Archive for June 1st, 2008
Pizza Express
C and I met two of our friends for a belated birthday dinner last night at Pizza Express. She had meant it as a surprise, but *cough cough* I guessed she had something up her sleeve.
It was mostly full on a Saturday evening at 830pm, which I would expect for such a popular place at a convenient location. It has a really comfortable laid back vibe, especially on the second floor. But just be warned that they lack staff, so don’t expect warm and efficient service. They took far too long to sit us, get the menus, or add water without asking twice.
We ordered baked mushroms, garlic bread, lasagne pasticciate and an arugula and prosciutto neapolitan. The baked mushrooms seems popular, every other table seems to have them. I was slightly disappointed with the portions. They came with on a big plate, but there were just 6 mushrooms. The description said comes with a “side of dough boys”, which is just plain misleading when half of the plate were those bread balls. The mushrooms stuffed in cheese were nice enough, but I thought the variety of cheese didn’t meld so well together.
The garlic bread I thought was disappointing. There was no garlic flavor! The lasagne came and portions were smaller than expected. Each of us had about two spoonfuls and it was gone. The lasagne was slightly creamier than I would’ve liked. C summed it up, “It’s probably not bad but I’ve been spoiled by Gaia.” My sentiments exactly.
But the pizza was the star and it was great. I’m not a pizza expert, but I like my pies thin and crispy, not soggy and fresh ingredients. Our arugula and prosciutto fit just that. It’s a very classic flavor combination and came across very well. I loved the wilted arugula (but then I like arugula in any way, shape or form).
We were still hungry at that point, and decided to get another pie, the trifolata neapolitan, which is essentially several types of mushrooms. It came in about 15 minutes and looked gorgeous. The pie is substantially richer with a tomato base and globs of melted cheese and mushroom slices.
One bite and we were sold. No wonder it’s the fan favorite on openrice. This felt decadent, biting into simultaneous flavors and textures: sweet, tangy, savory, earthy and chewy. I couldn’t really taste the truffle oil, but there was an earthy aftertaste which could’ve been either that or one of the mushrooms. But even after about two slices, it didn’t feel greasy. It really is a cut above pizza hut, and I reckon even California Pizza.
With a bottle of sparkling water, the entire bill came up to slightly under HK$600 for four. It’s not expensive for the food and location. I might not come here if I wanted really authentic pizza, but if I want a place to chill out before clubbing on Saturday, PE might fit the bill.
