Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
One of my favourite indulgences has got to be wolfing down an entire pizza sans help from anyone else. Gluttony has got to be one of my biggest sin of all, but I mean, who can say ‘no’ to pizza?
Apart from our famous pizza chains and Italian restaurants, there hasn’t been someone who brought in good ol’ American deep dish pizza — till now.
Couple Jason and Nina were passionate enough about the prized pie that they decided to open John’s Pizzeria & Bakery in Alexandra Road (right next to IKEA).
Their eternal hunt for that chewy, doughy pizza that they were so fond of back home in the US failed to turn up when they lived here, so they decided it’s nigh time that someone brought it to town.
Of course, it would be crazy of me to have to sample four different pizzas here, but fret not! If you and your friends are having trouble deciding which toppings to select, you can always go for John’s 4-Way (S$29.90).
I went with (clockwise) Sausage Mushroom Onion, Hawaiian, Supreme and Pepperoni. Out of the four, my favourite was the Supreme, given my biasness towards meat-centric pizzas. The dough was slightly thicker than a thin crust, and the tomato base was viscous and had an acidic punch. Tres delish.
I came here with the sole intent of sinking my teeth into a hearty slice of their deep dish pizza, and that’s what came next.
The deep dish pizza wasn’t what I’d expected it to be, arriving as a large rectangular piece as opposed to a round pie.
We had the Deep Dish John’s 4-Way (S$39.90) to maximise our tasting session, and went with Deep Dish Pepperoni, Deep Dish Ricotta Bianca With Mushrooms, Deep Dish Supreme and Deep Dish Sausage Mushroom Onion.
What sets the deep dish series apart from their regular pizzas isn’t just the thickness of the crust; due to the ratio of dough to topping, the flavours were a lot richer and with just one slice, which satiated me satisfactorily.
The Deep Dish Ricotta Bianca With Mushrooms was exceptionally creamy and luxurious on the palate, much like carbonara on steroids. Was it to my liking? I still preferred the tomato-based slices.
More than just pizzas, John’s Pizzeria & Bakery also makes home-made impressively large chewy cookies. If you don’t come here for the pizzas, I can almost guarantee you’ll swing by for a cookie or two.
They have an ample selection, ranging from Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookie (S$6.90), M&M Mayhem Cookie (S$6.90), Double Chocolate Chip Cookie (S$6.90) and Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookie (S$6.90).
They have even recently added a Cinnamon Roll (S$5.90) to the line-up, and let’s just say it was absolutely divine!
My favourite cookie of them all was the Chocolate Chip & Walnut Cookie, as it had walnuts in it, which provided a diverse texture from the gooey, chewy cookie core.
The M&M Mayhem Cookie proved to be too sweet for my liking, and I had trouble finishing off an entire cookie on my own.
As for the Cinnamon Roll, the liberal sprinkling of cinnamon reminded me of Christmas and the decadence that comes with the festive cheer. The only issue I grappled with was the dryness the dough; my hope was for it to be moist and that it tore apart more easily.
With pizza places abound, I don’t blame you if you have trouble calling just one place the absolute best. One thing’s for sure, John’s Pizzeria & Bakery is worth the caloric investment.
Even if you don’t end up falling in love with their deep dish pies, I can vouch for their chewy cookies.
I for one prefer thin crust pizzas, so the deep dish pizza here didn’t really get my vote. But boy, those cookies, dough.
Expected Damage: S$18 – S$25 per pax
