Motorino: "Intimates, not quite there yet"『友達以上，戀人未滿』

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Favs: Margherita Pizza, Brussels Sprout Pizza, Cremini Mushroom Pizza, Cockle Clam Crostino al Bianco, Fennel Salad
7/10 plates emptied!

[Written by Gobay in Chinese, Carly in English]



一踏入Motorino，我們就看到那個著名的磚窯爐，比起Soho區的Peak Bar Restaurant 顯然是小巫見大巫，即使如此，在灣仔寸土尺金的地方搭建窯爐也是「蠻拼的」，精神可嘉！這裡先來一個小知識普及：為什麼大家對有磚窯爐的pizza店有種異常的朝拜之心？——磚窯爐，意大利人稱 “Pompeii Oven”， 呈圓拱形，在裡面焚燒果木(比如松木、蘋果木等等。這裡用的是杏仁木。)，熱力可達攝氏450度，而且溫度不會有很大的起伏，均衡持久的熱力在非常短的時間內就把餅底烤至鬆脆，這樣放在餅底上的新鮮材料就可以維持原始的味道，不至於受長時間烘烤而鮮味流失。並非說電爐不好，只是窯爐更好，特別是來自意大利Napoli地區的手工磚窯。


Motorino, being praised for its freshly baked pizza right from the Pompeii Oven – traditional Italian brick oven, even though still considerably smaller than the one at Peak Bar Restaurant. Pompeii Ovens, dome shaped, wood fired in pinewood, Applewood and Motorino uses local almond wood, can be heated up to 450 degrees. These authentic ovens are famous for its consistency and stability in temperature control, heat being evenly distributed, reaching intense fiery flames in just seconds, and perfect for pizza baking. Pizza dough will only need 1 minute to be cooked through, preserving the natural flavors and freshness of the toppings. Not saying that electronic ovens are no good, just Pompeii ovens are better, better yet the ones from Italy Napoli area are one of the best. 



餐廳的裝潢是很傳統的歐陸式風格：紅磚牆，鐵椅，木檯。廚房是開放式的，這和國外pizza店很相似，客人甚至能看到廚師搓麵團和將pizza放入窯中。我們坐在近街靠窗的大檯，邊欣賞著美食的製作過程，邊享受著初春時分的淡淡暖陽，談天說地，懶洋洋的期待著，感覺真好！


Very traditional European interior décor with red brown bricked walls, metal chairs, wooden long tables, open kitchen, laidback ambience was swinging in the air. You can even catch a glimpse of chefs shoving pizza doughs into the oven. The Gang sat by the window side, bathing under the warmth of sunshine, glancing over the cooking process of hearty food, enjoying the time spent together, we quickly settled in while our minds wandering around and awaited for freshly baked pizzas!


我們點了三個午市套餐 (週一至五提供，HKD128/份，每份包括一個蔬菜類頭盤(三款)和一個9寸Pizza(四款)——絕對夠飽！)，散點了兩個頭盤和一個pizza，下面一一來點評。


We ordered three lunch sets (available on weekdays – HKD128/set including one choice of greens (3 choices) & 9 inch pizza (4 selections), on the side, ordered 2 more appetizers and 1 pizza, 1 calzone for al carte. 

《午市套餐之頭盤(Antipasti) 》


【 Mixed Greens Salad w/ Balsamic Vinegar & Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 蔬菜沙律拌意大利酒醋】
這個沙律讓我們想起在擺花街Jean-Paul Hevin法國菜餐廳的那個沙律，意大利葡萄酒醋汁分量剛好地沾在每片菜葉上，碟子裡沒有殘留多餘的水分，挺好。所以用葡萄酒醋有個好處：貴！下手的時候就懂得『知慳識儉』……至於沒有多餘水分，這個比較花功夫，洗完菜後要逐片擦乾(貨源高級也可以直接解包裝使用，不用洗，這在華人社會還是比較少)。


This reminded us of the well-tossed salad we once had Jean Paul Hevin and this was well-presented with balsamic vinegar evenly spread on each leaf of greens, the right balance of acidity to start off this guilty meal!



【 Fennel Salad w/ Olives, Orange & Pecorino | 橄欖茴香香橙沙律配Pecorino芝士】
春天(三、四月)是球莖茴香當造，它的口感很像椰菜花，但水分更多故更脆身，就像是富士蘋果質地但結合了蔬菜香味(聞說茴香有陣淡淡的八角香氣但當時並沒聞到，有興趣的食友下次可以嘗試食前嗅一下)。Pecorino，幾乎每道前菜都看到它的身影而且顏色非常白，所以Gobay推斷應該是Pecorino Romano，這種芝士非常適合磨碎了混合麵包，沙律或醃肉一起食用。它是用綿羊奶製作的，介於山羊奶和牛乳之間，是腸胃對牛奶比較敏感但又喜愛芝士的食友的恩物。聽說古羅馬時期會在製作過程中加入做葡萄酒後剩餘的榨乾葡萄來蓋著發酵，所以會有淡淡果香。果香就欠奉了，感覺也不像是陳年過很久的Pecorino，吃著質地不硬，味道也不很濃烈，鹹味中透出一些nuttiness(果仁香味)，和清新的茴香香橙搭配相得益彰，推薦！



Fennel being crunchy, slightly sweet, often used in Italian cuisine, as its best by the time from autumn to early spring. Gobay depicted fennels like Fuji apples with a crisp of fruity fragrant. Pecorino, type of hard Italian cheese, milky white, made from the milk of ewe – female sheep.  Very suitable to mix with bread, salad or preserved meat; ewe’s milk is milder in kind, better for people who have sensitive stomachs! Old tales trace back to ancient times of Rome, dried grapes will be placed upon the cheese containers during aging process to add that extra hint of fruitiness. Pecorino at Motorino was not particularly fruity or refined in quality yet the cheese scent was rather mild, salty with a subtle nuttiness, complemented with the fresh funnels and mandarins, made a fine appetizing salad!



【 Roasted Squash w/ Aubergine, Pecorino & E.V. Olive Oil | 烤煮西葫蘆和茄子配Pecorino芝士】
碟底大片橘紅色的浮油一開始嚇到我們，可入口之後發現並沒有想像中的很油膩的感覺，溫熱的西葫蘆和茄子熟度剛好，軟軟的，Like!


Orange-ish oil did scare us a bit, debating whether this was too oily for starters. Luckily, the roasted squash and aubergine (round mini shaped eggplants) were not too oily, nicely roasted as it was still warm when we enjoyed it. 


《午市套餐之主菜(Pizze) 》




【Margherita, Tomato sauce, Mozzarella Di Bufala, Basil, Pecorino, E.V. Olive Oil |瑪格麗特女王薄餅，番茄醬、意大利水牛奶芝士Buffalo Mozzarella、羅勒、Pecorino芝士、初榨橄欖油】


這款經典的Pizza相信無人不知是以瑪格麗特女王之名命名。Mozzarella的白，番茄醬的紅和羅勒的綠代表了意大利國旗的三色。這家紐約聞名已久的意大利pizza 餐廳是標榜做Napoli 風格的pizza，即是餅底質地像薄身的Focaccia 麵包，外表香脆，內裡質地蓬鬆香軟。不知道是否我們專注攝影的緣故致使錯過了它熱騰騰出爐上檯的最佳時機，所以吃著有點過韌，建議大家盡量一上檯就開動。是次Pizza 烤得太燶，雖說帶焦黑的餅邊和看似火焰山凹凸不平的餅面是Napoli  pizza 的特色，但過多的焦黑看著還是讓人有點兒惶惶不安。Pizza整體味道不俗，芝士的柔韌口感不錯，Carly更覺得番茄醬的味道特別吸引。這裡的番茄和芝士都是由意大利進口，當然高質素。



Well-known for naming the Margherita pizza after their queen, being the hallmarks of Italian pizza – white from mozzarella, red from tomato sauce and, green from basil resembles the national Italy flag. Motorino is renowned for their Napoli style of pizza, hence the thin crust of Focaccia-like texture, crispy on the outside, soft slightly chewy on the inside. Being slightly over-burnt, we all joked that this meal will cost us cancer afterwards (touchwood!). Mozzarella cheese being soft chewy and elastic, and tomato sauce tasted fresh, rich and sweet. Cheese and tomato sauce both imported directly from Italy was crucial for one delectable Margherita.


【 Brussels Sprout, Fior Di Latte, Garlic, Pecorino, Smoked Pancetta, E.V. Olive Oil | 甘藍芽球、Fior Di Latte (即Mozzarella)芝士、Pecorino芝士、煙燻火腿、初榨橄欖油】


這款Pizza是Motorino餐廳的自創品牌Pizza。外觀上看，甘藍芽球近一半的葉都是焦黑的，是「很有深度的黑色」——黑透了，很不健康。可是聞著非常香，因為新鮮的緣故，每一片未被烤焦的半截很脆綠，依然散發著甘藍芽球獨特的芥蘭加椰菜之香甜味，致令Gobay忍不住拿在手上一聞再聞捨不得動嘴。「Fior Di Latte」其實就是Mozzarella，用普通鮮牛奶製成的，我們經常提及的前一款pizza用的Mozzarella Di Bufalo則是特指用意大利特定產區的水牛奶製成的Mozzarella，比較矜貴的一種。「Fior Di Latte」在意大利語中指「Flower of Milk」，所以也有人稱它為「奶花奶酪」。它是橢圓型的，好像雪白的剝殼雞蛋，平常要保存在乳清中。一分為二的時候，它的纖維性就顯現得很清楚了，入口有嚼勁，柔韌牽絲，所以Mozzarella一直是舉世聞名的最受歡迎芝士之一，主要就是源於它的口感和不霸道的奶香。對比前一個，這個烤得太焦了，讓我們還未吃心裡就大打折扣。但它沒加特別醬汁，味道純粹，原汁原味，喜歡甘藍芽球的食友應該會喜歡這款pizza的，如果它不那麼「黑漆漆」的話。




Motorino’s own creative pizza combo with unique yet intriguing toppings of Brussel sprouts, unfortunately, too burnt on our pizza, it was still spreading this freshness whiff mix of cabbage and Chinese broccoli, Gobay simply couldn’t resist. Fior Di Latte, higher grade of Mozzarella, in Italian means “Flower of Milk”, semi-soft yet elastic chewy on the palate, combust of milky and mildly subtle cheesy flavor, excellent melting qualities, makes it the perfect component to go with freshly oven baked pizza, never too overpowering. This pizza was clearly over-burnt, yet we fancied it for its originality as no extra sauce was added. For Brussels sprout fans, this is the one pizza that you will adore!



【Soppressata Piccante, Tomato sauce, Fior Di Latte, Spicy Soppressata, Fresh Chilies, Garlic, Oregano, Pecorino, E.V. Olive Oil】
(意大利辣肉腸、番茄醬、Fior Di Latte芝士、Pecorino芝士、新鮮辣椒、蒜片、牛至、初榨橄欖油)

這款的主角加了意大利辣肉腸，餅底前沿非常薄，我們拿起時番茄醬汁已經快浸透餅底，十分影響口感，再者味道很鹹。Soppressata香腸本身就很重口味，因為用茴香，黑胡椒等多種香料醃製而成，如果再加上番茄醬的酸鹹，不再特殊處理就會有點太過。建議吃的時候把前部分捲起，然後從側面咬，那麼厚厚的餅邊就能中和過分的鹹味。新鮮小辣椒被切成圈直接放在pizza上，蒜片也一樣切片撒上，所以不小心吃到辣椒圈的會覺得很辣，但辣味是怡人的，刺激的熱力在舌尖上散開，接著第二口的pizza辣味就會慢慢消失。


Soppressata is a type of Italian dry salami, often pressed with basil, black peppers and hot peppers. Salty and pungent to begin with, hence, often used as one simple topping for pizza, complemented with sweet tomato paste. You could taste the fiery spice and was tad too salty, Gobay recommended to curl up the pizza slice and start to eat from the side on the crusts, balancing off some of the thick sauce and sliced sausages. Fresh red peppers were chopped and sprinkled on top with garlic flakes; indeed this can be quite spicy yet appealing for one authentic Italian pizza dining experience.  

《散點之頭盤(Antipasti) 》



【Cockle Clam Crostino al Bianco | 白汁煮歐洲大蜆(鳥蛤)伴意式脆焗麵包| HKD 118】

這個前菜也是得到我們一直讚賞的。白汁的香草牛油味很濃郁，但入口卻清淡，可能加了白葡萄酒的緣故。鳥蛤非常新鮮，大隻而且肉質鮮甜肥美多汁，用半個殼舀起部分白汁和蛤肉一起吃下，頓時整個人都「春天」了！Crostino就是香草脆焗麵包，通常是這類有蠻多醬汁，而且融合了海鮮鮮味的菜式，配一塊香草麵包是再好不過了，感覺和喝牛油海鮮湯一樣。



Spring-like appetizer! Creamy garlicky white sauce smelled really buttery, well-balanced sauce with a hint of white wine. Cockle clams are edible saltwater clams, heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Motorino’s clams were large in size, juicy and chubby, after chucking the delicious clam, use the empty shell to scoop a mouthful of buttery white sauce, mmmmmm. Dip the crispy crostino bread into that irresistible sauce that is never too oily, yes, uh huh, heaven. 


《散點之主菜(Pizze) 》



【Cremini Mushroom, Fior Di Latte, Sweet Sausage, Garlic, Thyme, Pecorino, Gaeta Olives, E.V. Olive Oil | 切片小褐菇、Fior Di Latte芝士、甜肉腸、蒜片、迷迭香、Pecorino芝士、Gaeta黑橄欖、初榨橄欖油| HKD 158】


切成大片的小褐菇鋪滿了整個pizza讓人看著就覺得很足料。另外還撒了許多撕碎的Gaeta橄欖肉，加上肉腸及各種香料混合一起，味道很不錯，而且這個餅底不燶也沒有之前的韌，是四款裡味道口感結合得最好的pizza。稍微介紹一下Gaeta橄欖，它屬於黑橄欖也就是熟成的橄欖拿去醃製，用紫色形容它會更貼切。它產自Lazio大區，鄰近羅馬東部，而「Gaeta」是那片橄欖土地的名字。比起希臘名種黑橄欖，柔軟如肉的Kalamata，它的口感會更有韌性和咬口，稍鹹。這裡的橄欖質量非常不錯，可見進口的都是正宗『筍貨』。


Bountiful mushrooms layered on top of the chewy Napoli pizza, embedded with a bed of shredded Gaeta olives, sausages and herb mix, quite the intriguing combo to munch on a summery day at noon, epitomizing your cravings for some authentic taste of Italian comfort food. Allow us to introduce Gaeta olives: these small oval olives are wrinkled dark purple Italian olives with a tender texture and slightly acidic pickled taste. Originated from Lazio, close to East of Rome, harvested from the area of Gaeta; compared to ultra-soft Kalamata olives, Gaeta ones are slightly chewy and briny. Motorino’s olives were in decent quality, clearly imported directly from Italy. This was considered one of the better pizzas, without being over burnt, too dry or chewy, fresh mushrooms were able to balance off some of the saltiness from sausages and Gaeta olives. 

《甜品篇(Dolci) 》


【Nutella Calzone朱古力榛子醬半月形餡餅|HKD78】
半月形狀的餡餅用上Pizza的餅皮，把眾人最喜愛又最邪惡的朱古力榛子醬和棉花糖交融在一起。只要咬一口煙韌的餡餅，在高溫的烘焗後，雪白軟綿的棉花糖已半溶，粘粘的叫人吃著也陶醉。配上人見人愛的朱古力榛子醬，對，無錯，「真心肥」又「勁甜」，但這款甜品實在是無得輸，唯有之後去做gym吧（Carly想道）。吉碟幫吃完四個九寸pizza後，再加上一款激肥的甜品，很滿足！



Also known as folded up pizza, Calzones, are great for packing up your favorite treats, baking it in one treasure box. Don't think anyone will disagree that Nutella and marshmallows is the best couple ever – this was TOO sweet in a guilty comforting way. Just one thing, marshmallows and Nutella spread was not evenly spread out in the Calzone so some bites were mouthful of pure chocolate and hazelnut jam and then some corners you only get a tiny bit of those gooey melted marshmallows. 


整體而言，Pizza的質感和味道與傳統Napoli Pizza比較，有些許「友達以上，戀人未滿」的感覺。但作為一件連鎖Pizza店，而且標榜快餐(店名Motorino在意大利語裡面表示小摩托車，創辦人曾在某美國訪問表示是寓意快餐的意思)，Pizza的質量算是不錯了。


“If only we were together, but not quite there yet” was the overall comment from Gobay on Motorino’s Napoli pizza. Carly personally ranked Motorino higher than Pizza Express (undoubtedly a chain commercialized pizza eatery). Liked how the Wanchai branch is tucked away on Ship Street, located just proximate to Ham & Sherry, if we did not like the lunch menu of Ham & Sherry much (weekly change) then we can just drop by Motorino for mind-soothing freshly baked pizza. Carly was also surprised that the servers did know and was capable of explaining the menu in details, service was not as bad as the reviews online. For just around HKD150, Motorino is an extra option for Wanchai and Central diners. 




《Gobay話你知》意大利傳統Pizza:  Napoli Style與Lazio Style

Napoli風格上面簡介了一些，關於傳統Napoli Pizza，意大利有個非牟利組織AVPN ——Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana ，是專門為了宣傳並保護真正傳統的Napoli pizza。其實Napoli Pizza已經有歐盟的「傳統特產保證認證標章」(Traditional Specialities Guaranteed - TSG)，類似我們經常聽說的聯合國非物質文化遺產的意味。要獲得AVPN認證為「Vera Pizza Napoletana」 需要符合非常多的規定，最主要是：用燃木的磚窯爐溫度達450°C左右、“00”號的麵粉(筋度夠而且幼細)、特定產區的番茄(有個詳細的列表，只能用表上的番茄)、特別認證的Mozzarella芝士、海鹽和規定規格的酵母、烤製時間不得超過90秒等等。而且不能擀麵棍只能用手去搓麵團，所以正宗Napoli Pizza的形狀出來都是不規則的圓形。麵團經過長達十多個小時的發酵後延展性會變得很好，可以抻成非常均勻的超薄麵餅。稍微說一下其中一種AVPN建議使用的番茄，有D.O.P產地認證的San Marzano Tomato——沒錯，你沒有眼花，就是像葡萄酒一樣有等級和認證的…番茄！它外形比較修長，酸度沒有本地番茄那麼高，而由於水土和晝夜溫差大的關係，它有種很複雜的甜味，即使是罐裝番茄醬，都散發一種濃郁的美味。
目前沒有聽說香港有哪家pizza餐廳有拿到這個認證(歡迎知道哪裡有的食友推介)，上海倒是有兩間。Gobay打去同Motorino餐廳經理確認的時候，經理表示他們知道有這個認證，但目前香港分店暫時沒有計劃要申請。目前美加一共有97間是擁有這個認證的Pizza餐廳，比起2012年時候的20間驟升了近4倍，可見美加一帶對Napoli Pizza的熱愛。當然，只要pizza味道好，有沒有認證也只是見仁見智了。

關於Lazio風格，很多人會稱其為羅馬風格，其實羅馬只是Lazio即拉齊奧大區下的一部分。它是一種更薄更脆的pizza，也沒有Napoli pizza那麼規矩多多。前文提及的Peak Bar Restaurant有很地道的Lazio風格pizza和一個很樸素但巨大的磚窯爐。有興趣的食友可以一試比對一下兩種風格的pizza。



Gobay’s Food Knowledge Corner: Napoli Style vs. Lazio Style

Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, Italian non-profit organization, founded in 1984 in Naples, aims to promote and protect the true “Napoli Pizza”; restaurants will have to fulfill standards on ingredients, how it is cooked and prepared, and certain equipment to become their honored member that serves the most authentic Napoli pizza. For instance, “00” doppio zero refined flour, tomatoes of specific kinds, certified mozzarella cheese or fior di latte, fresh basil, only sea salt, specific brand of yeast have to be used as ingredients. Pizza dough to be crafted by hand, creating the rather irregular circular pizza base, baked to its unique aroma from the wood-fired Pompeii Oven under temperature reaching 450 degrees, emerges from the oven, delivering its characteristic aroma – perfumed and fragrant and elastic on the palate. 

None of Hong Kong restaurants have been AVPN approved yet, surprisingly, several of them located in Shanghai, Taiwan, and Singapore. Gobay called Motorino’s restaurant manager to see if they had any intention in applying for AVPN approval and it did not seem that they were interested. There are more than 90 North America pizza restaurants which are AVPN-approved, compared to the figure of 20 back in 2012. Evidently, North Americans are a fan of Napoli pizzas. 


Lazio style of pizza, a.k.a Rome tradition, is one of the twenty administrative regions in Italy, situated in central peninsular section of Italy. Angelic light and crispy, less of a hassle on standards compared to Napoli pizzas. Gobay strongly recommended the Gang to go try out Peak Bar Restaurant in SOHO area of Central for their simply put brick oven, Carly quick jotted down this on their to-try list, next stop to hit! Quest of the Gang’s favorite pizza begins!


Motorino
G/F, 15 Ship Street, Wan Chai
灣仔船街15號地下
Tel: (+852) 2520-0690
* Stamp collection cards are available for lunch sets, 10 lunch sets for 1 free lunch!
* First store opened in SOHO, Central