| rev:text
| - This is a hard one for me.
Growing up around many Asian cultures, I am familiar with and appreciate certain traditional Asian food, particularly Chinese. Being an Asian-American baby boomer, I also appreciate the palette of the millions of other American baby boomers seeking a more Americanized Chinese menu experience. Zen Zen's menu leans towards the traditional Chinese and does not also capture the more traditional Americanized Chinese foods, thereby risking the dining dollars perhaps needed to support the restaurant and to give it the so important staying power. Such is the Ying and Yang of this review.
I appreciated and enjoyed the traditional Chinese dishes I ordered - - steamed eggplant with stirfried spicy garlic and the Beijing special noddles. Yummy for my palate but I am not sure how consistently popular it may become for most diners seeking more Americanized Chinese fare.
Indeed, there are many American diners who are more adventurous eaters of Asian foods. Still, I believe they may be in the minority in our community.
Also, I believe the layout, text and photos used in the menu may disorient and confuse diners and change their overall experience. Much of it is in Chinese with limited English descriptions. Further, prices are on the high side which may put off some of the more old school American palettes looking for lunch specials and the more common items such as General Tso's chicken, Mongolian beef, cashew chicken, pepper steak, etc. at lower prices. Heck, I love those items, too!
If the restaurant's goal is to focus on traditional Chinese menu items, mission accomplished! For those looking for a wider variety, heads up.
Signage for the restaurant on Watts Road is middling. The restaurant is attached to an Asian market whose sign and space captures most of the attention of the passing traffic. But for a recommendation or information, say on Yelp, it would be very easy to miss the restaurant altogether. Inside, the space is small and not that well lit. Still, it is clean. Service is prompt and pleasant and perhaps that is only because there were two diners in the restaurant during the lunch hour. Me and a Caucasian gentleman who seemed to be traveling on business. If the restaurant is hoping that the local Asian community will support it, that was not apparent at lunch, unless you're considering by percentages. If so, it was 50-50! (This recent election year and the media coverage has taught me how to better spin numbers to influence perceptions).
That is not to say the food was not good. It was. I'm just concerned that with its menu items, the menu layout, and the restaurant's location and signage (small), they may be in for a long row to hoe.
So in the assigning of Yelp stars, the results are as follows:
Quality of food and service: 4 stars.
Extensiveness of menu to suit many tastes: 2.5 stars.
Ease of finding location and signage: 2.5 stars.
Liquor license status: 1 star.
In summary: average of 2.5 stars rounding up to 3 because I think they are really trying.
I wish them the best and look forward to going again. See you there.
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