Kitchen 66

Address: No. 11, Alley 3, Lane 74, Wenzhou St, Taipei City (台北市溫州街74巷3弄11號)
Telephone: (02) 2362-9668
Hours: Tues - Sun 11:30am to 10pm
Price: $$

I've been in the mood for a good bagel lately, so I thought I'd head over to Shih's Bagel in the Gongguan area and have a late breakfast. Turns out, Shih's Bagel is gone. In its place is Kitchen 66, a kitschy Americana diner selling American fare.

When I walked in, the interior was dimly lit (so dimly lit, in fact, I thought they were closed). There were only two other patrons, so there was this weird kinda-open-for-business-but-not-really vibe. The waitress handed me a menu, a glass, and let me sit wherever. Kitchen 66 is one of those rare places in Taiwan that offers free refills but, as I was to find out later, the soda was flat and not really worth the refill.

Looking over the menu, I noticed there were a lot of photos of people eating Kitchen 66 burgers and making a mess of themselves. The motto underneath was "Never use a fork". This sounds like a philosophy by which I can live quite easily. Though there were pizzas, fried chicken, steak, and fish & chips to tempt the wayward, I chose the Spicy Mexican Burger ($240 NT). The waitress warned me that this burger is "very spicy, too spicy", what with it's jalapenos, chipotle sauce, and tinge of Tabasco. Psssh! Please! Bring it on.

Ten minutes, two glasses of water, and thirteen pages later, the aromatic burger arrived at my table. This thing looked quite a sight! Bacon hanging out, cheddar cheese dripping, chipotle sauce running, burger still sizzling. Now this is what I'm talking about. 

The burger bun is quite delicious, second only to the Diner, and is lightly toasted. The lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle on the side were are fresh and, when added to the burger, made me long for a fork and knife. How was I supposed to eat this tower of food?! I managed to take a couple bites and was immediately hit with the heat. The chipotle, Tabasco, and thick, fat jalapenos definitely give this burger a kick. There's a lot of heat to contend with, but not so much that you can't appreciate the cheddar, bacon, and burger patty. This burger rides that fine line between perfection and overbearing heat.

The fries were hot, crispy, and well-seasoned. And because there's a bottle of Tabasco at every table, I thought I'd add a dash to my fries. Does it get any better than Tabasco-soaked fries? I'm not sure that it does.

I would definitely go back to Kitchen 66 to sample more of their burgers. I'll write off the weird vibe and flat soda to the early time of my arrival. I went on a Tuesday around noon, so they'd been open for a half hour before I showed up ... but still, completely flat soda? Anyway, there's no service charge, the manager speaks fluent English, and it's close to a lot of coffee houses and Belgian beer places (if you're looking for somewhere to go afterwards). 

Check out their Facebook page

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".

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: $

After eating at l'Olivier on Sunday, I walked around the An-He Road area. There are some good eats down random side streets and I tried to make a mental note of places I wanted to visit. Whilst walking down Linjiang Street, I saw it. A pathetic piece of cardboard taped, caddywompus, on the window. On this cardboard was written "Pizza Nutella $250 NT". Hallelujah.

One of the masterminds behind the pizza creations at Zoca is Veronese pizzaioli extraordinaire, Federico Zocatelli. Zocatelli's pizzas are handmade, affordable, and absolutely delicious. There are 44 varieties of pizza on the menu (indeed, pizza is almost the only thing on the menu) and there's sure to be something to suit everyone. All the pizzas at Zoca are thin crust and served Italian style with sparse toppings (sparse in comparison to American chains like Pizza Hut or Domino's). I wasn't going to be swayed by delicious, hearty, Italian pizzas; no, sir. I needed Nutella like [insert comparable analogy here].

Zoca's interior is relatively spartan with only a couple photos on the wall and basic, minimalist furniture. Basically, Zoca looks like a legitimate Italian pizzeria. Most international food restaurants in Taipei feel the need to be prodigal with "cultural" knickknacks, as if these things lend some sort of legitimacy to the cuisine i.e. if there are a lot of Parisian and French things in the restaurant, surely the cuisine is authentically French. Zoca shows you the cuisine is Italian, and doesn't waste time trying to tell you or sell you.  

Zoca also has a charming outdoor seating area for nicer, warmer days. Though today (again) the weather didn't permit outdoor seating. The floor to ceiling windows are quite lovely in that they overlook the street so you can people watch without being obtrusive. Additionally, these windows were remarkably clean (kudos, window washer).

YAY! My Nutella pizza arrived fresh from the oven with walnuts sprinkled on top! In a country where Nutella crepes are practically nonexistent, I was thrilled that something with Nutella was on a restaurant menu! While the Nutella was obviously flawless, the pizza crust was ... unexpected? That's not true. I knew the pizzas at Zoca are all thin crust, so let's just say that a thin crust Nutella pizza had a logistical problem. When the Nutella was applied (presumably with a spatula), the crust broke in several places and some pieces of the Nutella pizza had to be scooped up with fork and knife. I am deplorably lazy. 

That being said, the crust was just simply wonderful! I loved that it was light, airy, and tasted homemade (which it was). Many pizzerias in Taipei simply cannot reproduce a crust like this one. Much like Taiwanese waffles, bagels, and crepes there's something that's "off" with the consistency of Taiwanese pizzas. Now, Zoca is probably the only place I'll order a pizza from.

I can only imagine what the other, savory pizzas taste like at Zoca! I'm definitely going back to find out! Zoca has Wi-fi and I can chow down on a pizza while working on my novel (novel = really long Facebook message). A match made in heaven. The savory pizzas, like the margherita ($250 NT), are priced much more reasonably than pizzas at chain stores. There are vegetarian pizzas ($350 NT), no-frills marinara pizzas ($180 NT), and dolce vita pizzas ($400 NT). 

In addition to the scrumptious pizzas, Zoca serves homemade Italian desserts made by Zocatelli himself. These are also reasonably priced with panna cotta at $100 NT, ricotta cheesecake at $130 NT, and tiramisu at $140 NT. Sadly, there are no cannolis.


The menu is in Italian, English, and Chinese. If you've been in Taipei long enough and are becoming disgruntled at eating sub-par pizzas that taste nothing like an actual pizza, Zoca is the remedy. If you've been in Taipei for longer than two hours, Zoca is the remedy. Okay, that last one didn't make sense, but I highly urge any and all to visit this pizzeria. It's definitely worth it.


Zoca unfortunately doesn't have a website, but simply Google "Zoca pizza Taipei" and you'll stumble upon more reviews and a Facebook fan page.