There are several things to like about Zsa Zsa Zsu—even if you’re not a fan of Sex and the City. (It’s what the main character, Carrie Bradshaw, uses to describe the nervous, butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling you get when you’re with someone you fancy.) It’s a cute and comfortable little café-like place, wi-fi is free, and the staff will let you sit there all day and not pester you to keep ordering more food or drinks. The concept is “healthy” cuisine featuring organic produce; and prices are relatively low—the set menus, at B138-198 for three courses (plus only another B30 for Lavazza coffee), are particularly good value. Unfortunately, Zsa Zsa Zsu’s strong points do not include its food. There’s an enthusiastic and creative mind behind these often delicious-sounding dishes, but on the plate the most experimental items are the most disappointing. The pastas we tried, both Zsa Zsa Zsu “originals,” failed for different reasons. The combination of diced vegetables from the Royal Projects, slices of northern sausage and a “sauce” accented with sake in the Confusion spaghetti isn’t a bad idea in theory, but the flavors and textures failed to blend harmoniously, and the pasta was overcooked. By contrast, the spaghetti in the Pinky Pasta was a perfect al dente but the tomato-cream sauce was far too sweet—and far too rich to be combined with fatty, and in this case oily, salmon belly. Even more of a disaster was the Katsu Roti, a soggy, seemingly microwaved and far-too-sweet roti topped with a three vegetable mix, four slices of tonkatsu and rubbery mozzarella cheese. Our two soups were both B88 and made from the same, thin milky base: the Aromatic Shitake Cappuccino was hardly “aromatic” but featured a few sliced mushrooms, as promised; the Atlantic soup was slightly better with its Royal Project dice (the same one as the pasta) and shelled shrimp. And while we applaud the creativity that went into the house Caesar salad—it substitutes anchovies for kapi—the dressing was far too creamy and there was far too much of it. The safe, simple dishes are your best bets: one-dish meat-and-rice items, fried chicken wings, tossed salads. The Orgasmic Tofu gets high marks for presentation—the two cubes of tofu are served in separate square dishes on a larger square plate and garnished with fresh lettuce—and an above-average grade for taste, though the sauces were (again) on the sweet side and “orgasmic” is certainly a stretch. We didn’t even feel butterflies.
