Why Sonny’s Pizza takeaway in Hong Kong is selling by-the-slice New York pizza, and its hot dog and ice cream partners

Takeaway-only Sonny’s Pizza in SoHo sells New York-style pizza by the slice. It’s the brainchild of chef Son Pham, and Shakib Pasha of Ming Fat Group

Sonny’s, which uses a special fermented dough for its pizza bases, shares its space with Randy’s Hotdogs, and with Milk, which sells soft-serve ice cream

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A slice of pie from Sonny’s Pizza, newly opened in SoHo, Hong Kong, which sells takeaway-only New York-style pizza made with a special dough. Photo: Sonny’s Pizza

Published: 12:45pm, 16 May 2024Updated: 1:13pm, 16 May 2024

Pizza is commonly eaten by the slice in North America, on the go and with no pressure to commit to an entire pie. Hongkongers, though, still tend to associate pizzas with either home delivery or dining in, sitting down in a restaurant or Neapolitan-style pizzeria to share a whole pizza.

“I think it’s a cultural thing,” says chef Son Pham, who splits his time between Singapore and Hong Kong. “In the West, lots of people walk and eat, whereas in Asia, I don’t find too much of that.

“Everyone likes to sit down, chat and hang out. Maybe that’s why not many have ventured into the single slice model.”

The few by-the-slice pizzerias in Hong Kong have mostly been limited to venues such as Paisano; Alice Pizzeria is a more recent entrant from Italy, serving pizzas that are cut to order in rectangular slabs.

Son Pham (right) and Shakib Pasha, owners of Sonny’s Pizza, at their shop in SoHo, Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Pham and his business partner Shakib Pasha are hoping to add their own take to the limited market in the form of Sonny’s Pizza, a freshly opened New York-style, strictly takeaway joint in SoHo, on the southwest corner of Hollywood Road and Elgin Street, serving up no-frills, high-quality pizza slices.