On the recommendation of staff, I ordered Dan Dan Mein (I wanted something spicy). There is a good choice of both spicy and mild dishes, and customers only have to ask to be sure they get what they want. Dan dan noodles is a spicy dish with soft noodles, diced vegetables, stir fried chicken, and a spicy brown chili sauce. The price was right, and this was actually a very good dish. The sauce was basic, and the mixture of ingredients was done well.

I have been spoiled, though, by having some of the best northern Chinese cuisine in the country available in El Paso at Moon Day Restaurant, so my bar is pretty high for dishes such as the dan dan mein. By this standard the one at Zen did not seem very close to being authentic, especially with the sauce. However, compared to many Chinese restaurants in Oklahoma City and elsewhere, the dish at Zen was very good. At least with the Chinese food, I thought Zen did a pretty good job.

A Thai dish I tried, though, was not quite as satisfying. The Pad Thai had a red color that reminded me of this dish at certain restaurants in the Pacific Northwest which some customers say are made with catsup. I think the red color more likely comes from tamarind than catsup, but the overly sweet flavor of Zen's pad thai was reminiscent of some of Seattle's more problematic versions of this dish.

Zen has several specialty hot teas that are very good (based on the one I tried), but also very expensive. My dinner would have been quite reasonable if I had just ordered the food, but with the drink it turned out about average for all the other restaurants in the Edmond area. I did enjoy the tea, however, and it was probably worth what I paid.