The Nova Platinum Hotel’s restaurant is called Zia. But for me, it really should have an exclamation mark after the name. Zia! It is really a restaurant that has zing and zest, but unfortunately, one that is not well known, hidden away as it is in the Nova Platinum Hotel in South Pattaya. But hopefully no more after this review.
Being inside the hotel, this does mean that car parking is not a problem as the hotel has a large parking lot (which is not the case for stand-alone restaurants in that area), and the car park is clearly signed, running beside the hotel and you can park undercover. Up the stairs next to the pool and you are there.
The hotel ambience is dominated by the color scheme of red, white and chrome, and this is carried over into the Zia restaurant, and added to with bright orange seating around the white tables. In the center is a glassed-in kitchen, so you can watch your food being prepared, and it was spotless. The waiting staff are all decked out in uniform with red cummerbunds.
Both the beverages menu and the food menu are not enormous in their scope, but both do show some thought at presenting a good range of choices. Wines are divided into three main sections – Sparkling with a Prosecco Chardonnay at B. 2,500, Reds between B. 1,100-1,300 and Whites B. 1,100-2,500, both old and new worlds. In the reds, the Australian Cranswick Lakefield Shiraz is good buying at B. 1,300 and even better drinking! Highly recommended!
There are many cocktails on offer, all round about B. 200-220, including my favorite Brazilian Caipirinha (but no Samba dancers, I’m afraid).
In the food menu, pizzas range between B. 160-350 and pastas likewise. The soups are all at B. 120, including an interesting zucchini and parmesan.
Close to the front of the menu are the snacks of burgers and sandwiches B. 150-190 and then there are some pages of Thai items, generally around B. 120.
The Mains are interesting, and do show the fact that this is not a high priced restaurant, with most items between B. 250-550. At the top end is imported Australian beef (but note the local beef at B. 400). The mains are also quite cosmopolitan with a few Indian items (B. 340-370) and even a Turkish style lamb with okra.
There are also eight vegetarian items, so just about everyone’s taste is catered for at Zia.
We dined with Michael Procher, the GM and Sascha Kunze, the hotel manager, and it was decided that we would have a range of dishes to share and to try. And try we did, with an amazing array of dishes that seemed to arrive in a never-ending procession.
We began with some grilled cheesy scallops, a great starter, and then sampled some Thai dishes, including a sliced beef in oyster sauce, and a stir-fried prawn dish. Both excellent.
We then ventured into a snowfish dish, which was so good, we ordered a second plate of it! Yes, that good! While still on seafood we also enjoyed a soft shell curried crab which was my pick for the dish of the evening. Plenty of rice, both steamed and fried, were used as the accompaniment.
Coffee and the last of the Cranswick Lakefield Shiraz rounded out what had been a very enjoyable evening.
Zia represents good value dining. Portion sizes were quite satisfactory, the service personnel attentive but not overbearing, and we enjoyed the experience. If selecting Thai food, then let your waiter know how spicy you would like it, or the chef may prepare it too mild, trying to accommodate to a presumed farang taste. The snowfish (if on the menu) was excellent, but my favorite was the soft shell crab curry. Crab has always suffered from the ‘too much work for too little return’ situation, but the soft shell crab dish required no ‘work’ and the end result was delicious. If you have not tried Zia, please do try it.
Zia restaurant, Nova Platinum Hotel, 562-562/1, Moo 10, Pratamnak Road, telephone 038 711 345, fax 038 711 346, email [email protected]. Open seven days, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Secure parking.
