If you’ve got the munchies for pizza, who says you can’t make it yourself? There’s no excuse really – as we recently found out when Carpaccio, a slice of Italian goodness located in Tsim Sha Tsui, invited us along to one of their chef pizza-making sessions to pick up a few insider tips and tricks.
Located in the iSquare mall, Carpaccio’s pizza-making sessions are held at the forefront of the restaurant, allowing passers-by to peer in and hear Chef Michele Senigaglia taking us through some of his signature Italian recipes and impressing us all with his pizza-making demos! One of his biggest tips was to remember to let your pizza dough stand for eight minutes after making them into balls, then cover your baking tray with cling film and refrigerate for four hours. He also showed us how to fix your dough if you accidentally stretch it too thin, plus how to add a splash of water if your dough is too dry or a sprinkling of flour if your dough seems too wet – after all, we can’t all be pizza pros straight off the bat!
Immersed in the aromas of homemade dough and seasonal produce, we got to hear several of Chef Michele’s tips – for example, that “less is more” when it comes to selecting your ingredients. For Chef Michele, the simplest pizza is the best and raw vegetables, cheese, truffles and herbs are his toppings of choice. And take note – always finish off your pizza with salt, which helps to releases the starch and gluten in the dough for more flavour. Amongst our Sassy posse, there were enough pizza tasters along the way for us to test out some of his freshly-made flavours, including Margherita, rosemary, salami and (our personal favourite) buffalo mozzarella. Bellissima!
Following our pizza-making session, we sat down to dinner at Carpaccio of Italian salad, pasta and, si, even more pizze. Our pizza-making session came about thanks to Soda – a rewards card that includes many restaurants around Hong Kong, where you gain points for checking in at machines in the chosen restaurants or via the Soda app, which you can then redeem for special offers or discounts. Stock up enough points and you too can enjoy a group pizza-making class on the house at Carpaccio, whilst several of Team Sassy took advantage of our new Soda cards by redeeming a free cocktail with dinner as well (which you didn’t need ANY points for – score!).
You can check out the rest of the venues that offer special Soda privileges on their website here so make sure to pick up a card soon and get redeeming… and next time you’re in iSquare, remember to stop by Carpaccio to rack up a few more points! Next pizza-making class, here we come!
Fab photos thanks to Natalie of 3 Bad Mice!
Carpaccio Shop 307, 3/F, iSquare, 63 Nathon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
2328 5202 www.carpaccio.com.hk/