Zen Forrest

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

Are you serious? Sorry folks but I wish I would have read the only honest review on this page below by "MoKolder"...instead of the seemingly similar rave reviews that all appear to be kinda chummy with the Chef too...hmmm. Anyway...I loved the iced tea - things were looking good there for the first 5 minutes...and then it all came apart. I should have taken a hint when my wife asked if they used fake crab-meat in the Crab Ran-goons (kinda caught me by surprise) and the waitress got uncomfortable too and said yea and admitted it! That kind of made me a bit uncomfortable as well - but I shrugged it off anyway - my biggest mistake! So...we ordered the egg-roll appetizer and Won-ton soup - the soup tasted like dishwater and that thing they called an egg-roll looked and tasted like dried up dog-shite - I kid you not...it was something brown and dried up in the middle and I have never seen or tasted any thing so awful. It just got worse too...yep...the waitress talked my wife into a special seafood dish not on the menu guaranteed to please...and me into the best they had to offer - the tenderloin steak & shrimp stir-fry. Well...the shrimp in both meals were undercooked and almost raw with no flavor, her noodles were gummy and the sauce disgusting, my filet of beef was gamey-tasting...you know - just like the kind of beef youd expect from someone that was raising their own crappy quality beef in their Pasco county backyard (also told to us by the waitress) - no corn fed beef here folks! Not only was this meal some of the worst food I ever put in my mouth...we had bad service and was kept waiting on top of it! This little crap-hole seats probably 40 at best and it was less than half capacity...but the tattooed waitress kept disappearing somewhere...for like 15 minutes at a time! No drink refills, no service and forgot to bring out the fried rice we ordered entirely...and when asked about it - she simply shrugged and said "oh...it will be out" and walked off for another 15 minutes! Then she tried to bring it too us at the end of the service!! LOL! The only reason I didnt get unglued was...my wife and I came here just to relax after receiving some very bad news - we just didnt have the energy and wrote it off as very bad luck. The Chef came over to our table and asked how everything was...we just looked at him in disbelief and shrugged...he looked away and just said have a good evening. Then we were hit with a $70.00 bill! I dont write many reviews...but when I do - I am really happy or really ticked off! If you wanna go here anyway to see if Im making this up...go right ahead...and enjoy yourself - just bring a barf bag!

A

A Private User

I live in Pacso county, sad to say not many good places to eat. I like Carrabas, but that gets old and expensive. What next wings, pizza, mexican or your generic chinese food on every corner. Maybe corporate store like Chilis, Olive garden or Apple Bees. These places are not bad, it just gets to be a RUT.You go to the same place and get the same thing because you are afraid to try something else on the menu. We found the Zen Forrest on Rowan Rd tucked away in a little plaza. What a Gem. It was like Alices rabbit hole, another world on the inside. Service was right on top of our need from the front door until we left. The Chef even came out to see us.You never see that anywhere. Anyway my wife and I ( I am a Foodie/chili head) had two appetizers Spicy tuna tartar, cool creamy from the avocados and spicy from the sauce perfectly balanced. Next, I love Edamae, its just fun food to eat while sipping beer. For dinner, my wife had beef negamaki. I have see shows on TV make this dish. Trust me it is too labor intense, let them make it. I will gladly pay to not have to make it. Did I mention I like spicy food. I got Bo kum Bop. It is Korean fried rice with homemade KimShi, very spicy. This KimShi does not have that funny sodium sorbate preservative after taste like the one in the stores. It is homemade. Just when I thought I could eat no more, the Chef came out and brought us two small sample of dessert. Ok I just had to try it, the creamiest chocolate mouse I ever had. He said it contained no dairy, that fooled me right there. The other was a berry cheese cake. I thought it was a New York style cheese cake, agian no dairy. Ok, I can eat flavorfull food like this and be eating healthy. You gotta love this place. The server even mentioned If I had special dietary needs they could fix the dish to my needs. Come on nobody does that any more. Most places just slop it on your plate. If you should not have eaten it you shouldnt have orderd it. Not this place, they were looking out for our needs. Prices were great, service was fun and helpful, food was Outstanding. Find this little gem and get out of your RUT. I give this five stars. Signed the College of Knowlege Foodie.

KR

Kristine Le

I made a reservation for my mothers birthday here hours in advance. We didnt mind that they didnt have something special for birthday persons but we havent eaten here in so long and wanted to try again. When we got there we did not have a table set up for us. We were placed for their convenience right next to the kitchen. We didnt like this since there were only four groups there including us, we wanted some privacy. At least away from the kitchen walkway. We were told we could pick any table we liked so we chose the six person table but we were told that we could not sit there in case a party of 6 came in. Which was highly unlikely to happen on a Monday night. The waitress even admitted this to us. I was extremely displeased with these two factors, it was my mothers birthday and I wanted her to feel special. It took about 25 minutes for our waitress to come back to take our food order. The food was decent. The salad I am not a fan of. The dressing is basically cooked sweeten fish sauce. The Korean Bul Gol Gi dish was good and tasted like it was supposed to. The Thai coconut curry was good, I was expecting more or the curry sauce though. A lot more. We also had General Taos chicken. At this point our waitress told us that we could move to the 6 person table if we wanted to. That was not going to happen. For dessert we had the mousse. It was very rich. For a person with a sweet tooth it didnt hit the right spot. Overall, service was below average. Although our waitress was friendly or at least trying to make the most of it. If another party did come they could have just made another table for them... Like they should have for us when we made the reservation. Food was slightly above average. Good to try for experience if youve never been here before but I would never come back here again. Full Dinner service was a little over two hours.

A

A Private User

Some friends came in out of town around dinner time.They craved good chinese food.I dont eat chinese because there are to many veggies.My wife has a Thai friend that told us about Zenn Forrest,she said that even I could find something on the menu.I like steak and potatoes.I dont want to be a rabbit.So we went.My wife had orange chicken,our friends tried the chicken leek wontons,general sow chicken and I had Mahi Mahi in Thai Chili.Never had mahi mahi but the waitress said it was a hearty type of fish.WOW I wish the plate never ended.My wife said her chicken orange was a little kicky.Our friends said this was not the usual menu they had seen back home.They were quite pleased .Service was good.Oh if you like Tea real sweet,try the thai tea.It took the heat away from the spicy dish my wife eat.They say after chinese food an hour later your hungry,this place not true,More than enough.I was full.Prices werent bad.I might go back for lunch someday they are a little cheaper at lunch.Great night out with friends perfect ambience,I think they even play nice jazz music in the backround.I did not realize the asians had so many great dishes that dont have tons of veggies.