I spent my off-campus day having lunch at Pizza Express since I got a remaining voucher from PT. Mitra Adiperkasa and we chose to visit the branch at Kemang Village since it is the closest to home and my brother was going to the gym at the same mall right after. I had visited the same Pizza Express about two weeks ago and had one of the smallest portions of risotto then, so I was not expecting much — I’m only there simply because it’s basically free (ha!). But with this visit I ended up being satisfied with the dishes I had there; just not the risotto, because really quantity matter as much if not more than quality in my case.
Pennette Pollo Pesto (IDR 81.000)
This baked penne pasta is one of the newest menus from Pizza Express and this is one of the recommended dishes given by our server (after I politely denied her recommendation of a …. dish with tomato-based sauce and seafood topping). This pasta dish consists of penne topped with plenty of chicken, mushroom, red onion all on a hot plate that lets the cheese topping melts off as it comes to the table. The pasta was thoroughly coated with a pesto-like sauce but creamier, still with a familiar smell of basil and olive oil and the burning plate gives out the different flavor as it cooks off the sauce nicely and affects the texture of the cheese and onion that were served raw and then cooked on the plate. I wish there were more bits of salt in this dish as the amount of grated cheese on its top does not add much savoriness to the dish.
Spaghetti Tartufo (IDR 79.000)
This was my mother’s pick as the picture of the dish shown on the menu were interesting. There were not so many topping in this one but the simplicity goes well to cover the whole plate of spaghetti but you can taste the cream paste and the mixture of Truffle oil alongside with the garlic in it — later topped with grated Grana Padano cheese and rocket salad. If I can change one thing about this dish, I would love to pair it with a fettucini or other flatter pasta as the dish were pretty creamy and straightforward that it needs more bite of textures into it.
Calabrese (IDR 118.000)
I love this pizza! The pizza is topped with a tomato base, melted mozzarella and then topped with beef and rocket salad/arugula/rucola — whatever you name it — and it comes out square. The menu description stated that the pizza consists of ‘spicy calabrese sausage, hot soft n’duja sausage, green chilies, jalapeno peppers, red&yellow peppers, bocconcini(Fresh baby mozzarella), watercress, pesto, oregano, grana padano – on a square base’. The pizza came out crispy and the thinness of the pizza crust was pretty balanced with the amount of the topping provided. I liked the overall flavor of the pizza, but my brother said the arugula were a hassle as its add unnecessary bitterness within the dish. I personally think this is one of the best dishes I had here.
Affumicatto (IDR 102.000)
While this Romana pizza is served in its conventional round pizza on a round plate off of the pizza pan. This dish has the same base with tomato sauce and mozzarella spread all over the pizza but this one is topped with smoked chicken, jalapeno, peppers and mushroom which all goes along really well and it has a nice touch of spiciness in it. I also liked this pizza but I think the topping is too heavy for this thin pizza as eating the slice was a bit hard as the topping easily fell off from the bread. I liked this dish more with plenty splash of tabasco sauce.
I think it would only be fair if I talk about the risotto here. This dish was taken by my phone and was part of my lunch a couple weeks back. The Risotto Fresco, which is a salmon risotto, were a fresh zesty and creamy dish. It is served alongside with a lemon wedge, but I think it made the dish too sour with its amount of acidity — although it is basically of my fault that I put too much lemon squeeze to the plate that made it too sour for my taste. There was good ratio of rice and the topping; the only problem is that it is too small for me. Like, it’s so small that I was so surprised. It is served on a shallow plate, just enough to fill the plate and that’s it. I was expecting more for the price with that one.
As I left the restaurant, I was impressed as how the Italian dishes here were served with hints of freshness on it. The dishes were fragrant and the ingredients were fresh and none of the dishes were too heavy or too rich, it is just right. I would also recommend visiting Pizza Express at day because of the big windows and spacious outdoor space that bridges it with other restaurants in the vicinity. I’d only hope they reflect back on the portioning as everything else was nice, including the friendly wait staffs that helped us refill bottomless jugs of lemonade hehe.
PizzaExpress
Lippo Mall Kemang
Upper Ground Floor
Jl. Pangeran Antarari 36
Kemang
South Jakarta
+6221 29528429
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