“I don't care if you're doing haute cuisine or burgers and pizza, just do it right,” famous American chef Grant Achatz once said. This may well be the life and cooking motto of Yael Palaccio, Samking’s charismatic pizza chef who came all the way from Provence to show Shenzhen the meaning of a good slice.
Samking is a small restaurant in the lesser-known area of Futian – Baihua Cultural Centre. With a robust menu that features pizzas and synchronized extras, Samking is probably the one and only pizza place in town that can be described as a boutique.
The limited menu is not a harbinger for further expansion – the restaurant merely plans to keep it simple and focus on items it does best.
“I know pizza,” says Yael. Having studied under the best in Europe, he is passionate about his craft and about sharing the art of pizza making in Shenzhen. After our conversation, we have little doubt about the artistic components involved.
“80 percent of the skill in pizza goes into the crust,” he continues. “The rest is selecting and combining toppings, sauces and so on.”
Just as we settle in for a course in pizza making 101, our order arrives. The margherita (RMB48 for 9-inch, RMB68 for 12-inch) is probably as classic as you can get with pizzas, and, truth be told, we did not have our pencils sharpened to note down anything extraordinary. But boy, were we wrong. The flavor was off the charts and the proportion of the ingredients spot on. Laid out on a thin base that was crunchy in all the right places, the toppings left us hopefully eyeing the last piece.
Some may think we’re getting way too excited over the prospect of a delicious slice, but if you’re based in Shenzhen, we think you understand. Despite our city’s host of local pizzerias, there is still no obvious place to ring come Friday night. But with Samking and Yael, we can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
“A good pizza is something different to everyone.” This is another piece of culinary wisdom we pick up from Yael. “But you need to have the basics right,” he continues.
We listen and munch on, scoping the menu for other flavors to try. There are the Roman holiday and Mediterranean pizzas (both RMB48 small, RMB68 large), Mexican pizza (RMB58/78), top scorer pizza (RMB68/88), a student special at RMB38 and more. You can pair your pie with fish and chips or order one of the many natural smoothies, from sweet strawberry to nutritional taro.
What does the future hold for Samking? According to Yael, it holds many more branches in the city and maybe even beyond. As for us, we have our Friday pizza troubles solved. To quote our staff photographer: “This is the best pizza I’ve ever had in Shenzhen.”
Price: RMB50-80
Who’s going: pizza lovers, crust connoisseurs
Good for: date night, grabbing a slice, dinner before the movies
See listing for Samking Pizzeria here.
[Images via Mike Jordan.]
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