My simple request of restaurateurs for 2009 can be summed up in three words: “;Don't bore me.”;

So far, so good. Last week was about the revamped pizza, including gluten-free crusts by request, from Z Pizza.

This week I headed to Zen Shu, where chef Wilson Chan not only did not bore me, but challenged me to rethink the izakaya.

I didn't know what to expect when I headed there. I'd heard the words “;izakaya,”; essentially a Japanese bar, and “;sports bar”; used to describe Zen Shu, but the real test came when, in the middle of a meal, a friend asked, “;What would you compare this to?”;

I really couldn't think of anything comparable. On the one hand, Zen Shu offers a handful of izakaya specialties, albeit with its own twist. But those imagining a purely Japanese experience might be taken aback by its casual fusion concept that also offers the flavors of local-style Chinese and Korean cuisine. Other bars have tried fusion, but none have had such a distinctive vision and clarity. Of course, now that it's been done, mark this moment for there's bound to be a round of imitators to come.

The restaurant is in the former Harpo's building, which has received a monumental makeover. You can't help but notice the modern facade if you're heading makai on Kapahulu Avenue. It's just past Bailey's and across from Rainbow Drive-Inn.

The exterior is more impressive than the interior, which, though spacious, could use some better feng shui. That's your the first clue that this is not a traditional Japanese joint, which, even at its most humble, somehow manages to convey a sense of style.

But if you're here, you've probably come to eat and drink, not be wowed by interior design. You can feed your hunger right away if ordering from the sushi bar. The rest of the menu, though brief, takes some time to study because nearly every dish is a variation on the traditional, with equal temptations on the izakaya half as well as the “;Chan-ese”; food offered on the other half. Get it? Thanks for paying attention.

  THE FOOD doesn't reach the sublime level of more traditional spots, but not everyone expects a trip to heaven on every outing. To eat, drink, be merry and try something new is often enough.

Start with hamachi sashimi ($13.50) topped with extras of negi (a mild green onion) and sesame seeds and accompanied by a shot glass containing crisp sheets of roasted nori for wrapping the fish. Hamachi requires no fuss, so this minimalist approach manages to be different without distracting.

Ahi belly karaage skewers ($7.50) should have worked, but two of three pieces of fish on the skewer were too rubbery to enjoy. The last piece of fish was edible but didn't compensate for the other two, which had my dinner companion wondering what kind of meat it was. She thought it was chicken or pork. It's too bad because with a different kind of fish, this could have been among the best dishes, topped with a layer of daikon ponzu with a touch of pepper.

There are a lot of intense flavors to suit the beer- and sake-swilling crowd, such as the Chinese-style salt-and-pepper geso karaage ($9). The deep-fried squid tentacles are more chewy than tender, but Chan gets the flavors right with just the right combination of garlic, fiery chili peppers and green onions. Chinatown is famous for giving shrimp and pork this treatment, but I'd never seen it done there with squid and it works.

Wok-fried lemongrass pork chops ($12.50) borrow from the Vietnamese menu, with just a hint of the herb, cut into long strips stirred with the pork chops.

A usually simple dish of stuffed portobello mushroom ($12.75) is elegantly dressed with a rich mixture of king crab, shrimp and three kinds of mushroom: enoki, shimeji and shiitake.

Without reading the description in detail, I ordered the grilled steak and eggs ($18). I somehow assumed the egg would be a quail's egg, and upon looking at the dish when it arrived, I wondered, where's the egg? Well, I have to say, Chan must have a good sense of humor. Duh, there was the ikura, or salmon roe, right on top, offering little salty explosions with every bite.

Dessert is your basic green tea or cheesecake ice cream.

I didn't get to try a Korean-style offering of kalbi bim bap ($14.50) of boneless short ribs with marinated vegetables and egg topped with ko chu jang tofu aioli, nor did I try the pound of Manila clams served in a sake shiso nage ($16), but the descriptions are appealing and just give me reason to come back for more.