Pizzas for Malaysian taste buds

Malaysian flavours created to mark National Day (from top right, clockwise): salted egg butter prawn, nasi lemak, beef bacon, satay, briyani and apam balik.

THE mark of a great takeaway pizza lies not so much in how laden with topping it is or how much cheese is embedded in the crust.

It lies in how well it stands up to the rigorous processes of storage — the refrigeration and microwaving — and whether it comes through it all still maintaining its flavours.

The pizza kantoi series from Knowhere Bangsar, a restaurant and cocktail bar in Kuala Lumpur, fits this criteria to a T.

For an in-depth look at their pizza menu, released to mark our National Day celebrations, customers must first understand why the kitchen team has added the word kantoi to its latest creation.

In essence, kantoi means busted, as in being caught red-handed for not churning out the real deal.

Rightly so, as the pizzas from Knowhere are not made of leavened bread dough that traditionally makes up a pizza base.

Its main construct comprises two 12-inch tortilla wraps, glued together with mozzarella cheese.

The pizza kantoi series created by head chef Mohammad Razis (right) with the team from Knowhere Bangsar restaurant.

The effect is a light crispy crust, making it an ideal snack item.

Created by Knowhere head chef Mohammad Razis Suhaidi and his team, the series offers six flavours: nasi lemak, briyani, beef bacon, prawn, satay and apam balik, with prices ranging from RM32.80 to RM40.80.

About 10 test pizzas had been developed during the research process.

In getting the green light, it took three tries for the apam balik and two for the prawn.

The rest hit the spot on first attempt.

The final version of the apam balik pizza features golden sultanas, which are long and plump.

Complementing these are bananas, a combination of hazelnuts and cashews, as well as fresh pomegranate seeds.

Instead of using mozzarella cheese to glue the tortilla base together, cheddar was employed.

This was to create a salty contrast to offset the sweet toppings.

Chocolate sauce was initially introduced during the first test session but as it came across like a peanut butter waffle, the team switched to gula melaka to give this dessert pizza a traditional focus.

The prawn pizza is made with fresh buttered baby tiger prawns.

It is sprinkled with golden salted yolk dust to achieve the salted eggy butter taste.

This golden dust is proudly home-made from boiled salted eggs, which are then frozen before being grated over the crust.

The prawns are cooked separately using butter and chilli, and then laid on the tortilla bread that has been spread over with a marinara sauce.

Turmeric, dairy cream and madras powder added to the sauce base give it that tasty edge.

The satay version utilises chicken thigh cuts marinated with turmeric, coriander, fennel and lemongrass.

Satay sauce, made with palm sugar and soya sauce, was used as the base.

This was then topped with shredded mozzarella and garnished with raw cucumber and onion.

Peanuts were added at the last minute to preserve their crunch.

The briyani, with its combination of chicken thigh and breast meat, is actually inspired by the varuval, the name given to the spicy Chettinad-style stir-fry cooking method.

To give it a sharper briyani feel, green apple, onion and mint raita are added to the topping.

This pizza is best eaten fresh from the oven but wonder of wonders, it was still at its best after two days of refrigeration.

The beef bacon comes paired with a spicy lomak gravy, a Negri Sembilan-style coconut curry flavoured with lots of turmeric.

Pepperoni was supposed to be the main ingredient but this was vetoed by the kitchen team as there are already too many existing pepperoni flavours in the pizza market.

Lastly, the nasi lemak pizza, complete with quail eggs and a sprinkling of fried crunchy anchovies, successfully joins the long line of novel spin-offs that have originated from this much-loved Italian staple.

Though contemporary in presentation, the pizza element is instantly recognisable.

The “Pizza Kantoi” campaign runs till Sept 19.

KNOWHERE BANGSAR, 50, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Business hours: 11am to 10pm. Tel: [phone]. Pork free. Open for dine in, takeaways and deliveries. Orders can also be made online at https://www.knowheretoeat.com/en_MY

This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.

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