Sunday, July 8, 2007

Zen Zen - Review

Intro
Zen Zen - Highly Recommended
356 Bergen Blvd, Fairview, New Jersey 07022
Phone: 201-840-1820

In the middle of no where N.W. Jers stands this masterpiece of Korean bbq. My Korean buddy always told me NY's Korea town had average Korean food and was always raving about Zen Zen. Now, I completely understand what he's been talking about. Zen Zen is by far the best Korean bbq I've ever had. Overall, I give the restaurant an 85/100.

My Menu
1) Ban Chan (free)
2) Kalbi - Highly Recommended
3) Duck Bulgolgi - Recommended
4) Bim Bim Bop - Recommended
5) Cinnamon Soup (free)

Dish Comments
1) Ban chan are the free side dishes that are served before a Korean meal. Here the ban chan are solid. Also, there are a wide variety of dishes - more than most Korean bbq joints.
2) Kalbi are beef short ribs that are marinated and grilled in front of you. The Kalbi here are spectacular. The servers cooked them in front of us, which were done perfectly. Great beef flavor, crispy edges, and insanely tender. Wrapping them up in a lettuce leaf with some garlic, a little sauce, and some scallions creates the perfect little package.
3) Nice fatty pieces of duck with scallions and onions. This was pretty good, but after eating the kalbi - anything would be a let down. However, combining the duck and the kalbi created a wonderful marriage of flavor and texture.
4) Bim bim bop is a rice dish with veggies, pork, and a fried egg. I'm used to the bim bim bop cooked in a cast iron bowl, which creates the nice crispy pieces of rice - kinda like paella. Here, they don't do that, but I was still happy to eat the dish.
5) Very interesting way to finish off the meal. Cinnamon soup that definitely cleanses the palate and is very light. Basically, cinnamon, sugar, and water.

Overall Restaurant Experience (85/100)

  • Food 8.6/10 - The best kalbi I've ever had.
  • Service 8.0/10 - Waitresses are very friendly and extremely helpful there. However, some did not speak English to well and I'm not Korean, so there were some language issues.
  • Atmosphere 8.8/10 - One of the nicer looking Korean restaurants that I've been to. The crowd is basically all Korean. Majority of the people there are families with kids, but there are a bunch of younger couples as well.
  • Price 8/10 - Very happy with the price, since the food was so good - $88 for 2 including 2 drinks and tips.

Closing Comments
Can't wait to come back here with a lot more people and try out more of the dishes. Still very happy even the next day.




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