Zenbu is a fine looking Japanese restaurant that caters to the above average crowd. The mood and design of the restaurant creates a mood that one is with nature and it seems they wish to create the effect that one is dining in a forest.
Lots of wallpaper are used to line the walls of the restaurant which is beautiful and gives it a classy vibe. The restaurant is spacious and able to accommodate large groups. Private rooms are available and it seems to be a good place to come with Japanese clients.
Service was good at the restaurant and it was easy for me to communicate with the staff.
The menu is comprehensive and patrons will be spoilt for choice with the sheer amount of items available.We were struggling a little but managed to start off with the Lemon squash and Pink Guava Juice. Lemon squash tasted like 7up + lemon juice and was quite refreshing. The Pink Guava was not too bad in taste but disappointed with lots of hard guava seeds left together in the juice. I will very much prefer that the seeds be removed before juicing.
I had the Modanyaki beef as my main course which is basically japanese pizza/pancake (Okonomiyaki) with a layer of noodles at the bottom. Zenbu's version does not have the crisp of a pancake and seems to be only a thin layer of beaten eggs and the usual mayonnaise and Okonomiyaki sauce. Lettuce and beef was generous but noodles tasted peppery and too starchy.
6.2/10
Missus had her Ebi Ramen with Dynamite flavoured soup. Dynamite is not a common Japanese soup base and is of their own creation. The soup tasted like slightly spicy tonkotsu which is unique in their own way. One large tempura prawn and a couple of onion rings is included. Batter of the tempura was good but no tempura sauce was provided.
6.5/10
To go with our mains, we had the Golden Dragon which is a slightly spicy Maki roll shaped into a dragon. The head of the dragon was conjured with a the body of a tempura prawn and the tail of the dragon, the shrimp's tail. The dragon looks better than how it tasted.
6.5/10
We wanted some dessert and had the peach creme Brulee. The custard was rather tasteless and did not taste too peachy despite its name. We only enjoyed the hard caramel that came from torching sugar placed on top of the custard.
6/10
My taste buds for Japanese food is rather high given the decent quality and variety available in Singapore so I might be too critical on Zenbu so your mileage may vary. I enjoyed the ambience which was cozy and relaxing. The service was good as well which very often is not so reliable in Batam. The food is also very affordable compared to Singapore so it is a place I may visit a 2nd time to try other items if I come back to Batam.
Damage: 319,138idr/$33sgd
Food: 6.2/10
Service: 7/10
Location:
Lobby Utara Mall Nagoya Hill 0S-2
Tel: 0778-7493830
