What's Up in Pizza: Roe Stuffed Crust, Pot Pies, and More!

I think it might be fair to say that Pizza Hut pushes the boundaries of pizza with its stuffed crust pies, literally and figuratively. Here at Slice, we're certainly no strangers to their varied guises, from cheeseburger-strewn to marmite-filled. Well, Pizza Hut Hong Kong has just debuted a brand new exclusive pie, known as the "Flying Fish Roe Salmon Cream Cheese Pizza." It comes with two topping combos: there's the Crayfish Seafood Deluxe (crayfish, scallops, shrimp, clams, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and Thousand Island sauce), and the Sausage, Pepperoni, and Pomelo (a sort of Asian grapefruit), which is further loaded down with peaches, mushrooms, and a berry sauce. Both pies come with a crust oozing cream cheese and flying fish roe.

Next up, from Time, we have a pizzeria in Vancouver that's doing things a little differently. And by "differently" I mean they make and sell pizza infused with marijuana. For an extra $10 (if you're 18 and have a medical license for the stuff), Mega iLL will add the ingredient (marijuana-infused oil, in this case) to your pie like any other topping. The pizzeria's website describes their endeavor: "We strive to offer healthy food in a pot friendly environment...Come enjoy life with us and feel good about the food you eat while having a safe place to relax and medikate." Their pies are, unsurprisingly, fairly intense in the toppings department—take the "Chinese Takeout" pizza, which comes topped with baby corn, baby bok choy, broccoli, roast chicken, green onions, sesame seeds, bean sprouts and sweet soy sauce. Is it a brilliant business plan, or the first step towards a dark cycle of endless munching? I say both.

Now, let's play a little word association game. If I say "pizza" you say..."Vietnam"? No? I didn't think so, but a recent article from The New York Times might change your mind. Yosuke Masuko would undoubtedly fit right in here at Slice, as a self proclaimed "pizza maniac" who built his own WFO in Tokyo a decade ago and has traveled on pizza pilgrimages to Rome, Naples, London and beyond. A former financial strategist, he began exploring entrepreneurship when he was transferred to Vietnam in 2008. Soon after, he and his wife, opened up their restaurant Pizza 4P's (Platform of Personal Pizza for Peace). It was a success, and in 2012 Masuko opened up a factory in Don Duong—Universal Food Creation— where they make fresh mozzarella and burrata with milk from local cows and harvest from nearby vegetable farms, all of which is pie-ward bound. Masuko credits his success to an almost slavish devotion to detail, and is determined to one day expand throughout Southeast Asia, and beyond. One of his more ambitious goals? To buy an island, where he plans on building an ecological resort for guests to come and learn about sustainable agriculture and pizza making. Because, as he says, "Making something from scratch is always fun." Check out the full article for some great pictures and all the details— it's a wonderful read.

About the author:Kate Andersen is a Contributing Editor for Slice.