Sunday, February 7, 2010

Shakey's Pizza

I recently (as in October) read in Timeout HK that Shakey's was shaking up the pizza world in Hong Kong, so I immediately (as in four months later) had to try it out for myself.  I was extra excited because we had a Shakey's in my hometown (Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA) and it was the coolest place for birthday parties.  I went to their website to see if it was the same franchise but when I searched my zip code they said the nearest Shakey's was on Super Avenida Lomas Verde in Mexico City (approximately 1,887 miles away).  HOWEVER, it is the same logo so I'm convinced its the same chain.  Actually, given the delivery time in the Kong, one has to wonder whether they actually deliver all Shakey's pizzas from the Mexico City location.

The Order:  9 inch Princess Margherita (fresh tomato, herbs & mozzarella) and a 12 inch Shakey's Special (beef, pepperoni, ham, onion, mushrooms, capsicum, pineapple, olives, tomato sauce and mozzarella).  Next time I'll indulge my urge to order a "cheese party" pizza and a tasty reward, such as Shakey's Famous Mojo, which based on the picture are either deep fried tomatoes, chicken cutlets or hashbrowns. 
Crust:  There were two options at Shakey's - hand tossed and thin crust.  The hand tossed doesn't disappoint if you are looking for a close approximation to delivery chain pizza in the U.S. - chewy, a bit salty, and strangely comforting.  In my opinion, the thin crust is the best bet here just because it balanced better with the overall pizza.  More on that....
Sauce: ...here.  I have to say that the sauce was a bit of a problem.  The sauce on both of these pizzas was so completely soaked in to the crust my dining companion and I wondered if there even was any red sauce on them.  It worked a little bit better on the thin crust because it didn't soak in as much and there was less crust to balance out.  Bottom of the line is - buy a squeeze bottle of Contadina at City Super before you order this stuff - you're gonna need some reinforcements.
Toppings:  Surprisingly fresh and delicious.  The Shakey's Special had something about it that tasted very Hong Kong pizza-y...if you live here you know what I mean.  But they use fresh mushrooms and that's more than I can say for Pizza Hut.
Delivery:  Misleadingly, these guys do not have their own delivery bikers.  They go through Dial-a-Dinner. So you can expect the normal Dial-a-Dinner service:  2 hour wait and cold food. 

And now, the ratings.

Crust (considering it was a delivery):  Hand-tossed - 7; Thin crust - 8
Sauce: What sauce?  1
Toppings:  7
Delivery: 5
VFM: 8
Overall (relative to delivery pizza): Thin crust margherita- 7; Hand-tossed Shakey's Special -6

Various Locations
Delivery Hotline: 311 00000

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