Celebrate “Crustmas” at Pizza Duo with Jun and Katelyn

COVER Pizza Duo at Tap Room, Bamboo Hills

Pizza Duo, the brainchild of Aina and Mark during the days of lockdown, has been consistently serving up some of the best Neapolitan-style pizzas in KL. Located just left of the entrance to Tap Room in Bamboo Hills. This December, the Duo is collaborating with food writer and content creator Jun (@jun.and.tonic) and dining editor Katelyn Tan (@katfewd) for a festive menu to ring in the spirit of “Crustmas”. We had the best time at their pizza party earlier this week to preview and sample the three limited-time specials.

ABOVE From left: Jun, Aina, Katelyn & Mark

The pizzas by Pizza Duo have an exceptional texture thanks to the laborious process of making the pizza dough. A 72-hour bulk fermentation contributes complex flavours, and extremely high temperatures in their woodfire oven churn out pizzas with soft centres and crisp airy “leopard-spotted” crusts in just over a minute. While the dough is true to its roots, the toppings are a contemporary, intercontinental mishmash of flavourful things — think Thai basil chicken, Korean kimchi and short rib bulgogi, or duck sausage and pineapple jam.

Aina and Mark seek out the best ingredients for their pizzas, flying in specialty cheeses, tomatoes and four different specially milled flours from Italy. The duo also makes trips to the land of Neapolitan pizza, Naples, regularly to learn traditional techniques and recipes to bring the taste of Italy to KL. You just know you’re in good hands.

Now onto the Merry Crustmas special menu, which will be available till 31 December 2024.

Katelyn’s Mince Pie

First up, Katelyn’s recipe truly embodies the feeling and flavours of Christmas in a unique way. Her rendition comes topped with parmigiano reggiano fondue, creamy fior de latte, fennel seed, crisp beef meatballs, mincemeat and fresh thyme. For those unfamiliar with mincemeat and mince pies, it is deceptively not made of meat, but an old-fashioned spiced jam from Britain made with dried fruits that is served on tables during Christmastime! As a person who does not prefer the texture of dried fruits, I usually turn away from mincemeat. Katelyn’s version was silky smooth and sublimely spiced, bringing sweet contrast to the savoury cheese base below, and making this an unexpected favourite of mine.

ABOVE Katelyn’s Mince Pie

Aina & Mark’s Santa’s Surf & Turf

The second of the pizza trio (ha!) is a twist on the classic Piedmontese vitello tonnato, which pairs tender veal with a creamy tuna sauce. The combination was inspired by Aina and Mark’s trip to Piedmont, Italy in 2019 where they fell in love with this marriage of unlikely flavours. Santa’s Surf & Turf is served with a bed of mashed potatoes, topped with parmigiano reggiano, Cecina beef, tonnato, anchovy aioli, capers and arugula. This pizza was creamy and salty, and my dining partners really enjoyed this rendition, though I opined that it was on the drier side of textures.

ABOVE Aina & Mark’s Santa’s Surf & Turf

Jun’s Japanese Fried Chicken

Rounding out the Merry Crustmas menu, Jun’s creation was inspired by none other than the Colonel’s classic KFC. Did you know that KFC is Japan’s roast turkey at Christmas dinner tables? Jun has a weakness for all things Japanese cuisine so this cheeky East-meets-West blend is very on-brand for him. He pairs parmigiano fondue and fior di latte with pungent asiago and pecorino cheeses, topped with maple pulled chicken, crispy fried chicken skin, salmon roe and furikake (a Japanese seasoning blend of chili, seaweed and sesame seeds). A stunner in both looks and taste, the JFC pizza was almost unanimously crowned the best — I say almost because I’m partial towards Katelyn’s pizza. This combination was ultra-savoury, and had a variety of textures from creamy and pillowy to crunchy and bursting. If you are looking for a flavour bomb, look no further.

ABOVE Jun’s Japanese Fried Chicken (JFC)

Pizza Duo’s Shroomami 2.0 (Special Surprise!)

As if three pizzas weren’t enough, Aina and Mark went above and beyond to surprise guests with an off-menu version of their bestselling Shroomami pizza. It comes with their signature parmigiano fondue and fior di latte, with the most aromatic truffle salsa, portobellini mushrooms and ricotta, rounded off with a drizzle of truffle oil. Two-point-O comes with generous shavings of fresh black truffle, shaved tableside courtesy of Jun. A classic menu staple, Shroomami is my ultimate favourite at Pizza Duo from previous visits.

ABOVE Shroomami 2.0

A Luxurious Grazing Table

Annual Christmas pizza parties are becoming a tradition for Pizza Duo, at least I hope so! Guests are treated to an extensive and beautifully crafted spread of cured meats, antipasti, cheeses, breads and crackers, fruits and desserts. Words simply cannot do the grazing table justice. Perhaps we can take some inspiration in making our own charcuterie boards or grazing tables when hosting this festive season.

Tap Room is one of Bamboo Hills’ most popular dining establihsments, offering a wide variety of dishes including pastas, rice bowls, tapas, grilled meat or snack platters, and desserts. Not forgetting great drinks from the bar and Malaysia’s first craft beer brewery Paperkit.

The dining space is spacious and always abuzz but never too much, making the place perfect for group dining and gatherings. Reservations are highly encouraged when opting to dine at Tap Room, but walk-ins are also accepted (expect a wait!). You can even book half or the whole space for private events.