Home
- SEARCH OUR SITE - ABOUT US - ADVERTISING - SUBSCRIPTION - CONTACT US - BUSINESS INDEX - PHOTO LIBRARY - OTHER MAGAZINES -
- VOL. 12.5
Those Magnificent Flying Machines
Epat Diary: Topless in Phuket
According to Pizza-pedia (a website devoted to the history of pizza), its beginnings go way back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. Flatbread has long been a staple food in many parts of the world: Babylonians are credited with the first flatbread recipe. It was the Egyptians, however, who held the first pizza party, for they had a custom of seasoning their daily bread with olive oil, herbs and spices for the Pharaoh’s birthday. The actual word ‘pizza’ may even have derived from the Latin word picea, a word Romans used to describe the blackening of bread in an oven. The word pizza, as it is currently spelled, emerged some time in the Middle Ages.
The first ‘topping’ to be added to the flat crust came from water buffalo. The buffalo were introduced to Italy during an invasion from the East. From their milk, mozzarella cheese was made and subsequently added to the staple diet of the pre-Renaissance peasants. It is to be assumed that adding cheese to flatbread was a gastronomic hit.
The addition of a thick tomato sauce subtly flavoured with herbs, which today is considered an integral part of pizza, had to wait until the first European explorers to the Americas returned with not only gold but tomatoes. First, however, the sceptical Europeans had to be convinced that the tomato was not poisonous. Eventually this juicy red fruit (and botanically speaking, it is a fruit not a vegetable) won over the appetites of the disbelievers and made its way to the top of the yeasty crust. Cautions overcome, the tomato rapidly became a staple of the Mediterranean diet.
It is now historically accepted that it was Naples that gradually, over the course of a couple of centuries, gained the reputation of producing the best pizza in Italy, and by the 19th century pizza became one of the first ‘fast foods’. The pizzas were not delivered ready-baked to perfection but were made by vendors who carried small tin ovens around, usually on their heads, and baked them on the spot. The taste for this dish grew until 1830 when the first ‘pizzeria’ opened in Naples, the “Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba”, which, incidently, is still going strong at Via Port’Alba 18.
The large brick oven that today is considered essential to truly great-tasting pizza, was first used at the Antica Pizzeria. It must have been very hot in the kitchen when these ovens were in use but since the pizzas were such a ‘hot’ seller, well… the pizzaioli (pizza-makers) just kept on turning them out. Frequently the pizzaioli assembled the entire pizza on a marble counter right before the customer’s eyes.
Neapolitan pizza is still widely regarded as the best in the world, probably due to the abundance of fresh ingredients available: herbs, garlic, and tomatoes grown in the rich volcanic ash of Vesuvius, as well as fresh mozzarella from water buffalo milk. Pizza Margherita, created in 1889 for a visit of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita, has since become an international standard.
Today pizzas are invited to a wide variety of get-togethers: parties celebrating some of life’s major events as well as an easy meal when working hard. During the recent move of the ArtAsia/Phuket Magazine office, we did what many would do after a gruelling day of moving boxes and arranging furniture – we had a pizza party. A number of the island’s restaurants graciously donated pizzas and, interestingly, no two pizzas were alike. So here’s what we discovered about some of the pizzas in Phuket.
Pizza can come in many varieties and, oddly enough, in different shapes. Kamala Bay Terrace Resort’s (Tel: 270 801) uniquely-shaped square pizzas hid loads of ham or seafood beneath a thick layer of mozzarella. These were truly cheese-lovers’ pizzas, and were thoroughly enjoyed for that very reason.
Don’s Caf้e (Tel: 288 229), on the other hand, went in for the more traditional-style pizza offering a large round pizza heaped with lots of veggies including tomatoes, green peppers and onions spread over a tomato sauce flavoured with a delicate blend of spices and all covered with cheese. This one was the favourite of Joff, one of our sales’ staff. “I like this pizza because it has a lot of vegetables and not so much cheese,” she munched. “And it has a thin crust.”
Thavorn Beach Village (Tel: 290 334-42) outdid themselves with The Nakalay. If the pizza from Toto’s is the appetizer-style pizza then The Nakalay is the main course. Lamb, aubergines and tomatoes lay carefully placed on a tomato sauce topped with melted bleu cheese and latttice strips of zucchini. As Graham Devon commented: “If you like bleu cheese, you’ll love this one.” The Nakalay is designed for the European palate since the enjoyment of bleu cheese is an acquired taste. However, a number of Thais on our staff also liked this one.
Thavorn Palm Beach Resort (Tel: 396-090-3) bakes their pizzas in a mesquite charcoal-fired oven. The Marinara is chock full of seafood and redolent of the mesquite smoke. Their Khrao Phra Gai pizza was our office’s favourite: Khrao Phra Gai is a spicy Thai dish consisting of ground chicken and basil leaf and it works great as a pizza topping. It combined the best of both worlds: super Thai taste with Western-design pizza. As someone was overheard to say: “This one’s a cracker.”
From Toto’s Pizzeria (Tel: 325 381) in Cherng Talay came a snack-type pizza. On one round crust were two slice samples of olive and cheese, ham and cheese, salami and cheese, as well as mushroom and cheese. Since owner Bepy feels pizzas are snack food, not a full meal, a feeling shared by many, the pizzas from his restaurants reflect this. They are simple pizzas and do well as appetizers.
The Pizzeria Hut (Tel: 344 237, 341 828) in Patong graciously donated two pizzas: Pizza Capricciosa, a traditional Neopolitan pizza topped with bacon, ham, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes and cheese; and a Muslim pizza, Pizza Chicken, which consists of chicken, onion, mushrooms and cheese. Smelling divine and tasting equally yummy, both were hits with us all.
Phuket Royal City Hotel (Tel: 233 333) in Phuket Town delivered their pizza, Pizza alla Descatoza, in a cake box and it was as lovely to look at as it was delicious to eat. The pizza was thick with tomatoes and veggies, onions, green peppers and chock full of seafood: mussels, squid, and shrimp.
Also from Phuket Town, La Romantica (Tel: 01 894 6657) delivered two, thin-crust pizzas. The mushrooms, previously sliced and grilled with garlic, added an interesting taste sensation to the ham and mushroom one. The tuna and shrimp pizza was a big hit with many of our Thai staff since it was a simple seafood combination and not loaded with all the extras many Europeans enjoy.
Maybe you’re in Phuket on holiday and feel like spending a quiet evening in your room, or perhaps you live here and are having a few friends over for a get-together. Whatever your reason and whatever your choice, one thing is for sure: there is a pizza somewhere in Phuket that will tantalize your taste buds.