[Taipei 台北] 大安臨江街 Zoca Pizza 佐佧披薩屋 My Number One Place for Pizza in Taipei!

The Venezia Pizza with seafood and my favorite cheese，Mozzarella  

Zoca Pizza 佐佧披薩屋

Address: 台北市安和路二段69巷3號 (信義安和站)

Phone: 02 2707 2212

Website: https://www.facebook.com/zocapizzafan

Date: 2014/2

Price: + 10%，around 400~500 per person

Friends' Gathering (3J1K)

Since the start of the internship，our 3J1K group (Jason，Jeffrey，Joey and Kevin) hardly has the opportunity to meet up due to our different rotation schedules。Thus，we planned this date for us to meet up and relax from work。I have read about Zoca pizza from food blogs and thought that pizza is a nice break from eating pork chops，beef noodle soups，chicken drumsticks，and whatever other bentos are out there。Zoca Pizza is prestigious for their wood-fire Italian pizzas and classic Italian desserts。The owner is from Verona，Italy and has been making pizza and desserts since he was a boy。He offers over 40 kinds of different thin crust pizzas on the menu，which is spectacular。In the U.S., we usually get pepperoni，four cheese，supreme deluxe，mushroom or vegetarian。It is interesting to know that there are that many tasty combinations available。

The menu with English，Italian and Chinese descriptions
It was difficult to choose among the choices，so we asked the waitress which are the house specials。She mentioned the Saporita，Venezia，Americana，and Carbonara pizza。Americana is Hawaiian pizza with ham，pineapple and cheese。In Taiwan, there is a superstition that eating pineapple while working in the hospital can get a medical staff  very busy，i.e. the patient can go into shock from being stable beforehand，getting many complaints，and probably not getting any sleep。So we decided against the Americana (although none of us was on call that day -_-'')，and ordered Calzone，Raporita and Venezia to share。

The dessert menu looks nice, I heard that their tiramisu，cannoli，gelato，and mille foglie are very delicious and are must-try desserts for the newcomers。We are all foodies，so among the four of us，we decided to order two tiramisu，a gelato, and a cannoli。

Waiting for the pizza!

Calzone 

I decided to order this because I haven't had a good calzone since I left Berkeley in 2007. It was quite small on the first look，but it was compensated quickly by the delicious taste。I still remembered my first Calzone at Berkeley。It was a huge pepperoni Calzone twice this size。It tasted very good but left me drinking three glasses of water。The proscuitto and the Mozzarella of this Calzone was a great balance，and the crewy thin crust matched perfectly well。I think a thicker crust might have created a disharmony among the flavors。

Saporita

The Zoca special。Toppings are homemade tomato sauce，Mozzarella cheese，proscuitto，Mascarpone cheese，baked egg，and black pepper。The pizza has a square shape，probably new to some，but not unique at all。The pizza tasted delectable。The Mascarpone cheese rendered a smooth and creamy texture to the toppings，and provided a soft，but sweet flavor that tone down the savory taste of the proscuitto。I wondered if it would taste better if the egg yolk were cooked partially。

Venezia

A seafood pizza，another classic and a good resemblance of Venice。The toppings are shrimp，squid，octopus，and Abalone。I like this dish a lot。

Tiramisu

Tiramisu means "Pick me up" in Italian。Two stories on why the dish has its name。The first refers to the espresso and cocoa in the dish. The second is that the dish is scrumptious that it makes the taster swoon, warranting the person who is eating the tiramisu to state the request, “pick me up”. Interesting huh? The original recipe consisted of finger biscuits, egg yolks, sugar, coffee, mascarpone cheese and cocoa powder。I know that the original recipe does not have liquor，but I still like my tiramisu with a strong taste of liquor that can overpower the sweetness。Although the liquor was not conspicuous，this tiramisu was tasty and not overly sweet。I will get surely get it again。

Kevin and Joey ate the Cannoli before I had the chance to take a picture of it。Better luck next time..

Overall:

Food:

Interesting and innovative flavors，I would say that this is my number one place to go for pizza right now。I saw quite a few Americans and Italians，you know what that means!

Environment:

I was so hungry after work that I forgot to take pictures of the surroundings。But I think the spacing and the environment are friendly。It is a nice place for gatherings。

Service:

Prompt and attentive

Price: 

reasonably priced

Location: