'as a butterfly glides, so should good food flutter on the palate.' since i came back to auckland, industry zen's been on my radar and i have been impressed by the high ratings this modern take on izakaya gets. the design element of japanese culture and food is always a source of wonderment and joy so when i was invited to lunch i had high expectations. as jeffrey archer wrote, 'be careful what you wish for'. although the company was sparkling, the food was okish overall, with some complete clangers. we had vegetable tempura, takoyaki, pickles, squid legs, ebi, unagi and ikura sushi; which were all standard. the 'crisp crabs on a hot plate' were leaden lumps of fish-shop batter. even worse was the deconstructed agedashi tofu - skewers of tofu with a sickly dipping sauce. in my opinion, the tofu should be lightly dusted with starch and deep fried; then dressed with a dashi based sauce and enlivened with spring onion and fresh ginger. purity and clarity of flavour should rule in japanese cuisine - this was not either of those. the one 'twist' (a ray mcvinnieism if ever there was one...) that worked was the gomawakame which came as a 'cappriciosa' of seaweed, pickled shiitake and two other vegetable components. this was the only dish that impressed us. it was a quiet day and the atmos' was fine, the service reasonable but less friendly than other places. auckland has 'une embarras de richesses' when it comes to japanese food - the best are a splendid showcase for nz's great raw produce. this is not one of them.