Italian pizza—from Japan, take note—now in Saigon
Both Japanese and Italian cuisine share common elements, most notably, an emphasis on seasonality and simplicity. Japanese-Italian food adds its characteristic attention to detail, and a light, delicate touch. Similar to the way French food has permeated Japanese cuisine, Italian food is both faithfully represented, and given Japanese accents. Pizza Logic (Lot L5-18, 5F Saigon Center Building 92-94 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D1), the newest contender to Saigon’s culinary powerhouses, is at the helm of a forward fusion menu that combines Japanese and Italian flavors.
The success of Pizza Logic is its award-winning pizza master Junichi Shouji, winner of the coveted “Neapolitan Campionato Mondiale del Pizzaiuolo Trofeo Caputo” for the year 2012. Diners can watch Junichi working his magic beside a gigantic wood-fired oven at the entrance of the restaurant throughout the day, producing award-worthy pizzas. Tucked away in the food court level of the mall, Pizza Logic’s modern décor, with purple, gray and gold accents, complements the menu’s Italian pizza and pasta classics alongside some not so conventional dishes like Logic’s original Noce pizza with Vietnamese cashew nut paste, mozzarella, cashew nuts, prosciutto crude, mushroom and coriander (VND188,000). One of the stars of the Logic Pizza menu is a special Burrata topping (VND138,000) that can be added to any of the entrees. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, and if that doesn’t sound amazing, you need to reexamine your life. It’s a most decadent, creamy, delicious mound of cheese ever conceived as a pizza or pasta topping. I recommend putting it on anything and everything listed on Logic’s savory menu.
My companion and I ordered a big chunk of Burrata on the Bismark Pizza (VND160,000), which contains mozzarella, egg yolk, prosciutto and fresh basil. The saltiness of the prosciutto, the creaminess of the egg yolk and the decadence of the Burrata harmonized each other like a well-directed orchestra. It was absolutely phenomenal. But here I must backtrack a bit and mention the appetizers and house wine we started with: The first appetizer, under recommendation of the manager was the House made grilled salsiccia (Italian sausage with herbs and tomatoes, VND75,000), the sausage was beautifully spiced and the herbs and tomatoes were heavily infused with roast garlic—a grandiose combination. The second appetizer was an Assortment of amazing Italian cheeses served with fresh honey and buttered garlic bread (VND145,000). The appetizers were served with glasses of house wine, the Canine Ronco Terre sicillane, a very flexible dry wine that complements most food. Together with the Bismark pizza we ordered the all-time Italian classic, the Margharita (VND185,000), simple yet incredibly delicious, just the right amount of acid from the tomato sauce, the perfect amount of salty from the mozzarella and basil complemented by the perfectly fluffy crust.
Of course, a great Italian meal cannot be complete without a classic Italian dessert, the famous tiramisu. We chose both the classic Italian tiramisu and the matcha tiramisu (VND85,000 for both).
Both were absolutely outstanding, soft and velvety and just enough sweet to accompany my espresso. Pizza Logic’s menu of over 20 items is a wonderful mix of Italian classics and innovative Japanese- Italian fusion. Their pasta dishes, which emphasizes seafood, shows creativity with dishes such as Heike crab with tomato sauce “granchio”, which gives you an entire crab on your pasta for VND258,000.
In combination with a selection of other pasta’s and salads, this provides ample choice of dishes to enjoy with your partner, friends and family. They also offer a great lunch time combo: Pasta + french fries or salad + 1 drink for VND178,000 or conversely you can change the main to a pizza + french fries or salad + 1 drink for VND185,000.
Images Provided by Pizza Logic
