The Zen — Restaurant in Surat Thani Province

Well that’s a first. First time to have food poisoning on Koh Phangan, where quality of food is great in general across the island. And first time getting poisoned in a Japanese place.

This was actually my second time visiting the Zen, and the first time was great, so I came again. I have big respect for the chef, a very modest guy, who does all the cooking, and yes, while you have to wait for quite some time for food to be ready, it would have been worthwhile (just like the first time), if proper hygiene was respected. But unfortunately it wasn’t, the food tasted somewhat funny, but we didn’t give it much attention as we expected the quality to be on par with reviews. Unfortunately ended up with diarrhea and stomach pains for 2 days already. And what is with the price hike, what’s the reason for that? In general I’m writing it down as poorest quality sushi at incredibly expensive prices, much more expensive that at some really high quality places in Thailand. So lesson here: take other reviews especially if they’re few months old with a grain of salt. Some places just struggle to keep up with the standards they set up before and start...

We ordered the teriyaki bowl, miso soup, and the Niko soba noodles with beef. The teriyaki chicken was great- it was all white meat and the sauce was good. It wasn’t super saucy like we eat in the US, but there was definitely enough sauce and flavor. The rice had sauce also. The portion size was perfect! The miso soup was good too- just normal miso soup. My partner had the Niko soba noodle bowl with beef- it only had two small pieces of beef but it was reallly good too. I definitely recommend the teriyaki rice bowl!

There are a few tables and then some tables that had pillows next to to sit on. The...

A step into Japan.. this whole place has its own magical energy. The food is authentic and extremely tasty, cooked fresh always, with a cute interior like you are in a small Tokyo restaurant. The cabbage pancake is a must try and if you’re British it’s a bit like a Japanese version of bubble and squeak, ha! The owner is a real sweetheart and makes sure you are looked after, one of my fave spots on the...