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COMPASS MAGAZINE, June 2006

	Huck: Taichung's best-kept pizza secret On SongZhu Road, sec. 1, between SongZhu 5th Rd. and JunGong Rd. (04) 2436-7970 Hours:10:30 am-10 pm Credit cards not accepted. Convenient public parking. --- By Douglas Habecker Translated by Eva Huang

It all started with a tip from a friend, who had heard it from another friend: "Do you know about this place out near Dakeng that serves good deep-dish pizza?" No, I hadn't. I asked its name, but he didn't know. However, he did say that a group of people were going to redezvous there that very night for the first time.

Curiosity piqued, with some rather vague directions in hand, I jumped on my motorcycle to check out this mysterious rumor of a place. Driving along SongZhu Road, I took the bridge over BeiTun Road and headed out of the city towards the Dakeng Scenic Area. Soon, I was on DongShan Road and almost into the hills. Too far, I thought, and backtracked to SongZhu Road. Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a little nondescript building, surrounded by rice paddies and betelnut palms, with frontage liberally covered by plants. Inside, my friends were seated in a no-frills interior surrounded by bric-a-brac from Bali. Incongruously, lighting came from tiffany lamps emblazoned with the U.S. Shakey's Pizza logo.

Not knowing what to expect, we waited for our pizza orders. Sure enough, a few minutes later, out of the kitchen came big, 12-inch deep-dish pizzas, made in the authentic pans. It wasn't Chicago-style deep dish, but deep enough. The chewy bread crust was covered liberally with the toppings we selected--Classic (pork, chicken, onions, peppers, pepperoni, pineapple, etc.), Tasty Hawaiian (ham, pineapple), and so on. It was some of the best pizza I had experienced in Taichung, not to mention the only deep-dish I'd seen here in years.

Now I was thoroughly baffled. Where had this place come from? Why hadn't I heard of it before? Why was it out in the boondocks? To my shock, owner Mr. Hsieh told me that he'd been in business for over 10 years. As the tiffany lamps hinted, Huck's pizza-making expertise originated with Shakey's Pizza which was one of the first U.S. franchises to come to Taiwan in the '80s and, at one time, operated three outlets in Taipei and Hsinchu. Mrs. Hsieh's family ran the sole Hsinchu outlet until Shakey's left the island, but held onto their skills (and, apparently, their lamps). Mystery solved.

Huck Pizza City offers 15 pizza varieties which come in six-inch (NT$75-120), nine-inch (NT$180-280) and 12-inch (NT$290-390) sizes. For a slightly-higher price, Huck also offers a buy-one-get-one-free deal for take-out on nine and 12 inch pizzas. There are sodas and, with a day's advance notice, they can prepare salads as well.
To find this place, take SongZhu Road towards Dakeng. After crossing the BeiTun Road bridge, go through the next three traffic lights and, about 200 meters after crossing a long bridge, it will be on the left side.