Weekend Brunch 12-3pm $590/personI firstly tried brunch at Zuma in 2009... 4 years ago! It was quite a fascinating dining experience and my friend and I would like to revisit it again.
*** Warning: If you are looking for a wide variety of food as a buffet, you might be disappointed. 90% is Japanese and 10% is fusion/western. The focus is... wine! So don't expect much on the main courses and food is just served as a pairing purpose. ---------- Environment (8/10) ---------- 
Honestly, when we arrived at Zuma at 1:15pm, I murmured, "What a stuffy restaurant!" I worried that the poor air-conditioning might be unfavourable to the sashimi on the self-help counter... luckily when we sat down for a while, the air-conditioning came back! Guess it might be too crowded once at the beginning... hope Zuma would improve this.
The target customer is definitely westerners, and most of them came in groups. So the atmoshere was very causal, hilarious and relaxing. Sometimes the food counter was a bit crowded but all people got their food in good order. Thanks to the high ceiling that the restaurant was not noisy though a bit busy.
---------- Food & Drinks (9/10) ----------
Champagne/Sake/Red Wine - All you can drink
Champagne/Sake/Red Wine - All you can drink
Wine list (free-flowing):- Billecart-Salmon, NV Brut Reserve
- Dusky Sounds Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (not in the photo)
- Waipara Hills Marlborough Pinot Noir 2012
- 獺祭純米大吟釀50
I ordered all except the white wine. All are excellent and good for pairing with most japanese dishes. You know what, the champagne is selling at $590/bottle at Watxxx's Cellar...exactly the same price of this brunch! What do you expect??
Fresh oystersNot a refreshing/mineral type but rather sweet, not sure if they were from Japan. Match well with the sake which was quite rich and sweet too!
Various Sashimi & Sushi Mainly salmon, amberjack, sweet shrimps were provided. Fresh! The wasabi was freshly ground and you could see its rough texture.
Sushi rolls were made typically delicate and bite-sized too. Sake time again
!
Other startersNot much to choose from starters but all were exquisite. Salad, skewered chicken wings and mushroom, deep-friend potato ball and chicken. Sauces were tailor-made to up the flavour. Don't miss the calm soup which was unexpectedly creamy and sweet too.
salt grilled yellowtail collar
salt grilled yellowtail collar
Main course 1: Salt grilled yellowtail collarI was afraid that this grilled fish might be dry but I was wrong. It was still juicy when I had a bite of it... Good pairing with champagne, yummy yummy.
lamb chops in red miso sauce
lamb chops in red miso sauce
Main course 2: Lamb chops in red miso sauceThe lamb didn't look appealing when being served. It looked overcooked but I was wrong again... perfectly medium! It matched so well with the red miso sauce. I can't imagine that such fushion style could be a good companion of red wine and sake
!
Dessert PlatterThis platter absolutely added lots of eye candy to the dining experience
. Just the same as what I had 4 years ago: ice-creams on the rock, mini-desserts and assorted fruits. 3 scoops of flavours include chocolate, strawberry and sesame, guess it's different for every time. The milk pudding with mango was very smooth!
---------- Services (7.5/10)----------Staff were highly effective and attentive to refill our wine quickly ---> It's very important!
A friendly staff asked me what I was looking for when I stood in front of the skewing counter (which was empty). She locates where I sat and got me two chicken wings when the food was done.
It would be great if they could put a smile on their face.
題外話/補充資料
As I know the brunch on Sunday splits up into 2 sessions, 11-1:30pm & 1:30-4pm
Recommend you to go on weekend for a 3-hour one time enjoyment (12-3pm)
