Lamma Island Pizza Milano

> Location : 9/F, Cheung Hing Comm. Bldg., 37-43 Cochrane St.,
Central, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Italian pizza, calzone, pasta, salad, tiramisu
> Tel. # : (852) 2581-2848
> Website : N/A

Lamma island pizza milano's original home is, like the name of the restaurant, at lamma island. lamma island belongs on the new territory side of hong kong. located directly across from pizza express on the 9th floor, lamma island pizza milano is pretty hidden except for the big sign telling you where it is right above the 7-eleven. so after a creepy elevator ride (the elevator is fairly old making weird sounds kind of like in a video game or scary movie), haha, we got into the restaurant.

the restaurant isn't too big as guessed since most of these upper story lots of old buildings are usually like this. the restaurant can hold about 35-40 ish people max. the decoration and the colors used are all very traditional italian restaurant base / italy flag colors (green, white, red). it seems to me this restaurant is family base. the cook was chinese and knew cantonese and the waitress was filippino and she was the cook's husband. it was around peak lunch time and there was nobody to be seen except for us! so of course we were skeptical. however, it is somewhat hidden and on the 9th floor so they have the benefit of the doubt.

so there were two menus. the first menu is the original menu with salad, soup, bread, calzone, pizza, pasta and any type of usual italian flavors you can think of. the second menu is the lunch special menu (labelled as limited time), which features a set lunch with pasta or pizza to choose from. the pizza would give you an 8 inch size one. every set comes with a drink and also soup or salad. their version of a salad is a bruschetta like dish. it is four fresh slices of tomatoes with garlic and black pepper on top along with parsley sprinkled all over the dish. a little garnish for decoration in the middle. pricing ranges around the 50 hkd to 70 hkd. it might seem a lot but an 8 inch pizza is about 5 slices. they aren't fat slices but more like sicilian pizza crust. still, 5 for one person is a lot. i had 2-3 and i almost passed out, haha.

so of course, the restaurant name has the word pizza in it, i have to give pizza a try! so i went with what the waitress recommended, #14, italia: tomato, mozzarella, onion, mushrooms, pancetta bacon and garlic. all those ingredients seem understandable enough except for what? pancetta? well, pancetta bacon is an italian bacon made from rolled cured pork belly that is seasoned with cayenne, salt, garlic and other spices. yes, it must be good when cooked right? haha. so the pizza comes and the first thing i noticed was, "man, toppings are loaded!" you don't have to worry about the lack of ingredients and just all cheese and tomato sauce. lamma island pizza milano packs every inch of the pizza with toppings and that certainly won't disappoint you! the bacon certainly was very flavorful and every bite is just great. saltiness wise, it wasn't very salty like a lot of chain pizza places, it wasn't tasteness either of course. to me, it was done just right, right in the middle but a little bit over around the 65-70% mark of saltiness. the crust is a thin type like sicilian style. it was very crispy and consistent that way throughout the edge. they also provided tabasco sauce for the pizza which i actually tried a little. you know, it actually works out! haha. i don't think it's the greatest combination, a meaty pizza and tabasco sauce, however, i think it is still very unique and deserves an experience. i can certainly say for now, this pizza beats out the two i've tried at pizza express. not by a far amount, but right above it. enough said, i enjoyed it a lot!

so the second thing ordered was the tagliatella al salmone (smoked salmon in creamy curry sauce) set lunch pasta. first came the "salad." as described earlier, it was four slices of tomato. they were fairly fresh and the combination of the raw chopped garlic and parsley over the tomatoes was a nice touch. certainly, it was a simple salad but to me i think it's presented nicely and very healthy too. tomatoes give a lot of vitamin c and also garlic especially when raw helps the immune system a lot. taste wise, it kind of reminds you of a bruschetta but not as sour and lacking the garlic taste. very unique indeed. so on with the pasta. what caught my attention with this set lunch is the word "curry." italian food and curry don't quite match in my usual experiences. so i went with it. when it came, the pasta used is wheat or corn flour ciriole. the sauce on the pasta is rich but not super rich. most of the sauce sank to the bottom when it came. but when compared to t.e., it was a lot creamier. the taste of the sauce had a mild curry taste to it. the curry taste is of a curry powder like taste. the combination of the curry pasta with the smoked salmon is quite an interesting couple. ciriole is a heavy thick pasta so along with the creamy sauce, it is one heavy dish! the dish is very dependent on the smoked salmon. every bite should contain some. without it, it is still good but the taste is just a bit mild. overall, good and interesting but not as exciting as the pizza.

unexpected yet good, lamma island pizza milano's first experience was very good. i want to note that normal ordering of pizza is by 8 1/2 inch, 10 inch or 14 inch. 10 inch being medium sized with 6 topping filled slices. prices range from $65 hkd to $105 hkd for 10 inch and $105 hkd to $148 hkd for 14 inch. anyways, like always, things can change with further experiences, but for now, i'm giving it a great score of...

< 4 out of 5 >