Thursday 16 August 2012

Pizzazaza: zazazazazazazazazazazazaza!!


Shop info:
Pizzazaza
G/F, 7 Wun Sha Street, Tai Hang
Tel:  2881 8287

15 August 2012, dinner
$180 per head


This was, actually, part three to Locust Tunghok and I's dinner in Tai Hang on this hot and humid day.  For no logical reason whatsoever, we decided to start our even with a rather expensive yet disappointing yakitori dinner with Sapporo beer at a nearby new-ish restaurant called Ikki (一輝日本料理), followed by a scoop of smooth and rich chocolate ice-cream at the recently opened Lab Made.  We locusts were still hungry (trust me, we smartly refrained from ordering much on our first round at that yakitori place) and we happened to see this new pizzeria, so in we went.

Pizzazaza (previously known as MIST Pizzeria) was the new opening by the ex-boss of the ramen shop MIST in Causeway Bay of Michelin 1-star fame.  The starred restaurant was unfortunately closed following shareholder disputes between the Hong Kong owner and the Japanese advisor (please correct if I’m mistaken on this) and the Hong Kong owner invested to open three new shops in Causeway Bay / Tin Hau.  Pizzazaza was the first to come, followed with the just opened Rasupermen (ramen, of course.  Priced lower than MIST) at Hysan Square and the soon-to-be-launched Sawadelight at MIST’s old place.

THE ENVIRONMENT
Pizzazaza, rather unlike MIST ramen, is a casual diner located on Wun Sha Street, at the shop where “Little White House” used to be.  Perhaps to show its break from MIST’s rather serious, carefully choreographed and poker faced style, the name of the restaurant was recently changed to Pizzazaza.  So recent, that the store-front still says MIST Pizzeria!


The inside of the store is of a relaxing white.  Space between tables are understandably limited due to the very narrow store front but dining here doesn’t feel particularly claustrophobic thanks to the high ceiling and the light coloured walls.  Various artworks are hung on the walls and the yellow hued window into the kitchen showcases a collection of pans and other kitchen tools.

What I liked most, though, was the menu which is shaped like a pizza!

THE SERVICE
I was very impressed by the wait-staff here.  Not only are they very aware of what they serve, they were also aware of what ingredients are used, how the food taste and good combinations.  The waitress who took our order, for instance, suggested the bread basket to go with the slow cooked egg with wild mushrooms, and described the different flavours of the three types of beer they serve.  Another waitress told us what ingredients are used in their impressive looking mountain like Rucola pizza and how it’s constructed.  Yet another waitress taught us how best to eat the slow cooked egg and pointed out every ingredients in the dish.  This is the kind of knowledge we come to expect of Michelin starred restaurant staff, but unheard of at a casual pizzeria!

It was actually more than that.  I actually felt that they are genuinely proud of the food they serve, have probably tried most of them and is happy to tell customers about them.  Hell, they were more enthusiastic and genuine than the waiters who served us at Robuchon a Galera / au Dome in Macau.

THE FOOD
Obviously, good environment and friendly helpful staff is not enough to get me excited for a pizzeria.  The food need to match.  And the food was certainly decent.  Here we go…


Having had a tiny half pant Sapporo between us locusts, we did not plan to have more beer here… yet the waitress suggested their special beers, named Pizzazaza, Sawadelight and Rasupermen respectively.  I was pretty sure that these weren’t going to be house brewed (that would be asking a bit much, right?).  These were actually re-labelled bottled beer.  The one we ordered (Pizzazaza a.k.a. Weizen) was from the Kiuchi Brewery in Naka-shi of the Ibaraki prefecture in Japan.  As the waitress suggested, there was a slight banana-like flavour to the beer, which was light and refreshing.



To our surprise, the ($5 per portion) bread basket came with olive oil & vinegar, pesto and a spicy tomato puree.  The three items seems brought in but I liked the “inflated” grissini-thing.

Slow cooked egg with wild mushrooms, potato puree and black truffle sauce ($108)

We at this as suggested, mixing the potato, egg, truffle, mushroom and the spinach puree on the side and dipping with the inflated grissini.  Egg was nicely cooked, mushroom well sautéed, potato puree smooth and generous scoop of black truffle sauce.  Couldn’t be bad, really!  Yum!

Pizza Margherita ($158)
Buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes & basil

Pizza was nice too – the thin crust was dry and not soggy with a wheat-y flavour especially on the rim.  The mozzarella was richer than the usual tasteless crap we find on Margheritas from a lot of “pizza restaurants” in town and the cherry tomatoes were fresh and retained that nice natural sweetness to it.  We were actually pondering, when we ordered, that why this Margherita is $40 richer than the Quattro formaggi pizza as usually it’s the other way round.  This is well worth the price!

CONCLUSION
I like this pizzeria.  I like the pizza, the slow cooked egg, the beer, the staff’s enthusiasm and the happy dining ambiance of the place.  If you look at price, at $180 per head this was in the same price range as the nearby Piccolo pizzeria (which, IMHO, despite having a nice wood-fired oven was not as good as its sister shop in Kennedy Town).  Recommended!

Summary (rated 1-5):
FOOD:  (4/5)  
SERVICE:  (4.5/5)  very good service
ENVIRONMENT:  (4/5)  Nice and relaxing.  Slightly crowded though.
BIG LOCUST'S RECOMMENDATION:  (4.5/5)  Recommended.  It’s not perfect, but for this price?  Must try!

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