Woburn Zens
High Street
Woburn Sands
Nr Milton Keynes
Tel: 01908 586633
www.woburnsens.co.uk

For years this was the site of the local radio/TV store as well as in more recent times a bicycle business that arrived next door. Now they have both gone and into this not insignificant space Woburn Zens has appeared. And that was the first impression when we trundled in: this a big open space that would be very bleak if it was empty. Although, to be fair, the night we went it was reasonably busy.
I had taken a brief peak at the menu before going: primarily because below the name on the facia board there is the website URL. The site described the style as 'Fusion oriental with fresh ingredients, European sauces and bold Asian spices.' Living in Bangkok I know a bit about oriental cooking and have been exposed to fusion oriental often enough: I was worried! Yes I have had superb oriental fusion cooking but it is rare and for every good meal I have had countless bad: generally I avoid!
I was slightly surprised to find that most of the staff came from Malaysia but that generally did not detract from their efficiency although there seemed to be nobody in charge, and the service was a trifle disjointed. As already indicated the place was reasonably busy however we were escorted to our table and given menus swiftly enough. A bottle of wine, from a basic but adequate list, was ordered and it arrived promptly.
I was disappointed in the menu as it was essentially a collection of primarily Thai food with a few Chinese dishes thrown in for good measure. I suppose the only fusion dish, if you call it that, was the inclusion of a lamb version of classic Thai dishes such as goeng keow wahn (green curry) with lamb However after that there was not a lot to inspire.
For starters we had crispy aromatic duck which would have been okay, with pancakes, spring onions etc. and plum sauce, if it was not far too dry thus tasteless, certainly not aromatic. We next tried a mix starter course which I think rather summed up the whole experience. It included sesame toast, spring rolls, prawn cakes, spare ribs and satay. Not only were the dishes totally unoriginal but the cooking was not even competent: just bad. As with the duck everything was over cooked. In a final attempt to find something passable we had stir fried lamb with spring onions and ginger accompanied by a dish of fried rice. It was not my idea of fried rice but I suppose it was: I expect discernable bits in fried rice this was sort of egg washed, and, of course, the lamb dish was unimpressive.
If Woburn Zens promoted itself as a basic oriental restaurant serving solids for pub leavers I would not have been so disappointed: because I would never have gone in the first place. Instead there is ploy to con the public into believing this is superior food................................well it ain’t!