Mr Kneady’s: Freshly made artisanal sourdough pizzas from $19 at Simpang Bedok

The lone hawker centre at Simpang Bedok (also known as The Bedok Marketplace) is well known for being a hipster eating place, as it sports a retro style and plenty of stalls selling modern cafe-like offerings. I’ve been here plenty of times for a beer or two, but this was my first time patronising Mr Kneady’s, a humble hawker stall selling artisanal sourdough pizza.

You’ll find Mr Kneady’s conveniently located in the heart of the hawker centre.

Mr Kneady’s is run by 34-year-old Lionel, who (believe it or not) has a wheat allergy! “It’s mostly rye and buckwheat actually,” he shared. “And those trigger an asthma-like reaction.”

To counter this allergy, Lionel decided to specialise in sourdough. Though it’s a simple hawker stall, plenty of work go into its preparation, especially once you consider sourdough can take up to 20 hours to prepare. Not only are all sourdough loaves made in-house from scratch, he also uses sourdough for all its pizzas.

What I tried at Mr Kneady’s

Mr Kneady’s offers a humble line-up of 6 sourdough pizzas. We decided to try the Vox Populi (S$22), a taco-inspired sourdough pizza with jalapenos, pork sausage, cheddar and mozzarella.

If you’re curious, some of Lionel’s other offerings include Remedy (S$19), a sourdough pizza with a garlic sauce base, smoked chicken, red onions and mozzarella; Space Oddity (S$19), which has a tomato sauce base, salami, pepperoni and mozzarella; and Arlandria (S$19), a sourdough pizza with 3 types of cheese— brie, mozzarella and smoked mozzarella.

And more importantly: every single pizza is made fresh upon order, and the 10-minute wait time for your order is well worth it.

Frankly, Mr Kneady’s Vox Populi looked so good that I’d have believed you if you told me this was made by a cafe or even an Italian restaurant.

This was an 11-inch pizza that could easily feed 2 to 3 persons. Fresh out of the oven, I could smell the tantalising scent of salty pork sausage and savoury, mouthwatering cheese. More importantly, I loved the even distribution of tomato sauce, cheese and ingredients, and how the pizza didn’t look too greasy or oily.

Trust me when I say that I sped through the photo-taking process as I wanted to enjoy the pizza in its most optimal state— piping hot.

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A single bite of this pizza took me to heaven. This was easily one of the best pizzas I’ve had— every mouthful was intensely cheesy and meaty as if I had sunk my teeth into a large and succulent cheeseburger or beefy taco.

The tomato base, which is made in-house by Lionel, was delightfully tangy and savoury and acted as the perfect foundation for a wonderfully flavourful experience. This was pure cheesy melted goodness with a piquant sourness and slight heat from the jalapenos, which were sliced in thick circles for a juicy bite.

As someone who enjoys thin-crust pizzas, Mr Kneady’s sourdough pizzas were right up my alley, and I loved its slight chewiness. Meanwhile, the outer ring of the pizza was crunchy and toasty and had a tinge of salty savouriness that was simply wonderful.

Final thoughts

Mr Kneady’s has truly spoilt pizzas for me because now I know where I can head for absolutely delicious pizzas at a fraction of the cost. The best part is that as it’s situated within a hawker centre (albeit a hipster one), it’s incredibly fuss-free too, and you only have to wait approximately 10 minutes for your freshly made sourdough pizza to be ready.

I can most definitely imagine coming back to The Bedok Marketplace with friends for a chill pizza dinner, paired with a bottle of beer or two. 10/10 will recommend.

Expected damage: S$19 – S$22 per pax

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