Pizza is not as simple as it appears. Practice and precise ratios are required when it comes to making a good pie. In Hong Kong, the pizza standards are high, and it’s safe to say we’re always on the hunt for a delicious slice.
The Point in Tsim Sha Tsui claims to serve “the best pizza we’d never had”. It’s a pretty bold claim to be making, so we wanted to see if The Point’s pizza really lives up to these words.
The casual eatery is located in a mall called The ONE off Nathan Road, which is quite the maze to navigate. The restaurant has an open-dining concept and looks inviting with simple decoration, but there’s nothing eye-catching about it. We assume its food must be the focus.
In addition to pizza, the menu is filled with classic Italian starters, pasta and risotto dishes and desserts. When you go to The Point, you’re in for a night of carbs and sizeable portions.
Easing in, we ordered the caprese salad ($116), drizzled in a sweet balsamic sauce. The tomatoes weren’t as ripe as we would have liked, but the mozzarella serving was enormous – this picture doesn’t do it justice.
The meatballs ($84) could be a meal on their own, dressed in a chunky tomato sauce that was unfortunately too acidic and concentrated, as if it had come directly from a tin.
When it comes to pizza, The Point offers “cross-border” combinations incorporating local Asian ingredients. All the pizzas contain an abundance of toppings, but The Point’s crust is too thick for our liking, making the pizzas much heavier than anticipated.
The slow-cooked duck pizza ($172) came fresh out of the oven covered in deep-fried onion shavings, with a sweet glaze drizzled all over the pie. But the roasted duck was overcooked and buried underneath, and the Gorgonzola was too dominant and pungent for us. This pizza is definitely experimental, but the flavour seems less important than the creative toppings.
The margherita pizza ($116) was perplexing. The mozzarella was clustered in the centre and had melted into a blob. The cherry tomatoes didn’t complement the flavour, but did the opposite by enhancing the tomato sauce and making it taste more acidic than it needed to be. Pulling this pizza apart for a slice wasn’t easy; the cheese slid right off and remained stuck to the dish on which the pie was baked. Aesthetics again triumphed functionality here, and I found myself eating a chewy, soft tomato bread rather than a pizza.
Skip dessert. The brownie in a pan ($68) was mediocre – too many nuts in the brownie, and the fake sugar leaf was a turn-off. The ice cream was also disappointing, tasting like artificial vanilla.
Verdict
The Point’s pizzas aren’t authentically Italian, serving up pies that are earnestly experimental but lacking in flavour. On the plus side, the prices are affordable and the pizzas contain an abundance of toppings, but the crust and execution disappoint. There is no doubt that the art of making pizza comes with practice, so we have faith that The Point will slowly head in that direction.
Shop L401, 4/F, The ONE, 100 Nathan Road, TST, 2598 0030 (other branches in Tseung Kwan O, Tsuen Wan and Tsing Yi – click here for locations)
This write-up is based on a complimentary media tasting provided in exchange for an honest review and no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed here represent the author’s.
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