Messy Buffalo, Taman Sungai Besi

Messy Buffalo is a new restaurant that tackles not only noteworthy wood-fired pizzas but wood-fired chicken wings, its own slick, saucy and succulent take on buffalo wings, grilled on skewers over rubber tree firewood.

For pizza fans, we recommend two varieties: First, the Wagyu Supremo, bolstered by beef on every slice, premium Australian wagyu MB5, smoothly thick and superbly tender, on a mozzarella-heavy pie that's beautifully smoky and buoyantly crusty. At RM41 for a nine-incher, it's well worthwhile, perhaps our favourite pizza within a five-kilometre radius.

Equally enticing is The Truffle Maker (RM39 for a nine-inch) - the instant you open the box, the aroma is intoxicating. What makes this impressive: It's not one of those truffle pizzas that rely on synthetically flavoured truffle oil - instead, you'll find black truffle shavings and truffle pate spread across the pizza, perfect for truffle maniacs. We'd enthusiastically order this again.

If you need a third pizza, try The Hot Mess (RM39), a probable crowd-pleaser, layered with smoked duck, sliced roasted chicken, wild mushrooms, rocket, mozzarella, Roquefort cheese and the final flourish of a wobbly egg, for a savoury, protein-packed treat.

We wish we had a better photo of the chicken wings being cooked, but unfortunately, photography is not permitted there, even though it's an open kitchen - the sight of the flames scorching the skewers is attractive. 

The wings are as juicy and tasty as expected - order a sampler of 12 pieces (RM29) to try the three primary flavours: My Honey is mellow and mild-mannered, herb-marinated and glazed with sticky honey BBQ sauce; Olei-Olei Serai is punchy and aromatically zesty with lemongrass and Asian seasonings; Let's Racha-Cha is pleasurably spicy, with the biggest kick of 'em all.

Messy Buffalo

B1-3, Midfields Square West, Jalan 11/108C, Off Lebuhraya Sungai Besi, 57100 Kuala Lumpur.

Open Tuesday-Sunday. Tel: 019-760-5313

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Common Feed, Plaza Batai

This new firewood-filled venue tackles not only wood-fired pizzas but wood-fire grilled steaks.

Common Feed's Angus MB2+ ribeye (RM38 per 100 grams) emerges irresistibly at the table, its crisp, commanding char surrounding a perfect-pink medium-rare centre. No-nonsense beef that represents rustic, red-meat realness, the kind of bold-bodied cut to expect at a carnivore's campfire.

The wood-fired pizzas boast paper-light crusts, blanketed with well-rounded toppings like a Polish-style kielbasa spicy sausage spread and bacon (RM38), proper enough for a pizza night in Damansara Heights.

Parmesan potato gnocchi surface with a slight smokiness, plus a side of firm, briny-fresh clams coated in wood-roasted pepper-Cognac cream (RM32). 

You could have a full-fledged Italian dinner here, with pappardelle in thick truffle cream with luscious Serrano ham, sliced portobello, and mushroom soil (RM42).

But the Cognac-cooked duck tops this trio of choices, particularly at its price (RM32), which yields two slabs of plumply tasty breast meat with a red wine glaze, ginger pumpkin puree and orange-fennel salad.

Common Feed

Lot 8-1A, Plaza Batai, Jalan Batai, 50490 Kuala Lumpur. Open Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-10pm. Tel: 03-2011-7882

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

La Oombah², Cyberjaya

Check out Cyberjaya’s new pizza joint La Oombah², where pizzas are pleasantly piled with plenty of toppings, mozzarella and tomato sauce on thin but chewy crusts.

We ordered two vegetarian-friendly pizzas for delivery, though many meaty possibilities are also available. The Sensational Spinach is the richer of the two, with green goodness galore, coupled with mushrooms and onions. Whether you find this one-note or a smash hit might hinge on whether you're a Popeye-like spinach enthusiast (RM25).

The Appetising Aubergine lives up to its name by offering a multi-textured, multi-flavoured experience. Thinly sliced eggplant, slightly thicker morsels of feta cheese, plus a sprinkling of olives transform the typically bland vegetarian pizza into a lovely medley of well-chosen ingredients (RM20).

La Oombah²
No. 6-1, Galleria Cyberjaya, Jalan Teknokrat 6, Cyberjaya, Selangor.  Open Mon-Sat, 12pm-10pm. Tel: 019-210-0547

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com

Alla Piccola Italia: API Pizza, Putrajaya

If you like pizzas piled with plenty of cheese, generously garnished with toppings, Alla Piccola Italia's your pick in Putrajaya. This food truck opens every evening in Precinct 14, whipping up brick-oven varieties like the crowd-pleasing Spicy Prawn (RM25; with marinated shrimp, pineapples, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, cheddar and tabasco sauce) and Supreme Beef (RM28; minced beef, salami, pepperoni, jalapenos, mozzarella and cheddar).

In an interview with a Putrajaya newsletter earlier this year, API's founder said she was inspired mainly by a visit to Italy; she added that API uses fine Italian flour and San Marzano tomatoes, which explains why API calls its pizzas Neapolitan-style. The oven also reportedly burns over 400 degrees Celsius hot, enabling the pizzas to be ready in two minutes.

However, API's Margherita (RM19) is more of a Malaysian reinterpretation for local taste buds - which makes sense, since API serves a conservative culinary community in Putrajaya. This Margherita relies much more on cheese instead of tomato sauce, layered not only with mozzarella but cheddar, without basil to make it a traditional Margherita.

Even cheesier is the Five-Cheese (RM23), which combines the mozzarella and cheddar with feta, cream cheese and blue cheese - thankfully, the blue cheese's pungent power keeps this from being too cloying. Note that API's crust is relatively soft and nearly flaky, evoking paratha as much as pizza.

Alla Piccola Italia: API Pizza

Putrajaya Food Truck Hotspot, Presint 14, 62000 Putrajaya. Daily, from 6pm.

This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com