Dough Kitchen

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Item: Dough Kitchen
Rating: 4
Author: nuttawit.ta

236 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

31035

Tai Hang

$201-400

Italian

152

nuttawit.ta

Level3

Summary: (I generally don't like fusion food so maybe I'm a bit biased) A place for those who like to try not-so-traditional (with a hint of fusion) pasta. The pizzas on the other hand are quite standard. Price point is on the higher end for the cuisine due to the choice of ingredient. Food are ok but also not amazing.The Goods: The place is clean and well decorated. Staffs were polite and helpful. The Bads: Pastas are alright but I'm not a fan. It's probably because of location (rent etc) & ing

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Summary: (I generally don't like fusion food so maybe I'm a bit biased) A place for those who like to try not-so-traditional (with a hint of fusion) pasta. The pizzas on the other hand are quite standard. Price point is on the higher end for the cuisine due to the choice of ingredient. Food are ok but also not amazing.
The Goods: The place is clean and well decorated. Staffs were polite and helpful.
The Bads: Pastas are alright but I'm not a fan. It's probably because of location (rent etc) & ingredient choices too but I feel it's a bit pricey.
Damage: The four of us ordered 2 pastas, 1 pizza (big) and 1 salad to share. We each had 1 drink. The total price came in at HKD944 (10% SC included), so that's HKD236 per person for lunch (Saturday).

I was catching up with a friend and they suggested we come to this shop in Tai Hang. Full disclosure, normally I don't come to this type of restaurants for several reasons; 1) I'm thrifty and think Western food in HK are expensive in general, 2) I really think fusion food is hard to execute right (because mainly we have some expectation for certain food), and 3) it's in Tai Hang and generally I know it'll be a bit pricy considering the location (I'm expat but I'm paid like a local.. lol). The shop has quite limited seating with open kitchen layout. Despite open kitchen, I think they manage the smell quite well. It's not artsy in decoration but I also feel like it's well decorated (maybe I like minimalistic design).

What we ordered
Let's start with the drinks first. My wife had a Mango Flavoured Kombucha (below photo) at HKD58 (+10%). It's my first time trying kombucha and I'm not a fan but at the same time I'm not an expert so I won't comment on it. I had a Regular Coffee at HKD30 (+10%). I feel like it's just normal coffee, nothing special but I like the fact that it's not sour like the "hip" coffee these days. My friend had a white wine at HKD68 (+10% - per glass). He found it quite funny that initially he asked which red wine is good, and the waiter said he wouldn't recommend any red by the glass (by the bottle is better) but if he wants by the glass then maybe white wine is better choice. It's brutally honest but we like it!

Mango Flavoured Kombucha

The first dish to come is the Fig & Parma Ham with Baby Spinach Salad at HKD158 (+10%). Honestly I think salad is always overpriced so I'm not going to recommend it but we just want to feel a bit better of ourselves eating a bit vegetable. The salad is lightly dressed with some olive oil and balsamic condiment (the sweeter kind of balsamic vinegar) and topped with some grated cheese. The baby spinach was very nice (fresh and crunchy). The parma is kind of average. It doesn't have intense flavour like what a higher end one would have. The rest are quite standard too. So, if you really need a salad then go for it, if not, save some money and spend at something else.

Fig & Parma Ham Baby Spinach Salad

The second to arrive (just a few moments later because we asked them to just serve whenever they're ready) is the 12" Parma Ham Pizza at HKD178 (+10%). It's served with plenty arugula, with tomato sauce & cheese as base for pizza. Honestly I think it's quite average. The same comment about Parma (not very intense flavour), arugula is nice as usual no comment there, the cheese for some reason feels a bit rubbery (maybe because it's not hot already after about 5 minutes after being served - which is a bit weird), the pizza dough doesn't have the crunchy edges, and not very doughy. I'd say the ingredients are good but execution not so great. Pricing wise it's ok though.

Parma Ham Pizza (12")

Then we had to wait for a big while before pastas are served. Not sure if they don't think we have enough space on our table or something. You would imagine pizza will take longer to prepare than pasta....... or they premade pizza and that's why it's not hot (?). Anyways, both pastas are served at the same time. Let's do it one at a time, and start with Sea Urchin Pasta at HKD208 (+10%). To be honest, it's the first time I have seen pasta noodle like this - to a point that I think it's actually fusion using more like Asian noodle as a substitute. The noodle is as big as udon but has chewy/doughy texture. Honestly I would give them point for the noodle, although I wouldn't call it pasta as well. It is served with very orange coloured sauce, topped with 3-4 pieces of sea urchin and completed with a teaspoon of caviar. The sea urchin is fresh and taste good. The sauce is a different matter. I suppose it should have some sea urchin in it but it doesn't taste like it (or maybe that's how it suppose to taste when it's made into sauce!), it tastes very creamy which is good but I think it needs a bit more salt, and maybe pepper. Overall though, it's ok but not great.

Then we also have the Aglio E Olio Cod Roe Pasta at HKD158 (+10%). The pasta noodle is the same as last dish. Now, the dish comes with plenty of cod roe which is nice, however it comes with a bit of downside. It makes the whole dish feels a bit dry to taste. The Aglio E Olio isn't very saucy to begin with and the cod roe must have absorbed all the olive oil. If you ask me they probably added a bit too much chilli flakes because I actually can feel the heat (usually at my level of spiciness tolerance I can't taste a thing), so beware of that too. For some reason this whole dish reminds me of a North-Eastern Thai dish called Larb (spicy pork salad). I think it's the tiny cod roe that reminds me of the texture of grounded roasted rice, and a bit of chili flakes. So, do I like it? I think it's ok but because of the 'dryness' I'm not a fan.

Aglio E Olio Cod Roe Pasta

Final thoughts, I think if you like a bit of experimental/fusion pasta then you might like it - the noodle is good. Pizza is quite average but also you can get better pizza elsewhere. Pricing is on the higher end. With the pricing and taste, I think it's ok but at the same time not great food - I'd rather get better pizza elsewhere. Having said that, the waiter is nice so that's a bit of positivity. As usual, see below all the menu photos.