Pizza Predicament

The fact of the matter is I’ve been craving pizza. Not steak, burgers or fries, but hot cheesy pizza. New York style or St. Louis thin crust I really don’t care at this point. When I was growing up we didn’t have pizza delivery so my mom would make homemade pizza. I’m talking hand-rolled thin crust dough with fresh mushrooms, green peppers, onions, sausage, pepperoni and provel cheese. The pizza was baked on a rectangular pan and she would cut it into squares. Yes, my mom was ahead of her time in pizza making.


Saturday morning Rusty and I ventured out to try a new market. It’s down the road and quiet a few steps, but within walking distance so we were excited. We walked in and immediately fixated on real shopping carts. Not the little baskets on wheels. We were grinning ear to ear. This is looking good our smiles said.


The market had lots of Western food items plus they weren’t expired or near the expiration date which is often the case in HK. Very promising! As we were filling our cart we stopped at the bakery for bread. In the bakery case were bagels, muffins, pastries and small  6 inch pizzas. Anything with dough is in the bakery section even if it has meat or cheese in it. I asked the woman for two pizzas which she packed while I waited eagerly.


Of course we ended up buying more than we anticipated and had to lug everything up the tramway path (stairs) and down the street to our flat. Thank goodness Rusty works out because we were toting many pounds. We put all of our new found food excitement away then I pulled out the pizzas and heated them. 


As we sat down to eat I noticed something unusual on our pizza - corn. Yes, the yellow off the cob stuff. Well okay I like corn. I can live with that. We both took a bite and then another. This was very unusual pizza. The laughter started. Our pizza toppings were corn, pineapple, ham, cut up hot dogs and a little cheese. Well maybe this isn’t really pizza.


Now I must tell you that my very favorite St. Louis pizza is Imo’s pepperoni  and pineapple. Don’t judge until you’ve had it. It’s delicious! So I’m not opposed to strange toppings, but well this is beyond strange (hot dogs?). And to make matters worse now I really wanted pizza.


We decided we would walk down to Wan Chai to buy some plants and stop at Pizza Express for an early dinner. I had been told by several friends that although it is a chain the pizza is very good. Off we went determined to buy plants, pots and pizza.


After browsing, searching and haggling we were both ready for some beer and a pizza pie. (Rusty more for the beer and me more for the pizza.) My small backpack was full and Rusty was once again forced into sherpa duty. We made our way down the busy street to Pizza Express. As we got closer I notice something didn’t look right. There was a huge crowd inside and a big banner on the door - “Happy Birthday! The party’s here!” You’ve got to be kidding a private party! 


For an instant I thought I might cry. I really wanted, desired and craved pizza. I wasn’t asking for much after all. There are McDonald’s all over this island. What about pizza? I took a deep breath and we went to the restaurant next door. I’m a grown woman. I can handle this. I had a shrimp and avocado wrap. And just to make myself feel better I had an apple tart with ice cream and caramel sauce for dessert. Sometimes dessert really is the best way to deal with disappointment.