I was taking my monthly spin through LKF and Soho the other day to see what carnage had taken place. By carnage, I mean the revolving door that is the Hong Kong bar and restaurant scene. If you don’t make the rounds regularly, you won’t even recognise some neighborhoods with so many openings and closings. No doubt many are due to fierce competition, some to bad luck, and others to wacky ideas that never panned out.

I was planning on grabbing one of the $80-$100 set lunches that are abundant in these neighbs when something caught my eye. What used to be Atomic Patty in LKF across from Lux had become Pizza Milano. Yes, burgers had been booted for pizza. Definitely not a swap that was going to help anyone’s New Year’s resolutions, but a swap all the same. I always found Atomic Patty merely decent after imbibing. The photos always looked better than the finished product. I’m thinking they just weren’t doing enough day business to make it.

Regardless, the prime location near Bar 7-11 wasn’t going to sit vacant for long. Enter Pizza Milano. I knew I recognised the name, and indeed an outpost exists on Lamma Island. As I’m usually involved in a seafood frenzy when on Lamma, I have never given it a go. This time I did. The exciting thing is they serve an array of different slices for $30. I was going to go for two when the counterman said they were offering a regular pie for $60 (normally a $100) as an opening promotion. Who can say no to that? Eight slices of mushroom and pepperoni arrived shortly thereafter.

I’ll say it was good enough to finish eight slices, but not amazing. The crust was thin with a bit of char and the toppings were ample, but the tomato sauce tasted straight out of the can, and for once a pizza joint caked too much on. The crust also had some sagging issues, but overall the pizza was definitely serviceable.

I do see this place being successful. They have name recognition, a great location, slices, tons of choices, and they sell an item that people don’t mind sharing for lunch. They also offer some counter seating, and Stella on tap.

I see them doing a decent lunch business and a massive late night one. The regular pie can definitely be taken down by one person if the mood strikes -- ie, after you’ve been at Bar 7-11. With only Cul-De-Sac and Ebeneezer’s selling slices nearby, it is a welcome addition to the hood. Looks like pizza beats burgers in this battle of the bulge.

G/F, No.7, Lan Kwai Fong.