We all love pizza. There’s something infectiously moreish about the crispy or chewy base topped with a deeply rich tomato sauce, your toppings of choice, and plenty of cheese that is allowed to surreptitiously melt into whatever crevice it just so happens to find. Here at Farina pizza in Yonghe, they serve up a modestly sized 9inch pizza with plenty of variations of toppings. It’s not quite the weird and wonderful toppings that we have come to expect (and, dare I say, anticipate) of Pizza Hut or Dominos pizza, but some of these are still creative and fun!
A few things to note about Farina is that the menu changes with the seasons. So the menu that you see here may change in a few months based on what the freshest ingredients are at that time. I like seasonal menus a lot, so I really like this stance from them. Another thing to note is that their prices fluctuate regularly, too. But, not only do they sometimes go up to reflect market prices, but they also go down! It’s not often than you see a restaurant lowering their prices to account for market fluctuation. This is a big tick in the plus column for them!
If you’re in the market for a reasonably priced, smaller sized pizza, then look no further than Farina. They currently have 2 branches, with the RenAi branch being a 5 minute walk from Dingxi Station, and the No.4 Park branch being a 2-3 minute walk from Yongan Market station in Zhonghe.
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Farina Pizza’s Renai Branch
Renai branch is closest to Renai Park in Yonghe, around a 5 minute walk from Dingxi MRT station. This is most definitely the quieter of the two current branches, and it’s also the smaller of the two, having opened less than a year ago at this location.
Inside
Inside you’ll find around 10 seats, with a fridge stocked with side dishes and drinks, from Arizona tea to marinated mushrooms.
The Menu
As previously said, Farina offer up 9inch pizza in a wide variety of different flavours. At the Renai branch, they focus on pizza and a couple of simple side dishes like salads. However, at the No.4 Park branch, they not only focus on the pizza but they also offer up more of the deep-fried option that you may be looking for.
The menu has your classic Pepperoni, Italian sausage, Margherita, and Hawaiian (I love how much this splits opinion), but they also have wild options such as the Big Mike, Chimichurri Beef, Ratatouille, Satay Pork, and Apple Crumble.
Satay Pork
I love peanut. This is no secret. I could have peanut butter on just about anything, and I will always hunt out the peanut options on a menu. With that in mind, the Satay Pork was an absolute no-brainer here at Farina. After liberally spooning the homemade satay sauce onto the base of the pizza, the marinated meat, pepper, and cheese is then carefully portioned on top, and placed onto the slow-moving conveyer belt-style oven. Taking roughly 5 minutes per pizza, the pizza transitions slowly to cook evenly.
I was eagerly waiting at the other end of the conveyer belt…
Pizza time!
A sprinkling of coriander later, and a wedge of lime placed in the center, the Satay Pork pizza was ready!
Firstly, I was really surprised by the fact that the dough had a good colour and a good crisp to it. So often on those conveyer belt ovens the heat can be uneven and the pizza can either come out looking insipid or it can have a soggy bottom. No soggy bottom anemic pizza here, folks!
In terms of flavour, I thought it was really quite surprisingly good. The homemade peanut satay sauce was delicious with a tiny undercurrent of spice, but littered with crunchy bits of peanut to add a great level of texture. With that came the delicious marinated meat and the appropriate amount of cheese. I like coriander, so I was all for it, but I could definitely see how it could be too much for some people. The squeeze of lime and the coriander brought the freshness that allowed the heavier and richer flavours to be balanced out, and all was well in the pizza world as I chowed down on this fun creation.
Farina Deluxe
Anything with the word deluxe in it on a menu is something I will order. A tomato sauce base, topped with sausage meat, pepperoni, onions * mushrooms is then dashed with some grated cheese and thrown under the conveyer belt oven.
The result is this crispy delicious creation of the Farina Deluxe.
Most definitely the heavier of the two pizza that we had, but I guess that is expected based on the toppings. There’s plenty to get your teeth stuck into here as you bite down and get the crunchy onions with the mushrooms and the sausage meat. The pepperoni brings a nice peppery flavour to the whole event, and the crispy crust does a good job to hold it all together.
Plenty of cheese pulls were had. Big love for this.
The Crust
The crust is a fairly standard crust for a pizza. I don’t feel like it is going to set the world alight with an airiness or an artisanal touch, but I still think it is good. It was appropriately chewy while retaining a crunch, and it was tasty without being bland. It hit the sweet spot really nicely.
Sides
The chicken wings were good. They are seasoned with herbs, therefore don’t hold any spice. The skin is buttery and delicious, and the chicken underneath was juicy and succulent. I liked them! Especially dipped in that tabasco sauce…
The shrimp salad was generous on the shrimp, and generous on the lettuce. The homemade shrimp sauce was really tasty, too. I would definitely order this again.
The Full Spread
Washed down with a corn soup and a root beer, this was our full spread at Farina Pizza. We are really thankful to Farina for setting this up, and we look forward to trying out more seasonal options as they are released.
Take Out
They offer a discounted take out service on their pizza, which you should definitely make the most of!
The mango chicken salad is an absolute must if you like mango. I like this a lot!
Pepperoni
I really enjoy the simplicity of a spicy pepperoni pizza. This was my first bite of a Farina pizza and I enjoyed it a lot. The oily spiciness of the pepperoni and the copious amounts of cheese on top of the pizza were great.
I definitely whacked some of those chilli flakes on top for an extra spicy kick, too!
Margherita w/ Pesto Drizzle
Call me crazy, but I love me some pesto on a pizza. In fact, I love me some pesto on anything. The basil and pine nut flavours that just cling to everything and coat it in this delicious green sauce are what I am here for.
The little pockets of tomato chunks that match with the pesto and the tomato base with all that cheese are what is what. This is one of my favourite pizza options right here at Farina, I would strongly recommend this one.
The Bottom Line
Is it worth it? Farina pizza is a great choice if you are eating by yourself, as 1 pizza can easily be consumed in a single sitting. However, other restaurants that sell a 12inch or a 14inch would probably be best shared.
What is the best dish? I really enjoyed the mango chicken salad, but in terms of the pizza I think it’s a close call between the Satay Pork and the Margherita w/ Pesto Drizzle. Why choose when you can just get both?
Where is it?
※ This article is a collaborative article with Farina Pizza.