Pizza 4 P's: The Only Pizza in Saigon

As far as we can tell, this guy makes every pizza, one at a time. His
workspace is also a casual, circular dining bar area.

Or rather, the only pizza in Saigon that's worth a damn.

From the crust to the cheese to the excellently combined culinary traditions of Italy, Japan, Vietnam, and, yes, even France, everything about these pies screams "Don't forget to take a picture before you decimate it!" and "DECIMATE ME IMMEDIATELY, SCREW THE PICTURE" in the same breath.

I've been lucky enough to dine here three more times in the past month, and the restaurant never lets me down. True, similar to my fascination with the Banh Xeo at Banh Khot Vung Tau, I'm not sure why you'd ever get anything other than a pizza, and possibly a salad, while you're here.

The utterly unique pies are worth their weight in dong, and that's saying something given that they are enormous and fairly expensive by HCMC standards, and that dong is all paper and no heavy coins. It's definitely a special occasion restaurant - and having visitors from abroad definitely qualifies as special!

The pizzas are made one at a time and cooked in this centrally located oven. Note to self: include a massive pizza oven in my future dream treehouse. Ground floor, next to the front deck and the dumbwaiter, next to the underground cellar entrance.

How much fun would this be to have at your disposal?! I would never stop building pizzas. I've seen people construct these things on Reddit - going into the dream house folder.

Left Half: Mayo Shrimp Pizza: Shrimp, broccoli, parmesan, house-made mozzarella, olive oil, and mayonnaise.
Right Half: Okonomiyaki Pizza: Cabbage, octopus, green onion, red ginger, mayonnaise, house-made mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil, and sweet okonomiyaki sauce.

The pizzas themselves are pretty large for a person - about the size of a big dinner plate, or 12-13 inches in diameter. The kitchen (see the oven/chef above) can do half and half for you at no extra cost, and it's worth it just to experience some of the unique variety offered.

Instead of assailing you with words that wouldn't serve to whet your appetite as well, let me just continue by shoving big fancy pictures in your face. You may commence drooling now.

Bottom Half: Salami Pizza.
Top Half: Quattro Flowers

Those flowers are so plump and tasty. My god - the leek flowers alone are worth it. The salami was reportedly excellent (I myself prefer the prosciutto).

Salmon Miso Cream Pizza

*salmon swoon*

My favorite vegetarian pizza: Quattro Flowers Pizza: Pumpkin flowers, leek flower, telosma cordata flower, sesbania grondiflora flower, daylily flower, and house-made mozzarella.

Just, ugh. I'm drooling a bit just typing this. I should have eaten lunch first.

Burrata, unmolested, on the margherita prosciutto pizza.

These are all fine and dandy (and oh-my-god-delicious), but the pizza that provides the buzz are the two Burrata pizzas. Burrata is a cheese that consists of an envelope of solid mozzarella filled with both cream and mozzarella, resulting in a unique, solid-creamy texture. It's about the size of a small adult human fist. Upon presentation, the serving staff will cut it open for you, spreading cream and mozzarella all over the amazingly fresh herbs and meats that top the margherita or margherita prosciutto versions.

Burrata, molested, on the margherita pizza.

Look at this bad boy - half burrata margherita, half four cheese.

In a twist that seems insane but is actually amazing (typical for the house!), the cheese pizza comes with a small pitcher of local honey. Dribbled on top, it's mouth-watering - the perfect sweet counterpoint to the savory, rich cheeses (which are made for the house by their fancy cheesery-place in Da Lat).

Camembert Forest Pizza with Berry Jam: Basil sauce, Camembert cheese, dill, parsley, almonds, and raisons with raspberry jam. AKA "the other interesting vegetarian pizza"

These tasty pies add up to the most unique pizza combinations I've had since I left America (and, honestly, there are some crazy pies in America ahemmacaroniandcheesepizzaahem) but the difference here is that each combo is precisely balanced and evaluated. Americans sometimes have a (admittedly SUPER FUN!) tendency to be bombastic and enthusiastic in their looting of world cuisine and ingredients, but here the emphasis is on coloring within the lines that form when east meets west... and a pliable, thin, chewy, crisp pizza crust is the ultimate canvas for such creations.

Unique, tasty, and an excellent presentation and atmosphere, not to mention a killer crust (essential!), make this a great option for special occasions or just a slice of something that isn't rice and pork and fish sauce.

Which, let's face it, is nice once in a while.