Zoca Pizzeria

Address: 149 Linjiang St, Taipei City (台北市臨江街149號)

Telephone: (02) 2707-2212

Hours: Tues - Fri 11am to 2:30pm, 5:30pm to 9:30pm, Sat - Sun 11am to 9:30pm

Price: $$

I missed Zoca. It's been a long time since I've had pizza and today was the perfect day to satisfy my cravings. Last time I was here, I sampled more of the dessert menu and their delicious Nutella pizza. So this time I chose a "hearty" pizza, the Prosciutto e Funghi (ham and mushroom) for $320 NT. There were a selection of drinks on the menu; everything from lattes, cappuccinos, and hot chocolate to Coronas, Radlers, Diesels, and Taiwan Beer. I ordered a Peroni ($120 NT for a 330 mL bottle) and sat back with my book.

I forgot that Zoca's packed on weekends. There's a lunchtime special that's quite popular and always draws a crowd, so it's best to avoid the early afternoon. The service is really good, with the waitstaff being extremely attentive to detail. I think I almost drank all my water before it was refilled to the brim...

The pizza arrived quickly, piping hot from the oven! I'm such a huge fan of these pizzas, it's probably a little unhealthy. The thin crust is expertly fired; it's never burnt, it's never raw, it's never soggy, it's never a weird consistency, it's just as thin crust pizza dough should be. You can easily cut through it with a knife, though sometimes I forgo the knife and fork in favor of my hands.

The pizza toppings are wonderfully judicious. The tomato sauce is evenly spread across the pizza and there's a great ratio of sauce to cheese to ham to mushroom. The pizza avoids being too "soupy" with a preponderance of sauce, which I like (though some friends have complained that the sauce is too thin and lacking). The mozzarella is concentrated in the center of the pizza and melts nicely beneath the additional toppings. The prosciutto is finely sliced, flavorful, and distributed evenly; as are the chewy mushrooms ... though the mushrooms aren't too finely sliced.

I quickly demolished the entire pizza. Shameful? I think not. I regret nothing. Since my last review, Zoca has added cannolis to the menu! They're $150 NT and while yours truly didn't sample one, they looked unbelievably scrumptious sitting in their display case. The waitress told me I could take one "to go" but I needed to resist temptation. 

There's a 10% service charge, so my total came to $484 NT. The menu at Zoca is in English, Chinese, and Italian, and the waitstaff speak English and Chinese (if you want to utilize your Italian, you can always talk to Federico himself). The desserts are homemade, there's Wi-fi, there's wine, did I mention there are cannolis? Check out the Zoca Facebook fan page or just search "Zoca pizza Taipei".

Dazzling Cafe

Address: No. 3, Lane 248, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Rd, Daan District
Telephone: (02) 2731-5199
Hours: Sun - Thurs 12pm to 10pm, Fri - Sat 12pm to 11pm
Price: $$

Having heard wonderful things about Dazzling, my friends and I decided to make a Dazzling Sunday brunch date. Since opening in 2010, Dazzling is nothing if not wildly popular! I have had several Taiwanese friends tell me that the "honey toast" is "to die for", so naturally I had to see what all the hype was about. Sans reservations, the four of us walked into the Dazzling Cafe near On Tap around 1pm and were immediately seated. Success!

Food isn't the only thing at Dazzling that's aesthetically pleasing. Serving a wide range of teas, coffees, and hot chocolates (between $100 - $160 NT), Dazzling has decorated many of the drinks after their namesakes. My friend ordered the Iced Pomelo Tea with Peach ($140 NT) and it came garnished with a slice of pomelo, a mint leaf, and pomelo rinds hanging down from the glass. There was also the Iced Fruit Tea ($160 NT), which included pieces of mango, pineapple, and pomelo; and my Rose Latte ($150 NT) not only had shredded rose pedals on top (!) but included a flavorful shot of liqueur.

After ordering the Party in Your Mouth Honey Box Toast ($220 NT) and the Dark Chocolate Honey Box Toast [Danish style] ($290 NT), we chatted under the full power blast of the air-conditioner. After a 15 minute wait, the waitress brought out our two dishes.

We were all in awe of the spectacle before us, none of us ever having seen anything like "honey box toast" before. The waitress let us take our pictures, asked if we wanted a group photo, and then began disassembling our toast boxes. Personally, I appreciated this. The boxes are so daunting in shape and size, I wouldn't know where to begin and how to divvy up the toppings evenly. But I can understand people wanting to disassemble their own food thank-you-very-much.

Starting with the Dark Chocolate box, I poured some of the honey along the top of my portion and helped myself to a spoonful of ice cream. The ice cream was delicious! The dark chocolate flavor was thick and creamy, while the dark chocolate chucks broke up the creamy consistency so the ice cream wasn't too overwhelming. The toast box itself was more of a croissant-type affair, being extremely flaky and tasting faintly of butter. It wasn't dense, as regular toast is, but the lightness of the box was contrasted with the custard filling. One of the main features of this box toast is the custard (those pretty yellow dollops that look like icing), but I found the custard to be disappointing. It was thick, creamy, and didn't really have much of a taste. You felt like you were eating 3,000 calories of some insane dessert (and you were), yet it tasted of nothing. Many times I found myself, fork in hand, eating mouthful after mouthful of custard in an attempt to taste it. 

The Party in Your Mouth box was better, in that you weren't eating tasteless custard the entire time. The toast box is actually made from a loaf of bread, and while there is custard in this dish, it's only a small dollop that you can avoid if you would like. The strawberries were ripe, the ice cream was quite good (not as delicious as the dark chocolate ice cream), and one of my friends ate the macaroon ... but it looks scrumptious, doesn't it? My only complaint was that the "honey toast" didn't taste of honey and the honey brought to the table wasn't enough for four people to share. 

Overall, Dazzling has made a decent attempt at honey box toast. If invited by a friend, I would go back and have the same latte, but completely forgo any of the "Danish Toast Boxes", ignore Party in Your Mouth, and try a new toast box. That being said, these toast boxes are rather pricey ... and I would rather have a pint at On Tap instead.

There are many reviews for Dazzling online, and even some Youtube videos! Dazzling has a Facebook page and lists all of its Taipei locations. As always, menus are in English and Chinese and many members of the staff speak both. There's a 10% service charge, and the Dazzling rule is that each customer must order at least one drink.