Gustaci 中環

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New Italian restaurant to try for dinner. 4 of us ordered to share the burrata with tomatoes and toast, the montanarine selection, meatballs, lasagne, yellow tomato ravioli and truffle pizza.First of all the bread was a disappointment. HARD. The breadmaker amongst us explained that the dough prob hasn’t risen enough. After taking one bite of the bread I hardly had any expectations for the rest of our meal. Burrata was ok only, I’ve had better at other restaurants, ditto for the tomatoes that came with it. The toasted bread again so hard I worried about getting mouth ulcers.The montanarine originated from Naples, being small discs of dough deep fried on both sides. Toppings in our selection included different kinds of cheese. Didn’t taste oily, but not as crunchy as I would have hoped. Still yum tho. Meatballs and lasagne were good (but tasted no different from the ones I make at home 🤗... honestly I don’t see how lasagne or meatballs can go wrong ....).Yellow tomato ravioli was a pleasant surprise. Although a lot of cheese inside, balanced well with the yellow tomato very refreshing.Truffle pizza was good. It was soft and not too doughy. Although I normally preferred crispy crusts, these actually reminded me of the time when I was in Naples. Authentic is the word. To finish off we ordered the lemon sponge cake and the rum cake. I’m not a fan of rum but it felt like one could get drunk eating it. Lemon cake was good soft sponge.Didn’t like the bottle of Sicilian wine (Tenuta Tascante) we picked from wine list. Very acidic and no layers at all. In summary, worth trying for pizza lovers esp if you like the soft doughy types. Order the montanarine as well.

Summary: Fantastic casual Italian food and amazing Napolitano pizza in an airy, comfortable space, with terrific service and a real bar. A muchneeded addition to PMQ, and a splash of life in Soho, which really needs it. Thank goodness for Gustaci!I love PMQ. Unlike Tai Kwun, it's mostly stores, not food or cultural exhibits, and as such, offers a large variety of overpriced shops, offering nominally useful to completely superfluous goods. With a focus on local producers, it's testament to HK's success and development that PMQ can continue to exist in such an economically prime area. It's a great place to leisurely walk around for an afternoon, browse through the sheer randomness  and ponder who actually buys this stuff.What it has never had though is a great casual restaurant.  I go to Sake Central more than I see my mother, but its menu is more for snacking or for an expensive small bitestype meal. I'll save my dislike of Sohofama for another time, and Louise (and even the previous Aberdeen Street Social) is in a different category altogether. That has changed, with Gustaci replacing the overlysmallticketsizeforsuchagiantspace Taiwanese hangout Garden Meow on the ground floor of PMQ. Gustaci has converted that bubble tea cafe atmosphere into a kind of hipster industrial thing, with dim lighting, giant mirrors, and lots of partitions, but with a giant openair seating area. Most importantly, they've brought in an Italianmade hightemperature electric pizza oven, which apparently goes up to 500 celsius, and I'll tell you, I think it's the future.We went on the first night of dinner service in 2021 (lifting of Covid dinner restrictions Feb 18th!), and apart from a (fortuitous) mistake they made with our order, their staff were on point. Here's the menuProper attention paid to pizza selection! Montanarine (Montanara) I didn't recognize it's a hollow deepfried pizzadough ball that's a lot lighter than you'd imagine. From the Atlas Obscura, "To make the dish, chefs drop a disc of uncooked pizza dough in hot oil for about a minute, then top the puffy fried dough with marinara and cheese. To melt the cheese and char the crust, they bake it for another minute in an oven." Pricewise, the food is very reasonable with all pizzas but the premium ones between HKD 100180, and appetizers/pastas in that range as well. Frankly, the pies are underpriced, given their quality and nearby competition. Desserts at $110 each seems high, but we didn't get to try them so can't comment. Alcoholwise, it's what you'd expect from CentralSoho i.e. quite steep.Here's what we had:Eggplant ParmIf you like this dish generally, this is a terrific example, but if like me, you find it all too oily and heavy, Gustaci's version won't change your mind. The cheese top layer should be singled out as perfectly grilled, providiing a firmness which this dish otherwise lacks the rich cheese, tangy tomato sauce and neutral eggplant layers always end up as a single yielding bite, that while sinfully delicious, has always felt a bit gloppy to me. Eating half was still too much for me, but my first bite was unreservedly satisfying.   As an aside, I was wondering while eating this why it and other Parm (e.g. Chicken) dishes are called [...] Parmigiana given that they don't actually use a lot of ParmigianoReggiano. Long story, but it's probably from Naples and, yes it's because of the cheese (not because the dish is from Parma).  More on the pretty interesting etymology : https://bit.ly/3u81kUZRucola Salad with Parmesan It's a nicely dressed rocket salad with fresh figs. Won't set your world on fire, but a nice change from all the heaviness. We didn't order this, but the server classily told us to keep it after we informed him. Pumpkin MontanarineAiry, crunchy, and without much oiliness, it’s actually pretty deliciousSome comments about the pizzaI'm not sure if this place is trying for AVPN (official certification as Neapolitanstandard pizza), but the quality is right there with the best I've tried in Japan (the only place I've tried AVPN pizza!).  Their pizzaiolo is AVPN trained according to the host.I had thought woodfired ovens were a must but apparently not; from the AVPN International Regulations ,"The use of a gas fire or electric oven is allowed in the presence of documentation attesting to the impossibility of installing a woodburning oven. The gas or electric oven must correspond to the certification parameters approved by the Association." The host was telling us their oven gets up to 500c, which is the temp required for proper AVPN pizza (450500 degrees), and without heat spikes from new logs being added, it's more consistent. I had my doubts, but I was very surprised by the results; one of the great corniciones (the ring around the outside of the pie, usually called the crust, but not in Naples) in HK; soft but not doughy, flavorful but not salty, firm with the requisite scorch marks on the outside but not burnt; simply fantastic.  It's a very thin pie, in line with AVPN regulations, and it's probably best eaten with a fork and knife. Make sure you ask for their olive oil, which is fruity, full of freshness and the perfect complement with the incredible crust. The only critique I have is the tomatoes in the base need a bit more salt. Currently they provide an acidic but nondescript complement to the pies. If they are using San Marzano tomatoes (which they should), their savory flavor should be highlighted a bit more. Having them stand out as a key ingredient (which they are) would elevate the whole product. We asked the server for their specialties and we were recommended:Capricciosa Pizza (HKD 145)Full of ingredients, including plenty of my beloved olives a lighterflavor pie given they use vegetables and ham not sausage or pepperoni, but the mix of ingredients is tasty, and a nice contrast to the other pie we had. Diavola Pizza  (HKD 175)Personally, a bit too heavy and spicy for me; couldn't taste the tomatoes at all; but my friend enjoyed it. Good quality spicy salami and generously distributed. Both pies were simply fantastic, and I'm still wondering why they are so affordable. They are cheaper than all the other major Neapolitan pizza places (Babacio, Ciao Chow, definitely Motorinos), in a very cool space right in Central. The quality is as good or better, and they are generous with toppings. I really can't recommend their pizza enough. Overall, so happy that this place was as good as it was. They offer some amazing pies, and it was cool to see an electric oven produce a Neapolitanquality crust. The service is great and the space is inviting; the openair seating area is going to be a HUGE hit. Great to see PMQ finally get a normal restaurant we can come back to over and over again, especially at these prices. It's also a muchneeded boost to Soho, which has not weathered Covid well. A walk down Elgin is incredibly grim, with more than half the shop lots shuttered, and Staunton is now even more full of generic bar/restaurants which have no culinary valueadd. Gustaci is a breath of fresh air, and I hope they succeed. Pay them a visit! 

Gustaci餐單提供意大利菜,薄餅等推介美食位於中環區，餐廳座位數120人均消費約$101-200，結賬可以用Visa,Master,現金,AE,銀聯，Booking訂位可以電話致電29811418查詢。

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Gustaci餐廳詳細資料：

• Gustaci地址:
  中環鴨巴甸街35號元創方B座Hollywood地下HG01-05號舖
  Gustaci, Shop H G01-05, G/ F, Block B Hollywood, P M Q,35 Aberdeen Street, Central
• Gustaci電話: 29811418
• Gustaci價錢: $101-200
• 分類: 意大利菜,薄餅,
• 座位: 120
• 付款: Visa,Master,現金,AE,銀聯
• FB專頁: Gustaci Facebook

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香港餐廳2023推介04月