The Boba-Inspired Pizza You Can Only Find In Taiwan
Most people expect to taste cheese and tomato sauce when they bite into a pizza, but dessert pizza isn't unheard of either. Dessert pizzas typically only resemble pizza in shape, but the crust might be made of pie dough, the sauce could be Nutella, and the toppings are all sweet. Back in the '90s you could simply go to Pizza Hut and order one, and in 2007 Domino's offered an Oreo Pizza for a limited time, but both dessert pizzas have long been gone. Still, Nutella pizza doesn't seem to be going anywhere, as Pizza Today highlights a Technomics Menu Monitor report that says the dish saw a 9.7% increase on restaurant menus between 2018 and 2019.
Across Asia, dessert pizzas are also fairly common. In India, for example, Domino's released a Choco Pizza topped with brownies, cookies, cheesecake, coconut nougat, and chocolate sauce. In China, Pizza Hut launched a fruity Durian Pizza. In Taiwan, both Pizza Hut and Domino's had boba pizza on their menus at one point. Today, it's no longer an offering at either chain, but the beverage-inspired pizza is still available elsewhere in Taiwan.
Boba pizza is a Taiwanese novelty
Though boba tea, sometimes called bubble tea, is a popular drink all around the world, it originated in Taiwan. If you were to try a slice of boba pizza, therefore, Taiwan would arguably be the best place to do so. Unlike most types of dessert pizzas though, boba pizza isn't entirely sweet. The crust and cheese components are actually pretty similar to a traditional pizza. The main difference is that there's no tomato sauce, and instead of savory toppings, chewy boba (tapioca) pearls are used.
The famous boba pizzas sold at Pizza Hut and Domino's were each topped with brown sugar boba, the sweeter variety of boba that's made by cooking the tapioca in brown sugar syrup. Pizza Hut's version used milk sauce, Ceylon black tea milk tea sauce, and a "San Francisco crust," while Domino's less saucy version included only white mochi balls and honey in addition to the boba. Judging by its name "QQ Brown Sugar Milk Pizza," Pizza Hut's was designed to be chewier, since in Taiwan, "QQ" is a term used to refer to foods with a chewy texture.
Where to get boba pizza in Taiwan
If you want to taste test boba pizza in Taiwan, Domino's and Pizza Hut unfortunately are out of the question. You can however often find it at a restaurant called Foodie Star, located in Chiayi. Instagram posts tagged with the restaurant's location go all the way back to 2015 and seem to have continued steadily through the years. Foodie Star's inactive Instagram last posted the pizza in 2021, but other people have shared their own pictures since then. The captions usually mention something along the lines of "until supplies last" or "special offer," so it's likely that Foodie Star's boba pizza comes and goes.
Unlike the boba pizza once offered by Pizza Hut and Domino's, Foodie Star's boba pizza appears to have a much thinner crust. According to one customer, it's also crispy, rather than chewy like Pizza Hut's apparently was. Another shared that the boba has a soft texture and a very prominent brown sugar flavor. All those who tried it seem to agree that its sweetness is perfectly balanced out by the cheese. So while boba pizza may not be as sugary as the dessert pizza you're probably familiar with, people in Taiwan seem to be a fan of it either way.