Who's got the best pizza in town? It depends a lot on what style you like - simple, fun or just plain wacky, so we got together with our panel to see what they thought of a few local pies: Davide Cambana (executive chef at Lan Kwai Fong Entertainment and Baci Italian restaurant), Marco Furlan (executive chef at Habitu restaurant) and Michele Senigaglia (executive chef at DiVino and Goccia) helped take us through the finer points of what makes a pizza great. We randomly selected among the 100 pizza restaurants sprinkled throughout the city, busted out the Pinot Noir and dug in. California Pizza Kitchen : Shop 1306, 13/F, Food Forum, Times Square, 1 Matheson St., Causeway Bay, 3102-9132. It’s known for the west-coast style “gourmet pizza” and claims to be the creator of the classic barbecue chicken pizza. Chose between regular crust or honey wheat depending on your mood. Cost : $ 72-98/pie Crust: Standard and thin crust baked daily Sauce : Imported from the US Our take : Not a bad deal for the price, but let’s just say it strays a little from the Italian style. Open : Daily 11:30-midnight Cul-de-Sac : 17 Wing Wah Lane., Lan Kwai Fong, 2525-8116. American-style pizza by the slice or pie. Cost : $25 /slice, any extra $5, $150 for 16” whole pie Crust: Thick crust freshly baked daily Sauce: Homemade tomato-based sauce made with tomatoes and oregano from Italy; other vegetables including garlic and sautéed onions from local suppliers Our take : “Good anchovies and not-too-bad mozzarella,” said Senigaglia. It’s a good bet on a late night on the rails, the consistency is solid, and it’s plenty cheesy without having to ask. Open : Sun-Wed 11am-4am; Thu-Sat 11am-6am New York Pizzah: G/F, 17 Gough St., Central, 2840-0055. A Gough street classic and one of the more original slices of New York-style pie, grab their best-selling mushroom pizza by the slice. Cost : $18-23/slice, 15” $108-138, 18” $138-168 Crust : Thin crust, handmade Sauce : Canned Heinz tomato paste. Tomato halves, onions, garlic, herbs from local suppliers Our take : We used to come here all the time for the thin crust and rich, salty sauce - who knew it was Heinz?. Sometimes erratic hours, just bang on the door if it’s closed. When NoHo first started it was a steady destination and still an old favorite. Open : Daily 11:30 am for takeaway and delivery, 6pm-10:30pm Pepperoni’s: 8 Staunton St., SoHo, 2869-1766. The New Orleans pizza (roast potato, spinach, chicken, mushroom, sour cream, chili) is one of the most famous. Cost : $75-130/pie Crust : Regular and thin, baked daily Sauce : Canned tomato sauce from Italy Our take : “This would be great for Asian people because it’s got a good variety of toppings; the dough is good, not too thick,” said Furlan. It’s a little complicated but the chili adds a nice balance. It started out as a venue for expats in Sai Kung but has changed with the times and local tastes to bring in the local crowd, so you’ll often find “unusual” and sweeter ingredients like barbecued pork which takes a bit of getting used to. Open : Daily 10:30am-10pm Pizzeria Italia: Shop 1, 1-7 Mosque St., Mid-Levels, 2525-2519. This was the Italians’ favorite. Cost : The Margherita is $100 for 14 inches, Crust : Thin, homemade Sauce : Simple really, just tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and oregano. Our take : Cambana said, “This is the best one I tried. Do it justice and have it straight out of the oven at the restaurant.” Senigaglia added, “This sauce is made of real tomatoes, seasoned with oil, and basil leaf. This really tastes like pizza,” while Furlan said, “overall it’s good because the mozzarella is dense.” Open : Daily noon-11pm. Spaghetti House: Shop 2004, International Finance Center Mall, Central, 2147-5543. Lobster pasta on pizza ($158). Cost : $79-158 Crust : Thick crust, handmade Sauce : Tomato sauce We have to admit this was a surprise, pasta on pizza, which makes it a bit of a challenge to keep nice and neat – you’re best off with a knife and fork on this one. “Well, the crust is crispy,” said Furlan. “But this is quite a different style than what I’m used to, this isn’t really Italian style.” Cambana adds, “I guess it’s popular because anything with noodles is popular here.” This is the kind of “fusion” pizza more popular with locals than expats. Open : 11am-10:30pm. Wildfire: 21 Elgin St., SoHo 2810-0670. Try the wafer-thin crust “black forest” pizza. The mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella, roasted garlic, cured ham, pine nuts and truffle oil topping hits the spot ($119). Cost : $119 per pie Crust : Thin 12” crust Sauce : Homemade barbecue, tomato, pesto sauces from ingredients imported from Italy Our take : “Cooked very well, not heavy. Good for sharing because you could not finish this yourself,” said Furlan. We found the truffle oil to be a real belly-filler, it’s unusual that such an expensive ingredient is sprinkled so liberally on a dish – but we like that. Open : Daily 11am-12:30am, late delivery Fri-Sat until 2am on Elgin St and for the World Cup daily until 2am until Jul 10. Origins of Pizza Chef's Ordering Tips
