Travel Tuesdays: Levain Boulangerie and Patisserie, Kuala Lumpur

I can’t believe this is only my 9th instalment of Travel Tuesdays! I first started this to make sure that I was diligent about uploading and sieving through my travel photographs, but I’m afraid I’ve yet to stick to that goal. I have to admit that sometimes, when I do look through my photos, I too am surprised by what I see - photographs do tend to record things that you never did notice ;p

As I have alluded to here, I went up to KL on a short impromptu trip over the Vesak Day holiday weekend, and the aim of the trip was to stuff myself silly with good food. And that I did. I always have this ‘list’ of places to eat at for almost every destination that I want to visit, so it’s no surprise that I’ve got a very lengthy list for KL, which I regard as my third home, after JB and Singapore.

High up on the list was two places – Levain Boulangerie for the breads, pastries and cakes, and Les Deux Garçons for their French entremets. I was not disappointed at each place. Maybe it’s because I’m looking at the prices with a ‘Singaporean’ eye, but everything was so darn cheap! Cakes per slice in Singapore cost anything from $6 up, so for a cake to cost in the vicinity of RM10 was a pretty good deal for me.

Sadly, I didn’t get too good photos of LDG’s cakes or the place itself, because it was pouring cats and dogs and I didn’t take my camera with me. The cakes didn’t make it back well either, but suffice to say that they are really good! I was very impressed with the care they took in the packaging and the entire look of the place, although I do hope that they come up with some new cakes by the time I return to KL in August because there were probably about 10 types of cakes and tarts in the counter and when I asked, they said that this was all the variety that they had and the flavours don't change. Huh.

So back to Levain. Levain is my kind of bakery. It's one of those large homey refurbished colonial houses, or 'cottages' as I would like to call them, and the entire place has been renovated (for a cool million I heard). It actually reminds me of MANY such places in Australia, which have these types of bakeries in abundance, and not so much European/continental bakeries. I was half expecting for Levain to let me down in some aspect, because it sold everything – warm food, breads, pastries, cakes, and even macarons! But...I must say that I am pretty impressed on the whole! I went with a huge group of relatives, so I was able to try just about everything. Their beverages, pastries, pizzas, spaghetti, soup, cakes, macarons, breads – ALL CHECKED! Everything was more than passable, and I was very impressed with a few items.

Let’s go down to the nitty gritty shall we?

When you first walk into the bungalow cottage, (you first have to get pass the problem of very-hard-to-find-parking), you will be greeted by the cashier and the bakery proper on the left. On the extreme left, lies the bakery which contains the stone oven which they use for their breads. Mind you, I see normal commercial ovens too, so I suspect only pizzas and the crusty continental breads get their baking in the stone oven.

I liked the self-service aspect of it – if you're just getting the breads to go, you can grab a tray, then head to the cashier to pay up. If you're looking for a seat, I'll recommend you looking for a seat first, noting down the number and going down to order. There's seating downstairs and upstairs, inside and out. The view differs from room to room, so take your pick! You can (or have to) ‘chope’ your seat with a ‘reserved’ tag before making your way to get your food. As for warm food and beverages, they’ll be served to you, so be sure to remember where you are seated. Water and other cutlery are available at counters in each room.

Onto my review proper. For the clueless, levain actually refers to a starter that French bakers used in their baking. And this is perhaps the selling point of this bakery, that all their breads make use of this special levain, or natural yeast as they like to call it. I personally prefer the term sourdough, but well, to each his own. Admittedly, because I was there for the 'levain' items, I was quite disappointed to see a very small variety of actual European-styled breads. I guess that's mainly because Malaysians still like their soft and sweet buns, so European breads, which tend to be crusty, can be pretty hard to sell. Besides, other than the usual baguette, I'm sure more than half of the patrons probably have no idea what European breads I'm referring to.

I tried the 'natural yeast' baguette, which I asked them to slice and toast for me. I didn't quite like it - although it was nicely crisp and all, I expected a slight tinge of sourness or at least some complexity in the taste of the baguette but... nothing. It was a very flat taste, and very reminiscent of normal yeasted baguettes, so I was disappointed that their levain didn't taste good enough. But mind you, I am comparing to the baguettes that I had the privilege of eating in France, so it is perhaps an unfair comparison. The baguette was good, just not great. 

As for the other breads, I read that the bakers actually come up with at least 4 new items each month, which is really impressive! I managed to snitch bites of a couple of other breads, such as the walnut ring thing that you see in the background in the photo above, as well as other 'japanese' style soft sweet breads. The breads were pretty much standard, and the prices were quite hefty (at least RM 3) for each, but I guess we're paying for the experience? A good bet however, would be their sandwiches. They have quite a few varieties available, and the portions are enough for one for lunch.

As for the pastries, I liked them :] I had the croissant, the almond croissant as well as the danish pastries (the sultana one). I liked that they used the yeasted versions of these pastries, and that each layer/lamination was very crisp and well done. The almond croissant was really good - I liked the almond paste on the inside - it didn't reek of almond extract, and the sweetness was just right. Same with the other pastries.

As for the macarons - MAJOR GRIPE. WHY WHY WHY do they spell them as macaroons? For a bakery to name themselves after something French, it is unacceptable that they got the spelling of MACARONS wrong! It’s not macaroons for goodness sake! GAH. I certainly felt that it was incongruent to sell French confections and not know how to spell them properly >.<

I can't remember the exact price of each macaron, but I was told by my cousin that the macarons here are quite costly as compared to other places. However, they are also one of the best. So I guess you're paying for good quality stuff! Levain has approximtely 15 flavors on sale each day, and out of those I tried, I was pretty impressed with the strawberry, which had fizzy candy to give it an extra pop. The other flavors were good as well, not overly sweet and overwhelming, and all very well done. I was impressed also with the fact that the feet were nicely frilled for most of the macarons and the sizes and filling quite uniform across the board. Thumbs up!

As for the cakes, I had the Noisette (Hazelnut Dacquoise, Dark 62% Mousse, Chocolate Flourless Cake, Pralinosa Mousse), Mango Passionfruit tart and Raspberry Pistachio Cake. I'm not sure if those are the exact names for the latter two, but I can't seem to find them on the website any longer. They probably are out of season by now. In any case, no loss if you want to try them because out of the three cakes I tried, I was most impressed with the Noisette. You can probably give the other two a pass since the raspberry tasted very sugary and fake, as did the pistachio (there just wasn't enough real pistachio) and the mango-passionfruit quite normal. I tend to prefer a crispier and more well baked pate sucree, so the tart crust was below par for me. Nevertheless, I think each cake cost me RM7-9, so it was pretty cheap and value for money! Do try the noisette - I really enjoyed the praline mousse and the hazelnut dacquoise - I thought the layers were very well balanced between chocolate and hazelnut.

As for the other hot meals, we had two pizzas, which are available from 12pm to 8pm, and we had spaghettis and soups as well. The pizzas start from RM14 for medium sizes and RM20 for large sizes. The large is probably enough for two people for a meal. Very decent prices, and you get to choose whether you want a thin crust or a 'roman' thick crust. The bottom pizza picture shows the thick crust. Really pretty good stuff!

As for the soups, I had the minestrone and mushroom, both to dip the sliced baguette in, nothing too fantastic to rave about, but nothing below average either. Their spaghetti was pretty good - I had the spaghetti in arrabbiata sauce, and the sauce was nicely hot with chilli padi and the spaghetti nicely al dente.

So all in all, Levain gets my two thumbs up! Definitely worth a visit if you're in the vicinity, and if you're a tourist, the place is just off Jalan Imbi, but it's quite a fair walk (especially under the harsh sun) and I'd certaintly recommend taking the taxi there if you can afford it. It's a great getaway in the middle of the city, and definitely a novel experience :]

Details

Levain Boulangerie & Patisserie

Address: 7 Jalan Delima, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Contact: +603 2142 6611

Opening hours: Mondays to Sundays, 0730h to 2100h

Website: http://www.levain.com.my/

Price: $ (starts from RM3 for a bun)

List of Pizza Places/Pizzerias in Singapore

Back in the day when I wasn’t so enlightened as to all things pizza, I only thought a single type of pizza existed, and that type of pizza was those served by large chain stores ubiquitous with pizza. Then came the thin-crust pizzas. And after I went to Italy, I realized how diverse the pizza culture can be. I think Americans and Italians have a different attitude towards pizza – one uses the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ method, which is basically throw in as many ingredients as you possibly can, whereas the other believes in good quality, minimal ingredients. In fact, if you pick up any book on Italian pizza, you’ll realize that most of them recommend not more than 4 to 5 ingredients on the pizza, including the tomato sauce!

Speaking about American pizza, it is a misnomer in itself because as we know, there are three main types of pizza in America – the New York style ones which we are most familiar with, the California-style ones (typically with non-traditional ingredients like Thai) as well as the Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. I read somewhere that the prominence of pizza in American is probably due to the fact that there was a huge influx of Italians in America, bringing along with them their staples of pizza, which attests to why pizza is so popular and why the US has developed so many different types of pizza.


Now in Italy, there are two main camps as well – the Neapolitan pizza – that with a thick cornicone (edge or lip or what we term as the crust) and thin centre, and pizza elsewhere in Italy, typically with a thin crust. Within the different regions of Italy there are differences, but I won’t go into that today. Suffice to say, one of my favorite non-Neapolitan pizzas must be the pizza Bianca and the Roman-type pizza, which is a thin, crispy pizza which we term as thin-crust pizza here.

Anyway, this list has been long in the making. As most of my friends know, I’m rather OCD and you could say that I’m an information whore. I love collecting information and I love listing and categorizing them (yes, I’m weird that way). If only you can take a look at my drafts folder as well as my document folder, you’ll realize that I have tons of lists for everything, from things to bake (down to specific categories) to ramen places to try, etc. I’m also a tad distrustful of other people’s opinions, so when people list out ‘best [insert whatever food] in Singapore’ – you can say that I am more than a little doubtful, hence the need for me to personally try and evaluate their opinion. So this is what I have done. I have alluded to this list previously, and I’m working my way down the list, little by little. Over the past 2 years especially, after I returned from Italy having eaten the best pizzas in my life, I started a search for the best pizza in Singapore. I can honestly say that I don’t believe in ‘bests’, because best is a subjective benchmark, and best could be in terms of taste, ambience, or perhaps price. So what I’ve done is to set out the places that I’ve researched on and my brief comments on each, to let you do the deciding. You might find that there’s a certain push to a few restaurants, and that might be because some aspect of the restaurant appeals to me.

You might also note that I’ve left out Italian Restaurants which may serve pizzas on the menu, instead concentrating more on pizzerias which serve mainly pizza. This is not to say that pizza is the only thing they serve, because pizzerias in Singapore typically do serve sides, pasta, and perhaps a few desserts. You might also see a few Italian restaurants in the list, but their inclusion can only mean that the pizza is darn good or something else is ;p

Finally, you’ll realize that many pizzerias I’ve listed below are closed on Mondays, which might be because many pizzerias in Italy are also closed on Mondays, so leave your pizza eating escapades for another day! I’ve listed the pizzerias based on areas in Singapore, to help those looking for dining options. So if you’re still reading, do read on for the meaty stuff! :]

PS: in coming up with this list, I referred to lists from here and here and here, as well as numerous other food blogs whose reviews enticed me in one way or another to try the pizzas for myself.

Everywhere

1. Pizza Hut

Everyone who knows pizza in Singapore will know Pizza Hut. It’s what we grew up with. The best thing about PH in my opinion is that they have really good deals (check out their offers page), and their chicken wings and garlic bread are really not bad (from what I remember)! Lately, they’ve come up with many new menu additions like pasta (which have been reviewed to death) and their lunch offers are quite value for money too!

Plus point of course is that they’re available for delivery!

Address: Check out a whole comprehensive list here

Contact: 6235 3535 (who doesn’t remember their jingle!)
Opening hours: from 11am to 10pm daily.
Website: http://www.pizzahut.com.sg/
Price: From $18 up for a regular pizza

2. Sarpino’s Pizzeria
I’ve only had Sarpino’s a few times, and mostly because my teachers ordered them in as a treat for us and maybe because each time we were so happy and hungry, Sarpino’s tasted great. The best thing about them is that they are Halal-certified (not that the others aren’t), which is really important especially if you have Muslim friends, and that they have a variety of flavors, from the common pepperoni to more exotic selections like cheese macaroni pizza and chicken pesto pizza.

They also have deals like buy one get one free, and other freebies which come along with a minimum order. Delivery is also free for orders above $20, which is basically the equivalent of ordering 2 pizzas. This is perfect for a party, where you want variety and American-style comfort food.

Address: Check out the full list here

Contact: 6262 6767
Opening hours: from 11am to 10pm daily.
Website: http://www.sarpinos.com.sg/
Price: $18 up for a regular (10”) pizza.


3. Domino’s Pizza
I’m not sure if my chronology is right, but I think Domino’s appeared in Malaysia earlier than it did in Singapore, and that was where I got my first taste of it. I love the thick chewy crust of Domino’s, which is so typical of American-style pizza, particularly how not-oily their crust is, compared to their next-biggest competitor. My favorite is still the classic Pepperoni, although their chicken pizzas are pretty darn tasty too!

There’s no extra charges for delivery, and they almost always have promotions like 2 for $40 large pizzas, etc. Oh and don’t worry, they’re Halal too.

Address: Check out the full list here 
Contact: 6222 6333
Opening hours: from 1030am to 11pm daily.
Website: http://www.dominos.com.sg/
Price: $22 up for a regular (9”) pizza (without any promotion)

West
4. Cacio e Pepe
Cacio e pepe basically means cheese and pepper pasta in Italian, which is a rather common and popular Italian dish. This one’s pretty near my place in the West, but it’s really quite ‘ulu’ if you’re not a Westie. And even so, transport to that area is not exactly the best – you can only take several buses which are headed in that direction. Walking from Bukit Batok MRT is not advisable!

For this, I can do no better than direct you to a review by none other than Dr Leslie here. Like he said, their pasta vongole is superb and their pizza chockfull of ingredients and delicious!

Address: 3 Chu Lin Road, Singapore 669890.
Contact: 6760 3534
Opening hours: Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm, Dinner 6.00pm to 10.30pm. Closed on Mondays.
Website: http://www.cacioepepe.com.sg/
Price: $20 up for a pizza.


5. Pietrasanta
Pietrasanta is a place in Tuscany where I hope to go one day, and similarly, this restaurant is high up on my to-eat list. Judging from reviews from here, as well as their menu (with ubiquitous and authentic Italian names for the basic pizzas), I must say I have high hopes for this place!

Address: 5B Portsdown Road, #01-03, Singapore 138311
Contact: 64799521
Opening hours:
Website: http://www.ristorante-pietrasanta.com/
Price: $16.90 for a pizza magherita and up.


6. Rocky’s Pizza
Pretty much like other American pizza companies, they serve large pizzas with a lot of ingredients. Personal favorites include the 5 top economy, which allows you to choose 5 toppings of your choice, as well as Rocky’s mountain, when you just gotta have all the meat in the world you want (they use pepperoni, ham, sausage and chicken in one single pizza). You can also order slices and quarter servings, which is a plus for smaller eaters since the smallest pizza they serve is the 12” which is rather huge. They also deliver!

Address: Block 106 Clementi Street 12 (Sunset Way) #01-60 Singapore 120106
Contact: 6468 9188 / 6344 6868
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 10.30pm
Website: http://www.rockyspizza.com.sg/
Price: $16.50 up for a regular 12” pizza

Holland Village and Chip Bee Gardens

7. La Nonna
When I head down to Holland Village, this is my top choice for lunch, and one of my top few choices for dinner. La Nonna has a 50% off ala carte items for weekday lunches, which means that their $19 pizza goes for $9.50. Like WTH so cheap right?!?!!? I love love love their pizzas – so far none of them have disappointed me, and I have written a more detailed review here.

Do reserve if you don’t want to be disappointed. And if the weather’s nice, do sit outside, it makes for a good people-watching spot ;p

Address: 26 Lorong Mambong
, Holland Village and at 76 Namly Place.
Contact: +65 6468 1982
Opening hours: Everyday, 12-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm
Website: http://www.lanonna.sg/
Price: Pasta and Pizza starts at $19


8. Wala Wala Café Bar
Wala wala isn’t exactly famous for their pizza, but it’s a bar located on a corner of Holland Village. Music’s good on certain days, and they have Happy Hour daily till 9pm, which is a definite plus as beer goes super well with pizza. Their calamari rings are awesome, as is their Seafood Pizza. Their pizzas are the paper-thin type of pizzas, which some might think equals not too value for money. But beer, pizza, good music and good company, what more can you ask for?

PS: service tends to be a bit slow when the bar gets packed, so don’t go upstairs when you’re hungry and all you want is to eat because the place is packed out on popular nights and you’ll probably have to stand. Head downstairs where there are tables and you can eat in peace (without loud music if you so prefer).

Address: 31 Lorong Mambong, Holland Village, Singapore 277689
Contact: 6462 4288
Opening hours: Generally from 3pm to 2am daily (varies an hour or two depending on the day)
Website: http://www.imaginings.com.sg/ (it’s a lousy company website so don’t bother)
Price: $17 up for a pizza (I think).

9. Crust Pizza
Having had a number of good pizzas in Australia, I was very glad that Crust was opening in Singapore, with two outlets too! I haven’t been down myself to a local branch, but if the pizzas here in Singapore are as good as the ones in Australia, then they are not bad at all! Crust’s trademark is probably the rectangular size of their pizza, plus the fact that they have 10 different types of pizza sauce bases to go along with a million other varieties of toppings. You can have a whole-sized pizza, or you can go with a half-and-half, which is probably the best if you're just two people trying out one pizza. They deliver with a minimum order of $20! And if I'm not wrong, you can ask for a gluten-free option as well!

Address: 34B Lorong Mambong Singapore 27769 and 21R Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574349
Contact: 64672224 (Holland Village) or 6456 1555 (Upper Thomson)
Opening hours: Check out the details here
Website: http://www.crustpizza.com.sg/
Price: $23 up for a 13”x8” pizza


10. Da Paolo Pizza Bar
Da Paolo is a rather big chain of Italian restaurants in Singapore – does Da Paolo Gastronomia sound familiar? It’s a deli selling takeaway pasta as well as an assortment of wine, and other gourmet items. Their pizza bar is located in Chip Bee Gardens, next to their restaurant and pastry shop. They have the buffalo mozzarella pizza, as well as a number of typical dolci (desserts) which go down perfect. Their pizzas are all thin-crusted – do check out these reviews for more information!

Address: 44 Jalan Merah Saga, Chip Bee Gardens, #01-46, Singapore 278116
Contact: 6479 6059
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Fridays from 11am – 2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm, open from 9am -12pm on weekends. Closed on Mondays.
Website: http://www.dapaolo.com.sg/index.php
Price: $17 up for a margherita.

11. Pizza Bar da Donato
They serve the pizzas by the squares, as well as calzones and other flatbreads. Their pizza is a cross between the thick Napoli type crust and the American pizza crusts and is rather ‘bready’. However, their sauces and toppings are pretty good, and they have a wide variety of them. My impression of it remains pretty good, even though the last time I ate it was probably 2-3 years ago, and I was ravenous then. The full scale restaurant at Ghim Moh also sells pasta, and other desserts. See here for a dated review.

Address: Block 21, Ghim Moh Road, #01-213.
Contact: 6219 7562/6462 0838/6465 1338
Opening hours: 10.30am to 11pm, Tuesdays to Sundays, closed on Mondays.
Website: none
Price: $6 up per slice

They also have a ‘taglio’ or hole in the wall, at 8 Sixth Avenue, Singapore 276473 selling slices of pizzas.

Central

Around Bukit Timah

12. A3 Bistro & Bar

Located next to Bar Bar (this pub selling pretty good beers and burgers, etc.), this is a relatively new place around the area. There is a laidback, casual vibe to the place, and they sell pizzas, as well as pasta and other mains like seafood and other meats. Their Spinach Pizza is pretty unique – it is not vegetarian and contains sautéed spinach along with salami and egg together with the usual tomato and cheese toppings. They also run happy hour promotion for their beers, which is lovely when eaten with their pizza.

Address: 881 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 279893

Contact: 6466 4130

Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday: 1130am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 10.30pm;
Saturday, Sunday & PH: 10am – 10.30pm.
Closed on Mondays.

Website: None

Price: $10-15

13. Peperoni Pizzeria
This is the type of pizzeria you’d want to go to with your family or with a large group of friends. The sole reason being the large pizza is HUGE – and really value for money if you share the cost between say, 8 friends. This pizzeria is casual, and has no GST or service charge, which is great, because it's an ideal hangout for students studying in the area, especially the Binjai Park branch.

Address: 7 Binjai Park, Singapore 589821 and 6 Greenwood Avenue 289195 (behind NJC) and 95 Frankel Avenue, Singapore 458221
Contact: 6463 7800, 6465 6556
Opening hours: Mondays to Sundays, 11am to 10.30pm
Website: http://www.facebook.com/peperonipizzeria
Price: $19 for a 9" pizza and $50 for a XXL 21" pizza!

14. Sole Pomodoro Pizzeria
Located near Little India, this pizzeria is one of my favorites! I love the atmosphere there, and their pizzas are certaintly one of the  best I've eaten in Singapore. Read more about Sole Pomodoro from my review here.

Address: 12/21 Mackenzie Road #01-01, Singapore 228678
Contact: 68843671
Opening hours: Opens 12pm till 11pm (Closed on Mondays)
Website: http://www.solepomodoro.com/
Price: $15.90 and up for a Margherita


15. Oishi Pizza
I’ve always believed that Japanese people excel at whatever they set their mind to – L’Operetta is an example of the Japanese excelling and same with Japanese patissiers with French pastries. Oishi pizzas have lots of Japanese choices, such as Teriyaki Delight and Unagi and Wasabi flavor combinations. They also do free home delivery for a purchase of $25 and up, which is essentially two large pizzas. Pretty decent prices for unique pizzas :]

Address: 10 Jalan Serene #02-12 Serene Centre
Contact: 6555 5656
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 11am to 8pm
Website: http://www.oishipizza.com/

Price: $15.90 for a 10" pizza.

Town

16. Tomato's Pizza
I've never eaten from Tomato's, even though I always smell it when I'm inside Cold Storage at Great World City. They have quite a variety of pizzas, and honestly, they smell very very good, and I've seen a great number of expatriates purchasing from them before. They deliver for free upon purchase of $40 and you can even design your own Neapolitan pizza!

Address: 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Great World City Mall, #B1-18/19, Singapore 237994
Contact: 6733 9719/ 6733 9729
Opening hours: Everyday, 10am-10pm
Website: http://www.tomatos.com.sg/index.html
Price: $22 up for a regular 12" pizza


17. Modesto's

I have only eaten once at Modesto's, on the terrace, and that was a long long time ago, before they revamped the entire place. So I honestly have no vivid memories of Modesto's. The restaurant at Orchard is their flagship and they have a huge branch over at Vivo. Do check out this review if you're interested. They have pretty good offers for lunch so it's a good time to try them during lunch! The foccaccia bread is not bad!

Address: 1 Tanglin Road #01-09/10 Orchard Parade Hotel, Singapore 247905. Also at Vivo and Mt. Elizabeth.

Contact: 6235 7808
Opening hours: Daily, 12pm till past midnight.
Website: http://www.modestos.com.sg/
Price: $18.50 for a regular Margherita

18. California Pizza Kitchen
Conveniently located in Orchard road, California Pizza Kitchen is a good place to go for American style thick crust pizzas. Check out Brad's review here. Having tried California Pizza Kitchen in other countries, I'm not too impressed with it, so I haven't bothered trying the one in Singapore. That said, it is perhaps one of the few pizza choices in Orchard belt (closer to the start of Orchard Road and Tanglin) when you have a craving for Italian food and pasta.

Address: 583 Orchard Road #01-42
Forum The Shopping Mall, Singapore, 238884
Contact: 6836 0110
Opening hours: Daily, 11.30am to 11.30pm
Website: http://www.cpk.com/locations/singapore-forum/
Price: $20 odd for a regular pizza


19. Skinny Pizza
I am not a fan of skinny thin pizzas, so I haven't had the impetus to want to visit. Nevertheless, they do have some unique flavours like squid ink, english breakfast and truffled mushroom which looks quite promising! Check out these reviews for more!

Address: At Wheelock, House, Raffles City and Great World City
Contact: Check here
Opening hours: Generally from 11 pm to 10pm, although the House outlet opens to midnight.
Website: http://www.skinnypizza.com.sg/
Price: Pizzas start from $21


20. The Pizza Place
This little pizzeria might get overlooked by most because it’s tucked in a little corner in Raffles City, slightly behind Skinny Pizza. If memory serves me right, they used to have a prominent place in the basement of Raffles City, prior to the extension renovation a few years ago. I still remember my high school friends and I would make that trip down to enjoy their pepperoni, sausage and BBQ flavored pizzas, which (at that time) used really good gourmet pepperoni and awesome sauces. They serve the typical American thick-crusted pizza with the usual sides like hot wings, chips, etc. I just went back recently to relieve old memories and either standards have dropped or my tastes have elevated. Their pizzas are so-so, but really, nothing much to write home about. It's pretty pricey (about $15 and above) for a decently-topped pizza and it's probably just enough to serve two not-so-ravenous people. Service is pretty quick, but seatings limited and you can’t really have a private conversation because tables are located very close to one another.

Good thing is of course, that this place has no GST and no service charge. This means what you see is what you get :] And for Muslim readers, they don't use pork or lard in their pizzas, so this could be a suitable place to head to.

Address: 252 North Bridge Road, Raffles City Shopping Centre, B1-16, Singapore 179103
Contact: 6336 1979
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Website: None
Price: around $15 for a personal sized pizza


21. OChre Italian Restaurant

I have been eyeing this place for a long long time now, because of reviews by Charlene and Brad among others, but have yet to find the company and time to head down for a pizza buffet. Rest assured this is on my to-do list this year! This is not exactly a pizzeria but more of an Italian Restaurant which happens to have a pizza buffet and good Italian food. They have a 1-for-1 promotion on weekdays and there's no service charge too!

Address: 181 Orchard Road, #11-03/04 Orchard Central
Contact: 6634 0423
Opening hours: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 11pm, daily.
Website: http://www.ochreitalian.com.sg/
Price: $16 up for a margherita


Beyond Dhoby Ghaut


22. Timbre pizza
Many university students (especially those from SMU) are no stranger to Timbre. What other place can you go for good music and good food? I've to say again that I'm not a fan of paper thin pizzas, but Timbre's pizzas are really not bad. I've probably tried almost all their pizzas - but roasted duck and the shrimp/seafood pizza is especially nice. And don't forget to order fries and calamari rings on the side too :]

Address: Timbre@ Art House, @ substation, @ old school
Contact: 6336 3386, 6338 8030, 6338 0800
Opening hours: from 8pm till late.
Website: http://www.timbregroup.asia/timbresg/main.asp
Price: $18 up for a pizza

23. Gattopardo
Not exactly a pizzeria again, but Gattopardo is one of the restaurants under the Garibaldi group of restaurants in Singapore, and is one of the more upscale Italian restaurants in Singapore which serve good Italian fare and offer good service. In fact, this is one of my online foodie friend, Jacob's favorite place! I've only been there during Restaurant Week, so my experience probably isn't the most accurate since they serve a fixed menu. But suffice to say, their pasta is homemade, their pizza is thick and doughy, their olive oil is pure and yummy and prices are not too exorbitant! Plus a free flow of yummy homemade bread is a definite plus! :] The only drawback in my opinion, is that it's not readily accessible by public transport and you'll have to drive up to Fort Canning Park to enjoy Gattopardo. That said, it means that your dining experience will be all the more unique and quiet!

Address: Hotel Fort Canning, 11 Canning Walk
Contact: 6338 5498
Opening hours: Daily,12pm–3pm, 6.30pm–10.30pm
Website: http://www.gattopardo.com.sg/
Price: $18 up for a pizza

24. Pizza Memoirs
You would probably have walked past this place if you love soaking up the nightlife over at Clarke Quay. I've seen the place, but have yet to eat there - I've seen a number of reviews and the squid ink dough looks especially enticing! You can check out a review here!

Address: 18 Mohamed Sultan Road, The Foundry, Singapore 238967
Contact: 6733 3102
Opening hours: Sundays to Thursdays, 11am - 11pm, Fridays and Saturdays, 11am - 2am
Website: http://www.pizzamemoirs.com.sg
Price: From $15 for a 9" pizza

25. Verve Pizza 

What’s superb about Verve is that it is for the health conscious too! Their senza pizzas are all less than 500 calories, but ingredients are still plentiful! They serve a thin-crusted, Neapolitan pizza (but minus the thick crust).

The branch at Clarke Quay opens till 4am on certain weekdays, and is a superb place if you want to indulge in some gelato and pizza in between drinking and partying.

Address: at Clarke Quay, Marina Bay and one-north

Contact: see website for details.

Opening hours: Opening times vary between outlets. The Clarke Quay and Marina Bay branches open till late (after 2am).

Website: http://verve.sg/index.php/pizza/

Price: $27 up.

26. Spizza
Spizza has one of the largest varieties of pizzas - their list starts from A and ends at X! They have pretty good lunchtime and outlet promotions which vary from month to month, and they also have new pizzas out every month or so. January's special was a 'kung pao chicken with dried chilli and cashew nuts' tomato based pizza for the festive new year :] You can also check out a 2011 review here.

Address: Outlets at Club Street, East Coast, Bukit Timah and Jalan Kayu. Takeaway at Havelock Road and Pandan Loop
Contact: See here for respective contacts. Call 6377 7773 for delivery!
Opening hours: 12pm -2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm daily.
Website: http://www.spizza.sg/
Price: 12" pizza starts from $19


27. Pizzeria Mozza
This is actually number one on my to-go-to list at the moment, but I’m still waiting for that special occasion to go down and have a complete meal with buccati mozzarella and proper pizza. Hopefully, I won’t be disappointed. Do stay tuned for a write up!
In between writing this and posting this, I managed to find that special occasion to head down and have a good meal at Mozza. Sadly enough, I wasn't too impressed with their pizzas. Admittedly, their mozzarella used was good, but the tomato sauce was just meh and truth to be told, I much prefer the neapolitan-style crust than the NY style that ... makes. However, the crostinis? I had for pre-dinner was definitely delicious, and with the barest of seasoning and herbs, they were exquisite. The meatballs also saved the day.

Address: Marina Bay Sands, #B1-42-46, 2 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018972
Contact: 66888522
Opening hours: Open for lunch on Fri and Sat, Open for dinner daily
Website: http://www.pizzeriamozza.com/singapore/dinner.cfm
Price: $16 up for the cheapest pizza.


28. South Coast Bistro and Bar
This is yet another place on my to-go-to list, so I can do no better than refer you to one of my favorite food blogs – Camemberu, who has done a wonderful review on it. I love how laidback and casual the interior looks, and I’m quite eager to try out their tasting plates which all come with their homemade sourdough bread! Do check out their website – it looks awesome and so Aussie!

Address: 10 Bayfront Ave
#L1-85 The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands
Singapore 018956
Contact: 6688 7600
Opening hours: 8am to 1am, daily.
Website: http://www.southcoast.com.sg/index.htm
Price: $22 up for the basic pepperoni.

Tanjong Pagar area

29. Pizzeria L'Operetta
Ever since I found out that they were Singapore’s first and perhaps only VPN-certified pizza, I’ve been dying to get there. And I did. I went to the ICON village branch on a weekend and tried the Pizza Bianca (which was superb) and the margherita, and I’ve to say that although the crust won me over, their tomato sauce didn’t. I found it too sour and lacking in the typical tomato ‘smoothness’, but everything else hit the spot. They also have pretty good lunch promotions (1-for-1 = cheap pizza!) and pizzas get served within minutes because of the requirement that VPN pizzas can only take 90 seconds in the oven! (of course you have to include time for the chef to actually roll out and top the pizza). Their express lunch sets are really cheap too, at $20++ for a salad, pizza and drink :] Do check out my more detailed review here!

Address: 12 Gopeng Street, ICON Village, #01-78-81 (nearest MRT is Tanjong Pagar).
Contact: 64382482
Opening hours: Open for lunch and dinner daily
Website: http://www.operetta.sg/
Price: $18 up for a Magherita

Also fully owned by them, the Enoteca L’Operetta is a full-scale Italian restaurant at 78, 79 Boat Quay Singapore 049866, selling main courses, etc, as well as a smaller range of pizzas.

30. Etna Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria
Opened by Sicilians, the Etna has a typical Italian feel to the place, albeit more high class (the usual checkered tablecloth is slightly hidden by the white layered on top of it). They serve baskets of warm bread, which you can order for $4-$9, and it’s a delight to have! They sell Pizza Biancas (mozzarella-based pizzas) and the usual tomato based pizzas, and they are pretty well known for their white pizzas. Also interesting is the prominent use of pistachios in many of the dishes – on the pizza, in their famous pistachio tiramisu, etc. This is no surprise of course, since Sicilian pistachios are perhaps one of the yummiest pistachios you can have!

Do note that the Etna that was listed as one of the Top 10 pizzerias in Singapore in the Epicure magazine is the outlet at Duxton and not the one in Siglap, because I’ve read that there are some variations in quality of the pizza.

Address: 49/50 Duxton Road and 110 Upper East Coast Road
Contact: 6220 5513/6444 9530
Opening hours: Daily: 12pm–2.30pm, 6.30pm–10:30pm
Website: http://www.sicilia-mia.com/
Price: $18 for the cheapest pizza.


31. Mont Calzone Pizza & Pasta
Catering mainly to the office crowd, Mont Calzone is a pretty decent place to have your pizza and pasta – they sell basic pastas at $13.90, with a choice of spaghetti, linguine or penne. You can add $3 if you want the more exotic ravioli or tortellini. They also have a huge variety of thin-crust pizzas, and you can make all pizzas into calzones or if you wish, make a 2-in-1 pizza just by adding $3. They probably have more than 20 pizza selections, but my advice is to stick to the more basic ones because at $15.90 for a black truffle pizza, the black truffle didn’t taste that good, whereas the basic Hawaiian pizza was loaded with ingredients. Their salmon and parma ham pizzas are not bad though!

Address: 38 Pekin Street, #01-01, Far East Square, Singapore 048768
Contact: 6557 2304
Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays: 11.30am – 3.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm; Saturdays from 5.30pm to 10.30pm. Closed on Sundays.
Website: http://www.montcalzone.com/
Price: From $15.90 for a 8” pizza.

32. Da Mario Pizzeria
I’ve read so many good reviews about this place, which makes me sad to give it a lousy review. The 2 pizzas I ordered, a Funghi and the Bianca pizza were honestly, quite bad. My siblings who were dining with me agreed – in fact, Domino’s tasted much better. The tomato paste was bland, and the mushrooms were the tinned types. Pizza Bianca should have good quality cheese topped, and this was just plain. I honestly had to use Tabasco sauce to make the pizza a semblance of tasty. I had high expectations for this place, which makes me doubly disappointed really.

Address: 60 Robertson Quay #01-05/06, The Quayside, Singapore 238252
Contact: 62357623
Opening hours: 12pm-3pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm on Mondays to Saturdays, closed on Sundays.
Website: www.damariopizzeria.com/
Price: from $9 for a pizza Bianca and $14 for a margherita.


33. Bella Pizza
If you head down to Robertson Quay, don't get confused if you see two outlets, one called Bella Pasta and the other, Bella Pizza along one stretch of shops. Both are essentially the same and serve essentially the same things. Do head to Bella Pizza for the greatest variety of pizza though. Word of warning - Bella Pizza is usually very very packed during the weekends, so please make a reservation before heading down or you'll have to wait more than an hour to get seated :/ You can also state if you want an inside or outside seat when reserving - the outside's good if it's late at night and the sky is clear - the river breeze would be lovely. If not, book an inside seat with air-con! ;p

Do check out my more detailed review here  - this is the second of my favorite pizza places in Singapore with good delicious pizzas and good atmosphere.

Address: 30 Robertson Quay #01-14,
Riverside View, Singapore
Contact: 6734 0139
Opening hours: Closed on Mondays. Tuesday to Friday: 11.30am to 2.30pm; 6pm to 11pm;
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday: 11.30am to 11.30pm

Website: www.bellapizza.com.sg/
Price: $18 up for a margherita.


34. Boston Pizza Company
Again, typical American-type pizzas, but they also offer other things like clam chowder and pasta, which is not too bad. They cater mostly to the office crowd in the area, and the best thing about their pizzas is that they have a rather wide variety of pizzas which are vegetarian.

Address: 5 Boon Tat Street , Singapore 069613
Contact: 6219 9219
Opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays from 1030am to 1030pm. Closed on Sundays.
Website: http://www.pizza.com.sg/
Price: $18.80 up for a 12” regular pizza

35. Extra Virgin Pizza

This is a pretty new place, and I first got to read about it from Justin's blog. The pizzas are pretty good - I didn't have a chance to try the pistachio pizza since my dining partners didn't want them - but we went with Margherita with the mozzarella di buffala and the meatball pizza. I love the high seats and if you get there after 7pm, the breeze is awesome. They have very good service too - after we were seated and the staff saw that we each carried handbags, they promptly offered us bag hooks! +1 for good service!

The pizzas are very somewhat of a cross between Neapolitan and Roman styles - not too thin crust and not too thick either. I love the large cornicones though - the blisters on the pizza prove that they are done in a wood fired oven :] The mozzarella was not the most tasty I've eaten, but I've gotta say that the tomato paste that they use is pretty good - not too sweet and not too sour! And if you get there between 5-8pm, there's Happy Hour! They have Kirin beer which is pretty good with the pizza :] I can honestly say that this ranks among my top 5 favorites!!

Address: 8 Marina View, #01-04, Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960

Contact: 6247 5757

Opening hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 7.30am - 11pm

Website: http://www.extravirginpizza.com/

Price: $18 up for a margherita

North

36. Buono Pizza
I’m not exactly sure if this place is still there but from what I’ve searched on the internet, this place sells good pizza and is a quaint little restaurant.

Address: Serangoon Garden Estate, 27 Lichfield Road
Contact: 6733 5646
Opening hours: Daily: 12pm–2pm, 6pm–10pm
Website: None.

PS: As you can guess, I don't really travel to the North that much, so my list of pizza places there are considerably limited. Do let me know if there's any nice pizza places there you wish to include in this list!

East

37. 12-inch Pizza and Records

Yet another venture by the Timbre Group, you can expect pizzas of the same quality over at 12-inch. I've again only read reviews - especially Justin's review and it does look pretty good! Like the namesake, it sells 12 inch pizzas named after song titles and group names. Some names include "Goodfellas" (which probably only locals will know) and The Cranbellies (presumably after The Cranberries). Some pizzas I've my eye on is the pear and gorgonzola as well as the black pepper crab. Even their  menu is a 12-inch record! This is definitely something I'm KIVing when I'm in the vicinity!

Address: 70 Jellicoe Road, V Hotel, Level 4 (near Lavender MRT)

Contact: 6296 1622 or 6352 6266 (delivery)
Opening hours: Daily: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6pm to 10pm.
Website: www.facebook.com/12inchPizzas
Price: $22 up for a pizza

38. Bruno’s Pizzeria & Grill
I’m not really an ‘eastie’, so what I’ve tried in the East of Singapore is really limited. Do check out reviews from here and here and here! All of them have favourable reviews of the place!

Address: 338 Tanjong Katong Road
Contact: 6440 4525
Opening hours: Tues to Sun: 12 noon – 2.30pm, 6 pm – 10.30 pm
Website: None
Price: $18 up


39. Al Forno
I know this isn’t exactly a pizzeria but more of an Italian restaurant but it is a restaurant opened by Napolis and I thought it was worth highlighting. For those staying in the East, they do free delivery for orders above $40, which is pretty good if you’re too lazy to get out of the house and you want a proper, delicious Italian meal with primo plat and carne, etc.

Oh and pizza’s good too!

Address: 400 East Coast Road Singapore 428996
Contact: 6348 8781, delivery hotline 63488861
Opening hours: 12pm-2pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm daily.
Website: http://www.alfornoeastcoast.com.sg/
Price: $20 up for a margherita


40. Pizza Capers
For the rare few people in Singapore who are gluten-free – pizza capers is where you want to have your pizza from! They not only have kid sized pizzas, they also have gluten free 10” pizzas, which cost a slight fraction more than the large 12”. FYI, their kid sized gluten free pizzas only cost $7.95! What’s more, they do delivery (though to a limited area) as well, which is perfect for parties. They also have a great variety of pizzas, as well as pasta and risotto!

Address: 226 East Coast Road Singapore 428923
Contact: 62626262
Opening hours: 10.30am to 10.30pm daily.
Website: http://www.pizzacapers.com.sg/store-location.aspx
Price: $16.95 up for a regular 9” pizza.


41. Pizza Goemon (Yomenya Goemon)
This is yet another Japanese pizza place - what is it about Japanese and pizzas in Singapore? Anyway, I've only seen this and have only tried their pasta menu, which is pretty good and value for money btw. They also have pretty good set deals for lunch at not-too-exorbitant prices!

Address: 112@Katong and Changi City Point.
Contact: 6636 3692 (Katong)
Opening hours: 11.30am - 9.30pm daily
Website: http://www.n-rs.com.sg/
Price: $15 up for a pizza

And that ends off my list of pizza places and pizzerias! Do let me know if you check out any of them and have anything to say about them, especially those places which I've not been to because I would love to hear reviews on them for me to better decide which to head to first :]

Wholemeal Pizza with Pepperoni and Basil Pesto

Ever since I saw Swee San's Christmas Giveaway post, I've been dying to enter because well, you stand a chance of winning Pantry Magic vouchers! How cool is that? Considering that Pantry Magic in Singapore has closed down and I was a sucker for all their stuff, and knowing the one in Bangsar is huge, I really really really wanted to enter so that I could win hope hehe. 

Anyway, I had many grand ideas as to what green/red thing to make, but suffice to say, time got the better of me. I had wanted to make strawberry macarons, and I did, but I was stubborn and didn't use any red coloring and since the strawberry powder I used just wasn't intense enough, so I got bubblegum-pink macarons instead =X I also wanted something to reflect the theme of Christmas, so I finally decided that pizza would be it. It might be a strange thing to bake to reflect Christmas, but I have fond memories of when my extended family gathered in KL and on the floor under the Christmas tree, were tons and tons of beautifully wrapped presents. I remember us kids would go around the tree and because we were not allowed to touch the gifts before 25th, all we did was to note which present had our names so that once the signal to 'open your presents' was given, we would rush to the tree, grab our presents, and proceed to rip the wrappers off each present in our own spaces. Sadly, as we became older, we didn't like the presents we got and we don't have such a tradition any longer :( Tis a pity really. 

Trying out the 'soft' look here

I have deviated, but anyway, on the dinner table, in addition to the yummy chinese dishes that our mothers and aunties would cook, would be pizza. We would order from the usual delivery company, and as young kids, pizza was the first thing we had (or wanted), well, maybe after the fried chicken or wantons and fries, followed by the meehoon and everything else. I vaguely remember having turkey and ham on some years, but pizza was always there. So using that fond memory of mine, I've decided to glamorize and upgrade the pizza. My favorite used to be plain ol' pepperoni, and as we all know, pizza doughs are typically made of normal white flour. Here, I have 'healthified' the pizza by using a wholemeal crust (which is so much more flavorful) and using the freshest ingredients where possible. I have to admit that if you were to compare the cost of making this pizza (plus the effort and planning required) to picking up the phone and ordering, the latter would be the far easier choice. I spent a bomb getting gourmet Italian spicy pepperoni, a block of parmesan cheese, mozzarella (I stinged here so I didn't get buffalo mozzarella). For the basil pesto, I bought a huge bunch of fresh basil and pine nuts. It is not counting the cost of the good quality Italian olive oil I used in the pizza and pesto. And not forgetting the cost of the organic whole meal flour I used. But hey, it was healthy and yummy, so well worth the splurge :]

For the wholemeal crust, I used a recipe from one of my favorite bread bakers - Peter Reinhart. He's probably the only author whose books I all own. I love the way he writes and how detailed he goes into the science and the whys of bread making. So far, none of the recipes I've tried from his book have failed me. In fact, his pizza napoletana recipe is one of my favorites too, if you want a normal white bread flour pizza base. I also love his cinnamon rolls and bagel recipes! I have to caveat this and say that you really don't need to get all his books because most of the recipes in the books are very very similar, and instructions are very similar as well. If you must, get the "Artisan Bread Every Day", I find instructions in that book the clearest and easiest to understand. 

In order not to violate any copyright restrictions, the recipes below are completely rewritten in my own words (as much as possible anyway). I strongly advise you to get the book if you are interested in wholemeal bread baking, because it really is a very good primer into wholemeal baking. In fact, I've just started my own organic wholemeal sourdough starter, and I hope to post results of it soon. I hope to use the sourdough for the pizza that I'll be making on Christmas this year :]

The cheese was patchy here because I ran out =X

To make the pizza, you will need: 

• Wholemeal pizza dough (recipe below)
• Basil pesto sauce (recipe below) or a tomato based sauce 
• Any other toppings you like - I used the following: 
• Pepperoni
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Shaved Parmesan cheese
• (not pictured, on another pizza) White onions and portobello mushrooms 

Wholemeal Pizza Dough

Adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads

Makes 5 individual sized (about 8-inch) pizzas

One day before you want to make the pizza, prepare the soaker and biga. 

Soaker:

230g whole wheat bread flour 

½ tsp sea salt

200g water

In a container, add water to the whole wheat flour and sea salt. Mix well to combine. Cover it loosely and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Biga:

230g whole wheat flour 

¼ tsp instant yeast

200g water

In a large bowl, combine the flour and yeast with water, mixing until you get a rough ball of dough. Wet your hands slightly with water and knead the dough for about 2 minutes. The dough should feel very tacky but not sticky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes before kneading it again for another 2 minutes. The dough need not pass the windowpane test but you are aiming for a slightly bouncy, tacky dough. Place the dough in a clean container (large enough for some expansion) and cover tightly. Refrigerate it overnight.

You may refrigerate both the soaker and the biga for a maximum of 3 days. On the day you want to make the pizza, remove the biga and soaker 2 hours before you wish to make the final dough to take off the chill.

Final Dough:

Use all the Biga and Soaker

57g whole wheat flour 

5g salt

1½ tsp rapid-rise yeast

15g sugar

28g olive oil

1. Remove the biga and soaker 2 hours before. Once they are about room temperature, using a scraper or a knife, roughly chop both doughs together into 12 pieces each. 
2. Place the dough pieces into a large bowl. Add in the flour, salt, yeast, honey and olive oil to the dough. Wet your hands with water and knead for 5 minutes until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. You may also use a bread machine or a stand mixer with a dough hook to do the mixing. The dough should be slightly sticky and a little soft. 
3. Flour your work surface generously and roll out the pizza dough on it. Knead the dough for a further 5 minutes, using only as much flour as you need. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. This allows you to give your arms a rest, although it's mainly to allow the gluten to relax. Knead the dough again for a few minutes until you get a tacky dough. At this point, the dough should pass the windowpane test. Divide the dough into 5 (or more) pieces and form each piece into a tight ball.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and oil it with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Place the balls on the parchment paper, making sure to roll the balls around to coat them in the olive oil. Cover the baking sheet loosely and allow the dough to rise for about an hour, or until it doubles in size (about 1.5 times is okay as well). 
5. Preheat the oven to the maximum temperature (I used 220ºC fan forced) and adjust the rack to middle position. 
6. Place one ball of dough on your floured work surface and using a rolling pin, roll the ball out into a 12-inch diameter disk or your desired size. I rolled the dough to about 8 inches, let it rest for a minute and shrink a little, before using my fingers to further expand the dough to about 10 inches. 
7. Place the dough onto a lined baking sheet (or pizza stone if you have) and top it with your desired ingredients. I topped it with a generous amount of pesto, followed by pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. On the other pizzas, I added sliced mushrooms and onions as well. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Remove from the oven and quickly shave the parmesan cheese onto the pizza. 
8. Let the pizza cool and rest for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving. 
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for the remaining balls of dough. 

Basil Pesto 

Adapted from Elise

Makes a cup of pesto, sufficient for all the pizza doughs above. 

2 cups (60g) fresh basil leaves, packed
½ cup (90g) freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
½ cup (100g) extra virgin olive oil

⅓ cup (45g) pine nuts 

3 medium sized garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Special equipment needed: A food processor or chopper.

Method: 

1. Peel the garlic and place it in the food processor. Pulse it a few times to mince it. 
2. Wash the basil and combine it with the pine nuts in the food processor. Pulse them a few times.
3. Slowly add the olive oil while the food processor is on. You may have to stop to scrape down the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula to ensure all ingredients are evenly blended.
4. Add the grated cheese and pulse again, until all the ingredients are blended. You can blend longer if you want a smoother paste. I wanted a chunkier paste so I pulsed for less than 15 seconds in total. 
5. Add a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper to taste. 

Janine's jots: 

• Taste: As I mentioned earlier, taste was fantastic. On its own, the pizza dough was so flavorful and so chewy that I literally ate it on its own (as a flatbread) the next day. With the same dough, I also used the traditional tomato version (not pictured because it was all gobbled up), as well as a dessert version (also not pictured because there was none left to photograph - it was a combination of balsamic vinegar, arugula, goat's cheese, figs and honey - a perfect sweet dessert pizza). And yes, I used the exact same ingredients on the dessert pizza as in my salad which I posted earlier. 
• Texture: I absolutely loved the pizza. It was the right amount of chewy (not too chewy) and you could vary the chewiness through the thickness of the pizza. I made thin crust versions for a crispier base as well as thicker versions with thicker cornicones, which of course were more chewy. 
• Serving size: The amount of pizzas I got from the recipe was more than enough to feed my family of five. In fact, I had 2 personal sized pizza doughs leftover, which I baked plain for the next day's breakfast. I dipped them in olive oil and balsamic vinegar :]
• Modifications: I wouldn't change anything about the pizza dough recipe, but I would definitely decrease the amount of olive oil used in the basil pesto because I found it a little too oily for my liking, even though I had decreased the oil in mine to 70g already. You should err on the side of less oil because if you are going to use it on the pizza anyway, you could drizzle some olive oil on top of the pesto if you find it a little too dry. 
• Storage: You can store the unbaked doughs for up to three days in the fridge, but I would strongly advise you to make all the doughs, and partially bake them, plain, for about 5 minutes in the oven before removing them to cool and storing them in the freezer. You then have readymade wholemeal crusts for whenever you wish to eat pizza!
• Would I make this again?: Definitely! Although this is the first time I've tried making Peter Reinhart's wholemeal version, this is definitely not my first time making homemade pizza dough. His recipes are my to-go-to for any artisan breads :]

I have to admit that these are not the best photos I've taken, but in my defense, I was very hungry and it was dinner (yes I have dinner at 6plus pm so it's still bright), so there was barely enough time to photograph the pizza before we dug in (although this was the third one after the tomato based pizzas). In fact, I'm surprised the steam was not visible in the pictures because seriously, the pizza was piping hot! Nevertheless, I am submitting this to the Christmas Giveaway in The Sweet Spot. The giveaway closes on 11 December, so you might be a little short of time when you see this post, but do try to join in if you can! Anything green or red will qualify! :]

Pizzas in Singapore #2: La Nonna

This is yet another long overdue post. Like I mentioned earlier, I was on a hunt for good pizzas in Singapore, and one of the first places I stumbled upon was this place recommended by Brad, called La Nonna, which according to him, had the best lunch promotion in Singapore. The best thing was, it was located in Holland Village, which is relatively near to where I live. Since then, I've visited La Nonna more than 3 times, mostly during the lunch period (so that I can take advantage of the $10 pizzas!) and for their lovely balsamic vinegar. 

Being the bad food blogger that I am, I only had my camera on one of the occasions that I went, so I only have two pictures. I realized that I'm really quite bad at this restaurant blogging thing, because I believe in eating my food hot, so once the food lands on my table, I just go 'snap' once or twice before digging in. This is why I admire those food bloggers who make the effort to lug around their huge-ass cameras to restaurants and to take proper good shots of the food so that they can entice others to go. 

Alright, the best thing about the promotion is that all pizzas and pastas are 50% off. This 50% actually applies to anything on their ala carte menu and they also have 3-course meal offers for about $22/++, which includes complimentary tea or coffee too. This might not sound impressive, but let me tell you that their pizzas are generally $19 and pastas around the same. This means that after 50%, pizzas are super duper cheap, about $10 or so! Plus the fact that they also serve complimentary bread with the traditional olive oil and balsamic vinegar - this place is really a steal! (Gosh I'm using so many exclamation marks!) And if you're a typical girl eater, you probably can't finish one of these pizzas yourself, so if say you stick to plain water and order a pizza, pasta and dessert for 2 to share, it'll be definitely less than $20 per person after taxes. 

La Nonna signature pizza

Only caution though - this lunch promotion is an open secret, so La Nonna is really quite packed for lunch, especially because they don't sit too many people on the inside. There are a couple of tables outside, but unless it's a cool day, I won't advise sitting outside. Good thing is that they accept reservations, even during lunch :] So do try to make reservations if you don't wanna wait! You can also access their website to make an online reservation - it is an instant reservation system, so it's akin to calling in if you can't call ;p

The pictures of the pizzas you see are both $19 before discount, which amounts to $9.95 after discount, before taxes. If you're unsure what to order (they have a few pages worth of pizza and pasta choices), you might want to try the La Nonna signature pizza. It's a tomato based pizza, topped with Mozzarella, Parmesan, Asparagus, Egg and Black truffle. Best thing is, they are really generous with their truffle and parmesan, and if you think you need more parmesan, just ask them for more parmesan - they will provide you with the freshly grated stuff, and not those packaged parmesan you get at plebeian places, heh.

My friends and I love salty food to bits, so the other pizza we ordered was the Caprino, which was also tomato based, but had mozzarella, goat's cheese, pancetta and rucola salad. In this pizza, the goat's cheese and rucola takes the limelight, as the goat's cheese they use is pretty mature, and tastes rather tart (or what Singaporeans might terms as 'sour'). Just a tip I picked up in Italy - you can combine an equal part of balsamic vinegar together with the olive oil (that they provide for every table), and use your fork to mix them together, then drizzle over your rucola. The sweetness of the balsamic vinaigrette goes perfectly with the rucola and goat's cheese :] This is not a pizza I'd recommend for anyone who doesn't like the taste of strong cheese. But if you are a lover of strong cheese - ORDER THIS!

Caprino pizza

We also ordered their Linguini ($19), which was served with crab meat in a tomato cream sauce and fresh basil, and again, they were really generous with the crab meat. I also loved the tomato cream sauce, which was a lovely orange color. On other occasions, I have ordered their Spaghetti ($19) and Capellini ($20), which were in mixed seafood cooked in aglio olio style and scallops in fresh tomato sauce respectively - I didn't like the spaghetti too much because I tend to prefer seafood in a cream-based sauce and I found the spaghetti a little dry (not enough olive oil used). The Capellini was perfect, as once again, they were very generous with the scallops. 

I've never ordered any of their secondi (main courses), so I'm not sure how those fare, but as for other pizzas, I have had their Diavola ($19), which is a tomato-based pizza with mozzarella and spicy italian calabrese salami. I found this pizza quite plain - because there just wasn't enough mozzarella, and overly oily, because the salami oozed too much oil after being baked. I had to use the paper towel to soak up the excess oil before I was willing to eat it, although my bf had no issues with the pizza. I did however, like the spiciness of the salami, which was an interesting change from the normal run-of-the-mill salami.  

And I've probably ordered La Nonna and Caprino like a couple of times after that first, and these are probably my two favorite pizzas out of the lot :]

So if it's lunch and you're thinking of pizza, don't order Pizza Hut or Dominoes or Sarpino's, give La Nonna a try and you won't be disappointed! It's cheaper too (after the discount)! FYI though, the pizzas are the thin-crust Italian type of pizzas, and not the American thick-crust pizzas. 

Details
La Nonna
Address: 26/26B Lorong Mambong
 Holland Village, Singapore 227685
Contact: +65 6468 1982
Opening hours: Everyday, 12-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm
Website: http://www.lanonna.sg/
Price: Pasta and Pizza starts at $19

They have another outlet at 76 Namly Place.

Pizzas in Singapore #1: Sole Pomodoro Pizzeria

When I think of pizza, I think of Pizza Hut and Domino's. I remember fondly the days when I would anticipate the birthday of a family member, not because of their birthday itself, but because I knew I would get to go to Pizza Hut. Back then, our family didn't eat out much and were not that well off, so pizza was a special treat and was only reserved for birthday celebrations. Fast forward to today, it's rather sad that my tastebuds have gone gourmet on me, and though these American-style pizzas do fine for a meal, I'd much rather spend that money and waste those calories on a true-blue Italian pizza. 

I guess you could say I underwent a pizza revelation when I was in Italy. As many would know, staples in Italy are pizza and pasta mostly, coupled with good wine and lots of olive oil. There, I had all sorts of pizzas, from any place imaginable - highly raved ones to those hole-in-the-walls, where you buy a slice or two of pizza just to fill your tummy when you are walking around the city. Some were good, some were not so good, and some made me realize how awesome pizza can be. The revelation came in Naples really. I’ve talked about it before, so I won’t go into great detail, but suffice to say, I never knew that pizza could be made so simply with just 3 ingredients – tomato, mozzarella and basil AND could taste so darn delicious. Having being brought up with the idea that pizzas with lots of toppings taste awesome, my first thought of having a pizza magherita was - how on earth I can stomach a pizza with just 3 ingredients? Anyway, in my mind, it was just 2 ingredients because basil is a herb and doesn't really qualify.

Well, you can. With ripe tomatoes you can make an awesome tomato paste, on which you break portions of buffalo mozzarella, which taste so rich and creamy that it's heaven in a bite. Not to mention the crust. Different parts of Italy serve different variations of pizza, but Naples is well-known for their thick crust and relatively thin pizza, and I dare say that nowhere in Italy is the Pizza Magherita better than that in Naples.

Pizza Magherita at Sole Pomodoro

Alright, long story aside, my point was that I started to appreciate good pizza, so when I came back from Italy, one of my first objectives was to recreate the Italian experience by having the best pizzas Singapore could offer. Suffice to say, I have been working through a list of pizzerias I've collated, and I've decided to start off with Sole Pomodoro, because it's still fresh in my mind and I can still remember how the pizza tasted. 

I went with my bff to Sole Pomodoro on a weekday afternoon, for a rather late lunch and lo and behold, besides ourselves, there was nobody in sight. That was awesome for us, because it meant that we could have our pizzas asap. We each ordered a pizza, I went for the basic Pizza Magherita (S$15.90) whereas my bff went for the Funghi (S$17.90), which was basically the magherita with mushroom toppings. We didn't go for the pasta, because both of us were there for the pizza really, but I can say that if their pasta used the same tomato sauce as the pizza, you can't go too wrong with that.

Since we were the only ones there, we chose a table close to the entrance of the kitchen, so that we were able to observe the chef. The main chef is Italian, but as you can see from the picture, his sous chefs are mostly Filipinos. The pizza was prepared very quickly - using dough that was resting under a cloth and within minutes, it was made into the usual disc-shape and tomato and mozzarella slathered onto it. The pizzas here are baked using a wood-fired oven, which is the brick thing you see in the background in the photograph. It probably takes about 5 minutes or less from when the pizza goes into the oven and to when it is taken out, ready for consumption.

I didn't get a nice photograph of the interior - but I love the vibrant colors used in the pizzeria - they have panels of orange tiles for the kitchen, which is an absolute delight against the bright blue furniture that they use for the chairs and tables as well as the place mats. Everything screams HAPPY :] I also loved how they attempted to go with a relaxed atmosphere, which is perfect with a pint of cold beer and delicious pizza. 

Having been to l'Operetta, I can safely say that both bff and I prefer Sole Pomodoro's tomato sauce, because it's richer and has a natural sweetness to it. Nevertheless, I found the crust overly thin, which perhaps suits the preferences of most Singaporeans who prefer thin-crusted pizza. I was hoping for a thicker pizza, one with a thick cornice and thin centre, but suffice to say, this hit pretty close. I read on Dr Leslie's blog that you can request a thicker crust, a Sole Pomodoro special - perhaps I'll ask for that the next time I head down! I also found that the pizza on the whole was slightly salty, but my bff didn't think so, so I guess to each his own! Of course, I've to add that for my pizza magherita, the mozzarella used wasn't the buffalo mozzarella - for that, you have to opt for the more expensive version which costs around $28 if I'm not wrong.

Mind you, my bff and I are rather huge eaters, so between the two of us, we managed to demolish almost an entire pizza each, leaving about a slice or two leftover. If you're a small eater, as are most girls here, you can probably share a pizza between the two of you, and at $15.90 for a more than decent Magherita pizza, I'd say it's real value for money. Alternatively, you can probably get the waitress to pack your remaining pizza - that's what we did with our remaining slice and it was nicely packaged in a foodsaver bag. What's even better is that they have lunch deals and daily specials for $15.90. As you can see, lunch is from 12-3pm, and you get a choice of 3 different set lunches - that's a main and a dessert for $15.90! Considering that Pizza Hut and Domino's pizza can cost more than $20 for a regular pizza, this pizza which is equivalent to a large pizza is definitely a steal!

Also, when I was there, I saw them packaging a number of pizzas for takeaway, so do call and ask for takeaway if you wish. They don't deliver! Like I mentioned earlier, the waitresses are also kind enough to pack up your pizza if you can't finish. And speaking from experience, the pizzas taste equally delicious, even when they're cold! :]

Oh, and just to forewarn you if you're heading down by car - parking's relatively easy to find, but getting there can be a bitch if you're coming down from the west side of Singapore because not only will you have to pass through an ERP gantry to get there, you have to do a U-turn near Bencoolen and traffic's a pain! But trust me, it's worth it! :D

Details

Sole Pomodoro Pizzeria 

Address: 12/21 Mackenzie Road #01-01, Singapore 228678
Contact: 68843671
Opening hours: Opens 12pm till 11pm daily, closed on Mondays.
Website: www.solepomodoro.com
Price: starts from $15.90 for a pizza magherita. See their menu here