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2020-01-30
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Summary: My favorite pizza place in HK right now. Great prices, terrific pizza and quality ingredients; i ate an entire margherita pie and didn't leave a scrap. Sizable and reasonably priced drinks list and perfect for groups. The menu is limited, so be ready for a seriously pizza-centric meal, which is not a bad thing. Will more than satisfy your pizza cravings without breaking the bank. Highly recommended.The Pizza Project, part of the Pirata group, has finally opened in the unlucky space p
The Pizza Project, part of the Pirata group, has finally opened in the unlucky space previously occupied by Chifa (and many others) on Peel street, and has transformed it into a smaller than you'd think casual pizza restaurant.
Let's be honest; pizza in HK is terrible. It's insanely overpriced, which I understand, but can't forgive. It's also totally mediocre and besides maybe Ciao Chow, I can't tell you one place I look forward to having a pie at (Andrea's is okay but it's take out). All you need to know about the miserable state of HK pizza is that Kytaly is still around (yes that's the one with the $300 pizzas). Having been trapped in this dough-sert for years now, i hope you can understand my excitement for TPP.
Here are the menus:
As you can see the menu is extremely limited with just 6 appetizers, and a few gnocco fritto (fried dough) to accompany the pizza selection. Kind of strange choices given that two of the appetizers are cheese related, and the gnocco are all dough obviously; too similar to the pizzas to be enticing for me. 
They also have a hilarious and affordable tasting menu, which the couple next to me had, and included the tuna carpaccio, some gnocco, two pizzas and a desert that i didn't see.
The wine list is incredibly reasonable for Soho or anywhere (300 a bottle? What?) and they have plenty of choices. I love that they’ve embraced the casualness of a pizza place and offered up lower margin wine. Wine and pizza should not be an exorbitant combination, it should be a given!Tuna Carpaccio
The only appetizer for 1 person that wasn't a salad or that wouldn't appear on my pizza later; this was actually pretty good. It won't set your world on fire, but their olive oil is incredibly delicious (mouth-filling savoriness is how i'd describe it), and the slight citrus from the orange is a nice touch.Anyway all this is fluff, how's the pizza??
I tried their margherita, the benchmark for every real pizza place, and it was terrific. Delicious and appropriately sized DOP mozzarella blobs top a zingy and fresh tomato sauce, with fresh basil and a wonderful crust.
A bit more color on crust: For me, there are four main types of crust that you find internationally at "real" pizza places. This is outside of Italy of course, which has so many more. 1) Napolitana style: Wood fired for just a minute, the crust comes out slightly blistered but remains quite chewy inside. It's quite flimsy as a base so you need to eat it with a fork and knife or it collapses everywhere. In HK, you can find this at Motorino's or preferably Ciao Chow
2) NY pizza - Much thicker at the bottom with a lot more ingredients and fired for much longer. These are crunchier (when hot) and you can eat them by hand (folded up a la Sat Night Fever). Paisano's or Mother of Pizza does this
3) Thin - super thin with minimal ingredients and cheese - light and airy with a crunch and not a lot of chewy doughiness. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a "real" pizza type, but Andrea's Thin Crust pie in SYP has something like this
4) Combination of (1) and (2); these are fired much longer than neapolitan pies, but are not as thick as NY style. It's now fully crunchy outside, while still a bit chewy inside, and holds together if you use your hands (for awhile anyway). This style is hard to pull off because it's often overcooked (or uses the wrong dough recipe) and becomes just bread, with no difference between exterior and interior. However, if done right, it's my favorite style.
I'm here to tell you that The Pizza Project does (4) perfectly. Their pizza crust is amazing and with some of their wonderful olive oil as a dip, i ate the entire pie, crust and all.
Overall, the Pizza Project is a total win. Between great pizza, a terrific drinks list and very reasonable prices, it has all the hallmarks of a smash hit opening. While it's located in a cursed retail space, I presume rental prices have hollowed out enough over the past year for them to stick around. Bottom Line: if you like pizza (and you don't really have a choice if you eat here), you will love the Pizza Project. Good pizza in Central has for too long been an "experience" that costs way too much. Enough.
Pizza is comfort food for everyone, and I shouldn't need to pay 250 a pie to get that. Thank you TPP!
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