Zenbu House of Mozaru, Surabaya, Indonesia
August 07, 2016
Zenbu House of Mozaru creates a dining place where people can enjoy a modern Japanese cuisine but also combines both Western and Eastern fusion where the final outcome would be Japanese style cuisine but with a bit of a twist here and there. The location itself is quite strategic being on a main road and parking on the premises. Having a very wide and open space, you may enjoy dining here as a date or just to catch up with friends. The restaurant's design is minimalistic and modern with Japanese touches in most of the restaurant area.
'Shisaimo Mentaiko' (IDR30k = ~AUD$3) is grilled Japanese pregnant fish literally meaning that these grilled Japanese whole fish is topped with fish eggs which is full of Omega 3 and protein. I wasn't too sure how many fishes we would get and it turned out that there were 3 pieces, topped with Mentaiko and grilled. What is great about grilled fish is that it doesn't take away the real flavour of fishes but instead adds a bit more smokyness as well as enhancing its taste. Of course, it is a fishy dish but since the Mentaiko and the grilled fish worked well, you won't really think about the fishiness as much anymore.
'Salmon Mozaru' (Reg: IDR75k, Large: 95k = ~AUD$7.5-9.5) is a fusion dish where a blend of baked rice where you can have an option of either Butter rice or Curry rice with a Katsu topping covered in Mozarella cheese as well as an option of Tomato sauce, Butter sauce or Dynamite sauce on top, right underneath the Mozarella cheese layer. Various options are available to suit anyone's tastebuds which includes Mushroom Mozare, Chicken Mozaru, Chicken Mozaru and so on. Here, we chose the Salmon Mozaru with their Buttery Rice with Butter sauce. Too much butter you may say? But I guess, if you don't eat this everyday, then a cheat day or a once in a while is just fine.
What I found quite interesting was that the amount of Mozarella cheese fully covered the whole dish and allowing us to have our own choice of meat or vege toppings along with the rice flavour and the sauce allows to create our own version of what we like. It does remind me of Taiwanese baked rice with a hint of Japanese twist such as having Salmon or Curry Rice or Dynamite sauce. If you have never tried baked rice dishes before, then maybe you should give it a try. Usually in Taiwanese or Hong Kong restaurants have them on the menu, whilst in Japanese restaurants, not as much unless like Zenbu, being a fusion restaurant.
'Salmon Blaze' (IDR75k = ~AUD$7.5) is an Unagi and cucumber roll topped with aburi Salmon and Tobiko with a drizzle of mayonnaise. What I enjoyed about the dish was that the Aburi Salmon wasn't too tiny in portion and was quite sufficient in terms of covering the top of the sushi roll. The Unagi however could've been fresher than it was but by having the cucumber accompanying the Unagi made it a fresh and light sushi to eat. Having the caviar on top of the Aburi Salmon as well as the mayonnaise drizzle allowed every bite to have its own experience of creaminess as well as the smoky flavour from the Aburi salmon and the thick sauce of the Unagi marinade.
'Yaki-udon' (Reg: IDR30k, Large: IDR40k = Large: ~AUD$3-4) is a classic and one of the most looked for food in Osaka. Japanese fried noodles served with a thin omelette drizzled with mayonnaise with your choice of toppings. This was the the Original version which didn't have any additional or any twitches within the dish itself. There are various versions you could get it in such as Beef, Mushroom, Salmon, Unagi and so on.
'Chicken Teppanyaki' (IDR59k = ~AUD$5.9) came in a big rectangular hot plate which had a fried egg, marinated pan fried mushrooms, pan fried beansprouts and corn with some light greens and of course, the marinated chicken. This was served with a bowl of rice and miso soup which I have to say would be a good deal and basically a portion of its own. The marinated mushrooms and the beansprouts with corn was alright, though it did have similar marination between the two. The fried egg was an interesting add but when you actually do break the yolk, you are able to create your own pool of saucyness along with the leftover marinade liquid from the hot plate itself.
As for the chicken, it had a light marination and it is nice that the chicken was not dry at all but instead was served with its sauce still intact and was moist on the inside and well cooked. Having a variety of greens and fried egg on the same hot plate allows you to eat as how you would like it and how you would prefer.
'Crunchy Salmon' (IDR28k = ~AUD$2.8) is basically as what it says literally, deep fried salmon skin. Crunchy and surprisingly with no sauce nor anything but it had its own depth of flavour. Not that it is fishy since it is Salmon skin but the light spices and salt used allowed the crispy salmon skin to have a nice flavour without having the need to dip it to any sauce. It just reminds me of crispy pork skin but even if both are deep fried and crispy, seafood is somewhat healthier I may say, though too much could give you cholesterol but yes, at an efficient amount, it is healthier for you and if it taste as good, then why not? Plus, who wouldn't like Salmon? Specially its skin deep fried, crunching on it while you eat your other mains is just right.
Having not much to say about this snack or appetizer other than it is a must have and must order from the menu. Not just because I love anything Salmon and anything fried, but the fact that they have actually made a bowl full of crispy deep fried salmon skin for anyone and everyone to enjoy around the table is a perfect dish to have when sharing food with your friends. Just think of it as a substitute from your usual french fries.
'Beef Ramen' (Reg: IDR45k = ~AUD$4.5) was a simple ramen with bamboo shoots, sliced carrots, corn, slices of beef and a cooked egg. One thing I would have to point out was that although the egg has been marinated, but it was not half boiled which was a shame. As I did not try this for myself, I will not be able to comment on it specifically from taste. However, the broth seemed to be quite creamy though not thick and the beef slices seemed to be dry overall.
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