Rousing the 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.