IPOH: Ipoh is more than a gateway to Cameron Highlands or the halfway station en route to Penang.
When you are in the Perak state capital for work or on holiday, your trip is not complete unless you put Miker Pizza down on your itinerary.
Being the only cafe offering New York-style pizzas using handmade dough here, Miker Pizza officially opened its door in 2019, under the owners - Muhammad Shakir Jushaah, 36 and Mohd Amzari Zamri, 37.
Shakir said Miker Pizza is under Miker Food, a restaurant owned by Amzari, before both of them made a bold decision by opening a pizza store.
"With this expansion, we hope we can fulfil our customers raving demand for pizza any time of day," he said when met at the Miker Pizza in Ipoh Padang here.
Shakir said that it took him about several months to make the perfect dough as well as to come out with the right taste of 'the mix and match toppings.
"There is a sense of joy and achievement at the end despite the laborious work and long hours toiling in the kitchen. I do not have any culinary certificate and have never enrolled myself in any pizza-making course. I learnt from Google and YouTube.
"I learnt the basics of making a soft and tender dough for pizza from YouTube and from that point, I integrated my own taste," he said.
There are 12 pizzas namely beef pepperoni, crazee cheese, hawaiian bbq, meatball lover, spicy tuna, smokey union, chicken supreme, crazee meat, ultimate kampung, vege white pie, pepperoni deluxe and hawaiian explosion.
Miker Pizza offers regular pizza at 10-inch and large at 14-inch, priced between RM17 and RM36. Pizza with two halves of different flavours can only be ordered for the large size.
Shakir said Ultimate Kampung is the 'signature' menu of their cafe that is loved by all ages with a unique taste that highlights the sensation from the village.
"The local-flavoured pizza offers anchovy toppings, birds eye chilli, holland onions, torch ginger flower (bunga kantan) that provide a unique yet delicious.
"It tastes spicy from the chilli, crunchy anchovies with the sensation of Bunga kantan which give the taste of the village and the elderly also love this type of pizza, including foreign customers," he said.
Meanwhile, Amzari said they also offer a pizza menu according to the festive season such as Chinese New Year where they had previously produced Fresh Sweet Nangka (jackfruit) Pizza.
"We realise some of our customers are quite sceptical to try of our signature pizza, the Ultimate Kampung, but once they taste it, they just can't forget it," he said adding that Miker Pizza is expected to open in Tambun and Meru soon.
Operating between 11am and 11pm daily, Miker Pizza is located in Ipoh Padang here and Gunung Rapat, while Miker Food is located at Lot 10 Kinta Riverside Ipoh.