Nestled in the hustle and bustle of Colombo 7 is Zylan Luxury Villas, a 10 room boutique hotel which opened its doors in 2011. The hotel is home to two executive rooms and eight deluxe rooms but the star of the hotel is Zen Japanese Restaurant for they serve some of the finest Japanese in the city. Zen opened just last year and has quite an array of delectable dishes.
The quaint and quiet hotel is owned by the charming and ever so friendly, Helen Cheung. On their many travels to Sri Lanka, Helen and her mum, who is a well known Hong Kong Chinese artist, decided they wanted to open up a small hotel in Colombo and that is exactly what they did. Helen’s mum paints on rice paper and most of her painting adorn the walls of the hotel.
Taste and value for money – 5 stars
The food at Zen is fresh and so tastefully done. I really could not fault anything. One of their trademarks is that the sashimi is cut thick, which is said to be the traditional way of cutting sashimi.
The Tuna and Salmon Sashimi (Rs 1,900) which comes in a dish of 12 delightful pieces and the Spicy Tuna Maki (Rs 900) are both fantastic. The latter is subtle in its heat while the crunch of the tempura crumbs adds a lovely texture to the otherwise tender and soft dish.
Another favourite of ours was the simple yet perfect Spicy Raw Tuna Salad (Rs 850). The salad is served with avocado and topped with crunchy tempura crumbs – once you start digging into it, it is hard to stop!
Zen also has a number of Bento Boxes which are only available for lunch and are all served with a salad, miso soup and pickle. We tried the Yakitori Bento (Rs 1,450) which came with an assortment of raw fish, tender, juicy grilled chicken skewers and rice.
The Zen Sushi and Sashimi Bento (Rs 2,250) is fabulous as well, with a variety of sliced raw fish, nigiri sushi with mixed maki and tempura.
The Vegetarian Set (Rs 1,100) which has a delicious garlic rice and vegetable tempura is also a lovely option if you would like to stay away from the fishy stuff.
The star for us however was the Katsu Don (Rs 950). This is said to be one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes. After all you can’t go wrong with a soft and crunchy deep fried pork cutlet topped with egg and served on a bed of Japanese rice accompanied with pickle and miso soup, can you?
Friendly staff – 5 stars
The staff are courteous and friendly.
Parking – 5 stars
There is plenty of parking.
Toilets – 5 stars
The toilets are clean and dry.
Tip: You can dine either downstairs or in the rooftop area.
Address: 115, Rosmead Place, Colombo 7
Tel: 011-268-6883
By Natasha Fernandopulle
Photographs by Kanishke Ganewatte
0 Comments