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2021-05-27
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Summary: Good pizza for an area that has a lot of great choices. Pleasant place to people watch, though Wyndham isn’t what it used to be. Go for the ambience, but avoid that Carbonara pizza.The most incredible HK food transformation since I arrived in 2014 is how the city suddenly became a, if not world-class then just the tier below, pizza city. When I arrived, it was basically Motorino’s (which I don’t love), 208 Duecento Otto (which I actually dislike), the chains (Pizza Express and PHD) and
The most incredible HK food transformation since I arrived in 2014 is how the city suddenly became a, if not world-class then just the tier below, pizza city. When I arrived, it was basically Motorino’s (which I don’t love), 208 Duecento Otto (which I actually dislike), the chains (Pizza Express and PHD) and that was it. I remember I used to actually complain how I couldn’t find a good, decently priced pizza in HK. Now, on a given day in Central/Sheung Wan, I have at least 4-5 fantastic choices; it’s remarkable.
That said, the latest “serious” pizza place to open is an expansion of Repulse’ Bay’s Amalfitana to Wyndham, where they’ve converted it to a pseudo-Mediterranean eatery with lots of white and giant casement windows (that open upwards). Very comfortable, though I hope they close the windows in summer… We went during it’s first week or two so still no liquor license. They use a gas-fired stove that looks a lot like a classic Ferrara wood-fired oven; seeing more and more of them recently, and they seem to do a pretty good job.
Here’s the menu
We were pizza-focused so we only tried one of their appetizers and two piesEggplant Polpette:
Deep-fried, eggplant cheese balls with a red pesto dip. Pretty much as you’d expect, but the scamorza cheese is delightfully stringy. Worth a try with a larger group maybe.Napoli Pizza
A pizza I’d come back for. Love the giant olives (though for the price you’d think they’d use real Italian olives and not these canned things) and the generous anchovies. You can see the pedigree of the outer crust, which hit all the right chewy, slightly burnt notes. The base of the pie is thin, but not as soggy and fragile as a typical Neapolitan pizza; a nice balance. At 180$ it’s on the pricey side, but I think for the location it’s tolerable.Carbonara Pizza
A weird mess – they whisk an egg and spread it all over the top of the pie… by the time the pie comes out it’s a layer of scrambled egg that doesn’t go with the other ingredients. I’ve had pizzas with egg before, but the egg is usually only semi-cooked, or even raw. This fluffy layer of egg just kills the texture of the pie and alters its balance in all the wrong ways. Just a disasterTiramisu
My friend thought it was fine.Overall, it’s a nice addition to the LKF section of Wyndham street, which has never been known for food. They charge location-appropriate prices (read: overpriced) for solid pizza and an attractive setting. Service was accommodating, though I still get emails with the manager’s private reservation link *eyeroll. *
If you’re looking just for great pizza though, I’d recommend the better Ciao Chow or Babacio which are less than 100m away. However, if you’re tied to street-level Wyndham shops; avoid the Carbonara, expect inflated prices, and you’ll have a good time.
Addendum on “Serious” Pizza
Had a conversation the other day with someone about pizza – they were in the “pizza is junk food for college kids” camp, while I am obviously not. The difference between the pizza I grew up with from Pizza Hut and the kind I write about here is so large as to be different food categories.
A serious pizza understands the balance of the trinity; dough, tomato, cheese; and gives each the consideration they are due.
Pizza dough can come in a lot of varieties, but the best are simple: AVPN (certified Neapolitan pizza) dough only contains a specific flour (refined Italian 0 or 00) salt, yeast and water. It should be left to ferment, and then fired briefly at high heat so that the the outer edge (or cornicione) remains a bit chewy, but its outside is slightly burnt and crunchy. There should be no “dough” or “flour” taste anywhere
Cheese can either cover the whole pie or be in splodges –I prefer the latter, usually because it means that higher quality fior de latte or buffalo mozz is used. However, lots of good pies use smaller flakes of mozzarella which needs to be spread more evenly, and that can work too. What is not acceptable is a pie with so much cheese that it’s thicker than the crust, such that the balance of the two is lost. The crust’s texture should dominate the pie, with the cheese being a complementary hit of salt and creaminess. In addition, the cheese cannot overwhelm the tomato sauce, which adds acidity and brightness to the combination; too many pies bury cheap tomato sauce with cheap mozzarella, making the pie rubbery and overwhelming: good pizza shouldn't really be a heavy food
Finally, the tomato sauce should be simple – great tomatoes maybe cooked down a bit for consistency, with a bit of salt and maybe olive oil. It should retain its tanginess and tomato character; the aim is not to make a thinner pasta sauce. AVPN pizza calls for uncooked peeled tomatoes for gosh sakes. Pizza tomato sauce is supposed to bring color and some acidity to a salty, bread-y, cheesy dish; it shouldn’t be another salty, rich ingredient.
Non-serious pizza messes up one or all of these things, turning a delicious, perfectly balanced snack into an overbearing, messy, heavy, oily tragedy. A pizza at Gustaci and one from Pizza Express, though both certainly edible, are from different worlds, and neither are helped by being directly compared. It’s like HK tomato soup noodles and a Pasta Pomodoro; I enjoy both but it’s bizarre and unfair to talk about them side-by-side.
TLDR: Junk pizza can be for college kids yes, but serious pizza should be for everyone
張貼
