Kitchen 66 is a recently opened fish and chip, burger and pizza joint located in Gongguan (公館) that takes its name from the famous highway that stretches across the US.
The interior is a mish-mash of Americana that is presumably culled from and thematically associated with states along the highway. A vintage gas pump greets patrons as they walk through the door; a leather saddle with stirrups slumps on a stump; framed pictures of cowboys, motorcycles and cars hang crookedly off the walls beside signs for Route 66. Thankfully, there is no road kill.
I was somewhat excited that the popularity of the restaurant, which seems as busy as a California freeway, was due in part to the fact that it serves fish and chips (NT$180). But then a contradictory series of events occurred. First, the fish and chips were located in the appetizer section. The dish then arrived 15 minutes after the pizza (and half an hour after it was ordered). When it did arrive, the portions were hardly the amount you would associate with a starter.
But first the pizza. The menu features six varieties — bacon, vegetarian and Mexican (NT$120), spicy chicken (NT$150) and seafood (NT$180) — all 10-inch (25cm). I ordered the Italian (NT$180), which consisted of salami, onions and mushroom. Or at least that’s what the menu claimed. What arrived was a pizza with the first two toppings, plus pineapple. No mushrooms. That’s odd, I thought, because I didn’t order pineapple and there isn’t even a pizza listed on the menu with that topping.
Still, it was delicious from start to finish. The slim crust, cooked crispy on the outside and chewy — but not greasy — towards the center, was covered with an oregano-infused sauce and evenly topped with generous portions of the toppings and mozzarella. It didn’t set any records for originality, but it was good value for its price and size.
As Nat King Cole’s Route 66 played in my mind, the fish and chips arrived. This dish is usually served with one piece of fish and an artery-clogging amount of chips. Kitchen 66 reverses the tradition with an astounding four pieces of medium-sized fish and a moderate amount of chips.
Fish and chip aficionados will probably balk at the choice of fish used: black bream, a slightly sweet whitefish. Smaller and thinner than halibut or cod, the pieces of fish were pancake-thin rather than the usual steak-thick. Additionally, the thick batter that typically coats the fish was absent here. Without a strong-tasting fish and little crust (it seemed to have been dipped in only flour), the flavor was rather bland. The tartar sauce served with the fish, though tangy with hints of dill, did little to enliven this dish.
On the whole, Kitchen 66 serves decent fare at competitive prices. Now all they have to do is batter their fish.
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