Zippy Central Cafe and Bar
1153 Pukuatua street, Rotorua, New Zealand
07-348 8288

This cafe is recommended by the Lonely Planet as one of the better cafes around the very touristy Rotorua region.


I had my 1st cup of Chai Latte (NZD$4, with soy milk) here! A chai latte is just the spiced tea mixed with milk that’s steamed from an espresso machine. The spices usually consist of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, pepper and ginger. Since I'm not a 'drinks' person, I didn't expect to like it but the spices and soft foamy texture won me over easily.

The Nachos (NZD$8.50) with salsa, beans and sour cream was unremarkable.

The Warm Mediterranean Salad (NZD$15) was not what I expected. It has a type of pasta known as orzo which is Italian and means "barley". I've never seen this before! Despite its rice shape, orzo is not made out of rice but of hard wheat semolina. Taste wise, it's quite bland. Overall, I didn't enjoy the dish as it was too oily and the orzo pasta made me think that I'm eating rice which I dislike.

The cafe seems to be popular among the locals as it was pretty crowded considering that it's already past lunch time. Service was very friendly but the food was quite disappointing!

P.S.: The photos look so dull because they were taken using the handphone. The battery in my camera died on me as I took too many shots of the scenery earlier!

Labels: New Zealand

3:45 PM