The primary Asian outpost of the famed pizza chain flies the flag for Italian tradition with high-quality imported ingredients and fabulous low-yeast dough.
Top-ranked Roman pan pizza specialist Alice Pizza celebrates the soft opening of its debut Asian branch in Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, on 12 September 2023. It’s renowned for deliciously thin, light, and crispy pizza, baked in large, rectangular tins, sliced to order, and sold by weight. This traditional Italian concept allows mixing, matching, and sharing for joyful pizza tasting and feasting with family and friends.
Hailed as Italy’s first pizza chain and named among the many Top Pizzerias in Italy 2023 by rating platform Gambero Rosso, Alice Pizza has been dropped at Asia by luxury brand distributor Bluebell Group. With many of the ingredients imported from Italy and the Hong Kong pizzaioli (pizza makers) trained by instructors from the Alice Pizza Academy, the local branch is true to the brand heritage of authentic, artisanal Roman pan pizzas purchased by the gram – with 7 million kg sold worldwide annually.
The Roman pizza ‘by the cut’ concept – freshly baked pizza, cut into pieces and weighed to order, in a legacy of its street-food origins – adds to the fun and number of pizza indulgence. A normal slice will weigh from 100g-160g depending on the ingredients on top, with prices starting from HK$25 for 100g of Margherita – a standard favorite amongst some 24 each day decisions – to HK$45 for 100g of Parma.
The oven is the center of a pizzeria, and the dough is the key to its success. Alice Pizza Hong Kong advantages from an Italian-made multi-chambered electric oven an identical to that utilized by its sister shops across Italy and across the globe. Pizzas are baked for about 9 minutes at temperatures starting from 280 to 300 degrees, with electric ovens best for baking the brand’s signature thin, light, and crispy base. Temperature and timing may be set individually inside each chamber for perfect, precise cooking of every tempting flavor.
Crucial ingredient is the dough since its quality and recipe determine pizza texture and taste. Starting with Italian flour and extra-virgin olive oil, Alice Pizza’s high-quality dough uses a tenth of the brewer’s yeast typically present in a Roman pan pizza – a refinement accounting for the lighter, crispier, healthier base that has change into the brand hallmark. Wealthy in oxygen and due to this fact very digestible, the dough rises slowly for at least 24 hours at a controlled temperature. It’s kneaded by hand and rolled out fastidiously to put inside a calmly oiled rectangular baking pan.
The tomato sauce used to coat the dough is the second essential ingredient. Seasoned with extra-virgin olive oil, oregano, and salt, this zesty sauce is the inspiration for toppings bursting with fresh, seasonal ingredients from Italy or the local markets.
The pizza menu runs the gamut from classic flavors to vegetarian and vegan decisions and modern creations. The Traditional range are the best-seller in Italy, led by Margherita (HK$25/100g) – a Naples classic, invented in 1889 and named after the then-Italian queen. Italiana (HK$35/100g) embraces tomato, stracciatella (the inner a part of burrata cheese), basil, and additional virgin olive oil. The creamy favorite of Carbonara (HK$38/100g) uses pasteurized egg, mozzarella, Pecorino Romano cheese, guanciale (Italian pork cheek), and black pepper. Compared, the Signature selection of Mortadella (HK$38/100g) features mortadella (Italian luncheon meat), stracciatella, and pistachio.
Other Signature picks include Truffle (HK$38/100g) with mozzarella, mixed mushroom, truffle sauce and many Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese; Parma (HK$45/100g) headlined by 17-month-aged Parma ham, mozzarella, Italian yellow cherry tomato and rocket; and the veritable country garden of Rustica (HK$32/100g) – broccoli, mushroom and potato topped by Parmigiano Reggiano. Diavola (HK$32/100g) – Ventricina (Italian spicy salami), mozzarella and tomato – and cheesy Gricia (HK$38/100g) – sliced guanciale (Italian pork cheek), mozzarella, Pecorino Romano cheese and a 4-cheese sauce – are two tasty traditional toppings.
Salmone (HK$38/100g), featuring the smoked fish accompanied by tomato and lettuce, tops the seafood pizzas, together with Gamberetti (HK$32/100g), which stars mazzancolle shrimps backed by tomato, iceberg lettuce, and mayo. Vegans and adventurous eaters will relish Eggplant (HK$30/100g), doused in freshly made extra virgin olive oil sauce with loads of chili and the must-try Potato Chips (HK$25/100g), flavored with extra virgin olive oil and rosemary.
Essentially the most iconic topping is Nutella Pizza (HK$35 per piece), a sweet sensation easily spotted on the front of the counter because the brand’s earliest days. The Italian hazelnut and chocolate paste was created in Piedmont in 1946, and it is just spread on the highest of the pizza dough for pure joy.
When the primary Alice Pizza shop opened in Via delle Grazie at the sting of Vatican City in central Rome 34 years ago, founder Domenico Giovannini vowed to bring the culture and tradition of Roman pan pizza to the world. His pizza was soon hailed by food critics as the most effective in Rome, and the brand expanded across the country and overseas. The Alice Pizza Academy was launched in 2013 to coach pizzaioli, maintaining the unique, authentic, artisanal preparation of Roman pan pizza throughout greater than 200 restaurants today.
“I’m delighted that the authentic tastes of Roman pan pizza have reached Hong Kong, where I’m confident customers will embrace the spirit of pizza by the cut. It allows the blissful sharing of various fillings, from traditional recipes to modern recent creations, all made using the best, freshest ingredients and the eagerness of Italy,” says Alice Pizza founder Domenico Giovannini. “I’m grateful to Bluebell Group for his or her dedication in steering Alice Pizza into Asia.”
“I’m very excited to partner with the Alice Italy team to open the primary restaurant in Asia, choosing Hong Kong as the primary market on this a part of the world; I used to be impressed by their success and fast expansion in Italy. The food scene in Hong Kong is ultra-competitive but we consider the Alice Roman pizza concept, offering high-quality Italian products at fair prices, can be well received,” says Bluebell Greater China Managing Director Samy Redjeb. “I would love to thank the Alice team for his or her level of commitment and spirit of partnership, which was a key element for this enterprise.”
The 800 sq. ft length of the Hong Kong branch is flanked by a protracted window frontage with tables for 28 diners and a sleek counter. The brand’s signature hues of green, white, and red appear in snazzy neon signage – ideal for snapping and posting – that highlights a love of pizza and Rome. White partitions and floor, dressed with a jazzy line of tiles, create a brilliant, contemporary vibe. Adding to the homely appeal are the sights and sounds of an open kitchen and the colourful colours and aromas of freshly baked pizzas waiting to be cut.
Alice Pizza Hong Kong is positioned at G/F, 92 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, and opens from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day, starting on 12 September 2023. For more information, please visit www.alicepizza.hk, call (852) 2518-3502, or email clientcare@alicepizza.hk.
Like and connect with Alice Pizza Hong Kong on:
Facebook: @AlicePizzaHK
Instagram: @alicepizzahk
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