An hour of ferry ride in the choppy sea – thanks to the stormy weather – got us into Macau in a late Saturday morning for a weekend of staycation at the Grand Lisboa. And the hotel PR team was so kind to organize a weekend-full of “feastivities” to keep us entertained and well-fed.
After a quick (but sumptuous) lunch of dim-sums and noodles and congees at the appropriately named "
Noodle and Congee" restaurant just a floor above the casino floor, we moved upstairs to Casa Don Alfonso for a pizza making workshop hosted by Chef Maurizio Ferrini plus a special guest. We ate there once late last year and experienced first-hand the pizza and calzone made straight from their state-of-the-art oven and this time, we got an even closer look at it by chef showing us how it was made step-by-step, following by the time where we got to make our own.
Chef Maurizio was patient to explain everything to us, from how the dough was mixed and proved (for 36 hours plus in a controlled environment), to how it’s kneaded, rested, added in the preferred toppings as per Neapolitan tradition, and “put into fire” under close monitoring in the specialty oven capable of getting up to 450C – which means pizza can be cooked to perfection in less than 2 minutes.
In the middle of the session we were joined by a special guest, Chef-patron Alfonso Iaccarino, who flew in from Italy for a brief visit and oversee his namesake restaurant this week. Wish I could have time to pick his brain and pull his decades of cooking knowledge into mine, but it’s equally fun to hear him talked about his family farm (which supplies all produce for his Naples restaurant) and his Mongolian hunting trips with his dogs.
I wish I listened more carefully to Chef Maurizio’s instruction when each of us were put to test to create our own pizza. I wouldn’t dare tossing my dough in the air like what we see on TV but at least we managed to give it a few kneads into the right shape by pressing and turning and slapping into the marble counter. Then toppings – tomatoes, salami, basil and of course, Mozzarella cheese - were carefully applied on top. Of course me being the greedy one I always put on too much toppings – there’s no such thing as too much cheese on the pizza.
We then looked in fascination as the dough was put inside the oven, puffed up almost immediately with the crust quickly crisped up on the side and cheese melted on top, and was pulled out by chef using the long turning tool once it’s ready and piping hot. I know, one might argue that everything coming fresh from the oven with such combination of ingredients has to be good, but I did think the one we made was extra tasty, made with love and care and sweat, and if I ever open my own pizza parlor one day, I will definitely hang that picture we took with our pizza and Chef Alfonso and shamelessly pretend it’s a seal of approval from the grand master of pizza. *wink*
(Expense of the trip was sponsored by the Grand Lisboa Macao and itinerary organized by the hotel PR team)
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