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Pizzeria Jacomax
One of Hong Kong’s newest additions to the pizza scene, Pizzeria Jacomax has already been garnering a loyal following. On a recent Friday night, the tiny hole-in-the wall restaurant – just the kind of place you’d expect to come across walking the streets of Italy – was packed with patrons happily enjoying their delicious Neapolitan-style pizzas.
Jacomax is the condensed version of the owner’s name, Jacobo Maximiliano, an Italian who ended up in Hong Kong after falling in love with (and marrying) a Hong Kong native who now co-manages the pizzeria. The resident pizza chef hails from Puglia and watching him effortlessly turn out beautiful, delicious pizzas one after another is a fun way to pass the time while waiting for your own slice to be made to order.
Starters include an antipasti plate piled with a selection of Italian salami, hams and cheeses, served with freshly baked bread ($125), as well as a selection of fresh salads dressed simply with olive oil and vinegar ($42-$52). All of the appetisers are generously sized and can be shared.
As expected, the pizzas are the main draw and at Jacomax there are 19 variations on offer, as well as the option to create your own. Pizzas are available in 32cm and 52cm sizes, aptly labelled ‘regular’ and ‘very big’. The crudo pizza ($130 regular; $220 very big), generously topped with paper-thin slices of parma ham, rocket and shavings of parmigiano reggiano is an especially delicious and popular choice. The Napoli ($95 regular; $160 very big), a simple pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella and anchovies, is pungent and salty, but it’s recommended only for those who have an acquired taste for anchovies.
The chef’s skilled hands and quality ingredients sourced from Italy (the tomatoes are from the mountains in Naples, the mozzarella shipped from Puglia) make Jacomax’s pizzas quite possibly the best Neapolitan-style pizza in Hong Kong. Buon appetito! Deborah Im
Shop C, 88 Commercial Bldg, 38-42 Wing Lok St, Sheung Wan, 2851 4688. Daily 11am-10.30pm. Dinner for two: around $350.
5 Comments Add your comment
We trooped down to Jacomax the first chance we could, having read this glowing review in Time Out. It was terrible! Seriously, there is a difference between being thin crust and thin cardboard. The crust felt like it lacked yeast or that yummy bread taste (and trust me, I always eat the crust of my pizza). We had the Jacomax pizza and it came with this minced meat that was strangely lacking in taste (and definitely not sausage-like at all, did they not say sausages in the menu?). We gave up halfway and decided to beat a hasty retreat to Paisanos.
A pizza review without any mention of the crust, you're kidding right?
If you want good pizza, theres this awesome little pizzeria hidden on Mee Lun St called Pizzeria La Gondola! Their crust is thin crust and crispy!
Awesome pasta and lasagna Beats spaghetti house and pizzahut outright
Jesus. You guys say you know pizzas and then you reference Paisano's, Spaghetti House, and Pizza Hut. That's some high standards right there. That said, Jacomax may have been good when this "review" (seriously, no mention of the crust?) was written but it is pretty bad now - I would say roughly on the same level as Slices or Paisano's (and no, Paisano's does not serve good pizza) - i.e. a marginal step above Pizza Hut. If you want traditional Naples pizza, go to 208 or Motorino. If you want delivery, Pizzeria Italia.
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