Immaculate Kaiseki for Special Occasions Only at Wangfujing's Sushi Zen

Stepping into Sushi Zen on the ground floor of the Macau Center in Wangfujing you're likely to notice that the restaurant takes its name seriously. To be sure, the food here is the main draw, and the absence of pomp means that diners are first invited to take in the decidedly old-fashioned ryokan-style decor: glass shelves line the back wall, overhead lights illuminate the half-hexagonal workspace, and music is replaced by the soft chatter of patrons in the nearby private tatami and group rooms as well as the precise pitter-patter of the slicing and plating of fish directly in front of you.

Head chef Hiroyuki Ito, who has over 30 years experience in Japanese establishments across Asia including most recently as head chef at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong's Japanese restaurant Kaetsu, specializes in kaiseki dining in which a dozen or so perfectly balanced and seasonally appropriate plates are presented back-to-back, allowing just enough time to take in the presentation, savor the dish, and then be wowed by the next.

Delicacy also plays a huge part in both the aesthetics of each dish as well as how individual ingredients are selected. That focus was none more apparent than with the appetizer of fresh uni, flown in from Hokkaido, on a bed of tofu skin. At once both creamy and light, and yet incredibly rich, a dash of wasabi cuts through the sea notes of the uni before leaving the silky tofu to linger on the tongue.

From that point on, the dishes came in rapid-fire succession, all beautifully presented and eye-catching for their immaculate melding of elements: sea bream sashimi atop a slice of Japanese tomato, sea eel with house-pickled winter melon and a tart ume and wasabi sauce, and diced scallop, abalone, and lotus root in a slightly sweet seafood soup.

Then came the sashimi, each set holding around six pieces of skillfully diced fish and a flower or plant pairing, a unique touch that emphasized each bite and grounded the fish with a potpourri of herbal notes rather than the standard soy and wasabi.

Whereas the sashimi allowed Ito's artistic touches to shine, it was the Kyushu-imported stewed wagyu that blew us away, each of the three melt-in-your-mouth chunks of beef a sad reminder that the dish would inevitably end, the buttery broth lingering as an opulent aftertaste.

In comparison, the sushi couldn't compete and the more nuanced flavors were overshadowed by the dish that had preceded it despite the enjoyment of watching Chef Ito create each piece by hand.

At RMB 1,380 this set menu certainly isn't cheap but the combination of an amicable head chef, a menu that toes the line between tradition and experimentation, and an intimate setting that lets the food do the talking, makes Sushi Zen a standout option if you want to impress.

Sushi Zen
Daily 5.30-10pm. 1/F, Macau Center Office Building, 8 Wangfujing Dongjie, Dongcheng District (5813 8118)
鮨禅：王府井东街8号澳门中心商场一楼

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Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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Photos courtesy of Sushi Zen, Tom Arnstein