Pizza at Twins

Diavola

Gamberi

Ever since I started studying again, I’ve been visiting Hawken Drive at least once a week, sampling all the food in the centre. I love pizza, so naturally I tried the local Italian joint “Twins on the Village”. It’s always empty, so I always wonder what’s wrong. They do $10 lunch pizza specials.

Why would you have pizza at Twins?

• The dough is unbelievably fluffy. It’s fresh, it goes down so well. Possibly the best medium-thick base I’ve had in Brisbane.
• It’s a great price for gourmet pizza. $10 for any pizza in their range – including their Gamberi prawn pizza. Amazing.

Why might you not have pizza at Twins?

• There isn’t a smorgasbord of toppings. It’s definitely passable quality. But definitely not the quantity you’d expect if you’re used to the fast food joints.
• The pizzas are a tiny bit smaller than others. You get 6 slices. I’m satisfied but probably could go another 1 or 2 more slices.

I’m really happy with this find. It would probably be my go-to pizza place at the moment in Brisbane. Hope you can try it!

Pizza in Japan?? – Italian Kitchen Buono

Meat Pizza

Italian Kitchen Buono

So I’ve always thought… why would I even try the ‘foreign’ food in Japan? Especially when there’s so much of a variety of Japanese food around anyway! Well, after 10 days of stuffing myself with Japanese food, I decided it was time to be re-acquainted with a western dish. I walked around a big shopping complex, and I seated myself and waited for some ‘Japan-ised’ pizza.

How wrong was I to steer away from ‘foreign’ food in Japan. The place I checked into was Italian Kitchen Buono in LalaPort (Minami Funabashi). I ordered their meat pizza (forgive me, I have no idea what they called it in nihongo, but it looked like the meatiest one). I wasn’t expecting anything great. To be honest, anything close to a Pizza Hut quality dish would have sufficed. But I was pleasantly surprised.

OK. Let’s state the obvious. The meat doesn’t look that great. The bacon was fine, but luncheon meat is luncheon meat, and not very ‘exotic’ or interesting. But the crust was thin and crisp and just right! I’d rank it one of the top crusts I’ve had before. The tomato paste and quality of cheese was also great. Japanese cheese is actually really tasty – compared to cheese in other parts of Asia. I could taste at least 3 different cheeses happening there.

If the meats/toppings were improved, the pizza would have been almost perfect. But I was impressed with the crust and the cheese. This has changed my view of  ‘foreign’ food in Japan. Japan does Japanese food well. It does western food well. I think I’m beginning to really like this place!