New, authentic Italian restaurant in Sanzhi: WaLiLei

Cuisine Greater Taipei Restaurants
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Today was the grand opening of WaLiLei (哇哩咧) not so far from Danshui on the coast at Sanzhi. Address: Sanzhi Xiang, Bei Shizi 12-1, #9 地點:三芝鄉北勢子12-1號9 (淡金路16.5K). Phone 02-2636-8515, fax 02-2636-1750. There are some photos at the website: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/walileitw

The main chef is Dino Zavolta, using recipes his Italian grandmother passed down. They have pizza, pasta, calzone, sandwiches (the meat-a-ball sub looked so good, I was regretting that I didn’t get that, and the bread is made to order using a recipe Dino supplied, so it’s not the yucky soft Taiwan bread), lots of alcohol, and a lovely outside patio right on the ocean’s edge.

Prices are pretty reasonable, large 11" pizzas for NT320, 8" for NT190, pasta dishes were around NT250-NT320 (I think). There were salads and some soup, too, but I didn’t pay attention to what and how much, sorry. The calzone is NT380, and is really BIG, stuffed with Dino’s homemade meat-a-balls.

WaLiLei is also a great spot to hang out with the Taiwan biker crowd. :slight_smile: There were some sweet bikes in the lot today. You’ll also find surfers there. And some dogs. Sitting on the tables. OK, maybe that part isn’t so good.

So come on up north and enjoy the best Italian food in Taiwan, made by the best drummer in Taiwan, and tell your friends.

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Sounds like a cool place. Funny Italian name though huh? No, not the owner’s, the place’s.

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Spent the day at WaLiLei. I had one of Dino’s handmade meatball subs with marinara sauce (ok…I actually had two), and I had one of his hand tossed pizzas made from his secret pizza dough. Awesome. Oh…I almost forgot the draught beer on tap,I had 6 of those. Come on up and give it a try.

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It’s not Italian, it’s Taiwanese :slight_smile: Not easily translated, kinda like “WTF?” when you can’t believe something just happened. I used the phrase when my paleology teacher told me we’ll be having a small test on Christmas day. :fume:

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Walilei would be better translated as ‘what the hell’, WTF would be a bit strong… great name though.

How about naming the second restaurant ‘WaSai’… Good luck with the restaurant

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[quote=“headhonchoII”]Walilei would be better translated as ‘what the hell’, WTF would be a bit strong… great name though.

How about naming the second restaurant ‘WaSai’… Good luck with the restaurant[/quote]

Hehe, it’s because I have a potty mouth and rarely say “What the hell?” even if it’s something minor. :slight_smile: Yeah, Dino told me it meant, “What the heck” but after discussing with my Taiwan friends, I realized that I’d use it for “WTF?”

Here’s hoping there will be a second restaurant someday!

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I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

The sea view is amazing.

The menu is rustic Italian fare. Greatly done.
Parmesan means Parmesan not some fake powdered cheese substitute used in other lesser cafes.

One of the owners, Dino, drummer, host, bon vivueur, and chef explained it to me. ’ We won’t cut corners,we will buy the best ingredients, import from italy, we will stick to what we know, do it well, and hopefully through good reviews and word of mouth, succeed.’

The service is the best you will find anywhere.
Above all, this fantastic place will become famous for the music festivals.

This place deserves to be supported and I hope it grows!

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I went on Wednesday evening with a friend from Singapore who absolutely idolizes Dino. We had the best time sitting outside just shooting the breeze and munching on pizza and pasta while enjoying some good beer (and a Coke for my non-drinking friend). And yes, having that fresh-grated parmesan added to the pizza and pasta is one of the best things about Walilei, especially when Dino does the honors himself.

How lucky am I to live so close to not only Eddy’s Cantina and the best Mexican food in Taiwan, but also a short bus ride from the best Italian food in Taiwan! Guan Yin must love me.

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Agreed. Last time we had a Dino pie that was hand tossed by Dino. (sorry you missed the chance to add). Very nice. The pasta was good too. Nice location, good food, and Dino. I’ll have to try more things next time. Geez Eddy and Dino, could you please just … well … come together… THAT ISN’T WHAT I MEANT.

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Went there today and had a pepperoni calzone - loved it, although for the amount of pepperoni I suspect a meatball one would be better value. (Big difference in price, and the homemade meatballs would likely have been tastier and almost certainly more substantial. Not that I needed the thing to be any bigger!)

One comment: the patio is very much in the sun, and that stretch of coast is usually too windy for umbrellas. I’d hoped to spend much of the afternoon relaxing on a shaded patio, but wound up spending the time inside with air conditioning.

In short, I highly recommend the food; if you want to lounge outside, head there for a late afternoon drink + dinner after the sun goes down, rather than the lunch + early afternoon drink that I had. (Or at least don’t go midday when it’s mid-summer and 34 degrees out.)

Incidentally, if you’re driving it’s past the main beach stretch at that bay - uh, Cizhiwan? - and a bit past the parking area for the swimmers. I got a touch confused because I drove past the main restaurant stretch and didn’t see the place, so I was worried I missed it. But the signs are huge and you can’t miss it.

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After enduring an entire afternoon in a “coffee shop” I demanded to eat some real food.

Grumpy and starving I entered WaLiLei to be immediately greeted by Dino just as I had hoped.

I requested a simple fettuccine alfredo or something close to it. No problem even though it really isn’t on the menu. I also had the Dino special pizza again. Both were delicious.

I sat down and was treated to a beer and met another fine part of the establishment, Jack.

While waiting for and eating my meal Dino, Jack, and I had an interesting conversation about a variety of topics.

The food, atmosphere, and company were great. This is what makes a good restaurant. Bob understood it and these guys do too.

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Both website and phone not working any more… are these guys still open? Would be a pity if not :frowning:

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[quote=“olm”]Both website and phone not working any more… are these guys still open? Would be a pity if not :frowning:[/quote]Oh yeah. Still open! Come on out!

Dino’s birthday party two weeks ago

Dino Zavolta - He’s Da Man!

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Dino’s party was fun! Too bad those greedy people at the beginning of the line took so much roast pig that some people ended up with none.

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[quote=“500CBFan”]Dino’s party was fun! Too bad those greedy people at the beginning of the line took so much roast pig that some people ended up with none.[/quote]Oh crap! I didn’t know you were there, too. I must have been so hammered that I didn’t see you.

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Yeah, got there at 3:00 with some friends who were visiting from Japan and Singapore, stayed pretty late. Got to see Xiao Zhu fast asleep upstairs, dang, he looked so cute. Brought homemade cheesecake for Dino and Alex because I didn’t have enough for all my friends plus the ABS crew. Felt bad about that, but…that’s the way it goes.

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Great, thanks for the heads up!

500CBFan, can you please edit your post with the new info? Maybe this will help other people like me, who read the initial post and find the info there not accurate any more - would be a pity if Dino doesn’t get as much attention as that place deserves, right? :wink:

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I’ll be out sometime this week… :smiley:

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Yep, it’s a great little restaurant with a nice ambiance. We go about once a month. I like the pizzas, wife and daughters like the soup and pasta dishes. Highly recommended.

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I do recommend calling ahead on weekdays - we dropped by one Monday afternoon, and it was closed. A tip to the restaurant if they’re reading: put some kind of a sign on the door that gives the hours or indicates that it’s closed for the day; I was worried the place was closed down, which would have been tragic.