dining experience which also made us aware of the lengths that chefs go to procuring their ingredients and making each dish. Before each dish was served, either Chef Jordan or Chef Syafik painstakingly explained the special processes that went into it, as well as the high-quality ingredients which were the highlight of the menu.

They were very open to interacting with customers and graciously repeated their explanations for any customers like myself who are admittedly hard of hearing.

Digging In

We won’t go into details for all 11 dishes on the menu, but we’ll highlight a select few.

The first hot appetiser ‘Hotate Picasso’ with scallop sashimi was beautifully tender and fresh, and the Malabar Spinach Foam it was served with gave us hints of Southeast Asian flavours with the usage of Kaffir Leaf Lime Oil.

Another standout dish was the ‘Ahiru Ume’ which included duck from Bidor which had been brined for several hours to allow the flavours to really go in, resulting in succulent flesh and perfectly crispy skin served with French-style Cointreau jus. The Malaysian element of the dish was the Ulam raja and pucuk paku which served to balance out the heaviness of the duck which was impressively served in a smoked glass dome.

A particularly interesting dish was the ‘Eden of Zen’, where the Hokkaido corn was seamlessly merged with the fish that was imported from Japan, killed using the Ikejime method which helps to maintain the quality of the meat.

One of the stars of the menu was the main course, the ‘Aji No Shinen’, which although could be better plated –– used Iberico lamb with marbling that was served medium. It was easily the best lamb dish I’ve ever tasted as the meat was from the company Agnei Ibérico which uses a superior quality lamb from a breed that has been native to the Spanish region of Aragón for over a thousand years.

One thing that stayed on our minds after the meal ended was actually the ‘Imperial Zencha’, which uses a ceremonial Matcha powder that was apparently only served to the Emperor of Japan during special ceremonies and is only cultivated once every two years. The Raspberry compote and the Lotus Biscoff crumbs were great additions as they added texture to the creamy dessert with the robust yet delicate taste of the matcha. It also came with Adzuki Red Bean Ice Cream which was delightful.

The final item was ‘Mittsu Hoshi’ with four petit fours in various flavours that you could only identify if you bit into it: Shoyu Vanilla Crème, Caramel Adzuki, Strawberry Yoghurt Mochi, and White Peach Chocolate. We felt that the dinner should have ended with the ‘Imperial Zencha’ as the dish was quite sizeable and we were quite stuffed at this point.

The items on the menu that didn’t quite impress us would be the delicately made amuse bouche called ‘Seitaikei Tart’ which was placed on an elaborately decorated metal and wooden box with Iranian caviar. It is bred on the Caspian Sea, which produces some of the finest caviar in the world and isn’t sold on the Malaysian market.

However, it wasn’t to our liking as the taste of the caviar together with beetroot tart, smoked mushroom vinaigrette, and several other ingredients did not blend well together.

We also couldn’t quite appreciate the cold appetiser ‘Adventure of Amaebi’ which uses sweet shrimp from the seawaters of Kyoto as we felt that the taste was underwhelming due to the generous amounts of almond milk.

Overall Take

I must admit I’m unfamiliar with fine dining concepts as it was only my second time trying out such restaurants, the first being the Dewakan Restaurant by Darren Teoh, which was listed on the list of Asia’s Best Restaurants 2022 and recently won a coveted Michelin star.

However, at authentic omakase restaurants, which means “I trust you, chef”, dishes tend to be served based on what the chefs think you will like. Here the dishes were pretty much prepared beforehand with only some final touches needed.

This menu is probably for those who aren’t afraid of trying different flavours, but it gives you the bang for your buck with the high-grade items used, their cooking techniques, and the special attention that they pay to their service will make you feel like a VIP.

There were some standouts on the menu while others can be improved on so it will be interesting to see what Zen by Mel does come springtime when their new menu is released this February.

Instagram Head here for reservations