Bringing a Little Italian Fishing Village to Town – Hand-Kneaded Pizza Dough with Heartfelt Flavor

Text & Photos /Paperclip. Culinary Photography Joy

The brother of my hairstylist Benny used to be an engineer, but he quit his job and switched careers to sell handmade wood-fired pizzas. The first time Benny told me about this, I was a bit surprised. On one hand, I never expected his brother to take such a different path in life from his younger sibling, and on the other, I couldn’t help but admire the strong determination required for such a major career shift.

But I still hadn’t had the chance to visit this Italian restaurant called “Wu Xiang Di” until one evening when I met up with a friend and we spontaneously decided to have dinner together. While we were trying to decide where to eat, the idea of Benny’s brother’s pizza place suddenly popped into my head, so we drove over.

Wu Xiang Di refers to five small fishing villages in northwestern Italy. Blessed with a unique landscape of mountains and sea, as well as their vibrant and colorful fishing village architecture, these villages have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting many visitors. The restaurant owner probably named his eatery Wu Xiang Di hoping that his hard work would become a widely recommended hidden gem.

However, before actually coming here, I had imagined Wu Xiang Di to be a rather upscale Italian restaurant. But it turned out to be a cozy, lively spot perfect for groups of friends or families with kids. During meal hours, there were almost no empty tables, showing just how popular it is.

My friend and I planned to order a value set meal (NT$279) along with an additional single pizza. The value set was surprisingly generous — it included soup, bread, salad, main course, dessert, and a drink. Thinking about how I’ve usually gone for more high-end dining options over the years, I was shocked to see so many dishes (with no service charge!) for just NT$279.

That day, the soup options were either corn or vegetable. We chose the vegetable soup.

The bread was somewhat Taiwanese-style scallion rolls. The crust was golden and crispy — it felt pretty special to have such bread at an Italian restaurant.

The side salad was just the right portion for one person, and the greens were very fresh.

Wu Xiang Di offers quite a few main course choices — including pasta, grilled dishes, risotto, and, of course, pizza. For the value set, we picked spaghetti with tomato sauce and seafood, while the single pizza we ordered was a “Thai Spicy Basil Pork Pizza” to add some variety and enjoy both pasta and pizza. The pizzas come in 8-inch and 12-inch sizes, and we got the 8-inch one (NT$250). The engineer-turned-owner used his tech industry background to create a special rotating wood-fired oven for the shop, and combined with the hand-kneaded dough, that’s what makes Wu Xiang Di’s pizza special.

But personally, what I think makes Wu Xiang Di’s pizza so good is the generous toppings and the freshness of ingredients thanks to their good business. It’s really satisfying. As for the signature dough, it has a texture that’s between thick and chewy and thin and crispy — it’s quite approachable even for Taiwanese palates.

The spaghetti with tomato sauce and seafood was also flavorful and abundant, though the noodles were a bit softer than usual — likely tailored to local preferences.

The dessert in the set meal was a chocolate lava cake, which arrived with melted chocolate oozing out — a bit dramatic, haha XD.

Coffee after the meal.

For the price, the meal was definitely great value, but I’ll mention a service issue we encountered. Since we arrived toward the tail end of the dinner rush, many customers had already left by the time we were finishing our main courses, leaving only about two or three tables. So, getting our dessert and coffee shouldn’t have taken too long. Still, we had to prompt the server to bring out the dessert (they had forgotten), and then after the dessert, it took quite a while before the coffee arrived — likely due to a misstep in their service flow.

Still, these are minor issues. Considering the price, the quality of the food is exceptional, and I’d highly recommend it.

Next time I go for a haircut with Benny, I’ll be sure to praise his courageous brother, and I’ll let him know about the service hiccup I experienced so hopefully the restaurant can improve even more.

[info]
Wu Xiang Di Cinque Terre Handmade Fresh-Baked Pizza Italian Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/CinqueTerrePizza
No. 78-1, Section 2, Chang’an East Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
02-25096379
11:00~22:00
Check out the menu atthis link

Paperclip 'Culinary Photography Joy
Love should be timely, love should be immediate, love should be at the right moment
Paperclip 'Culinary Photography Joy Blog　Fan Page