By Fen Chia

Copyright asia361

PizzaExpress, the UK pizza chain known for its super thin signature crusts has introduced two bold additions to its menu to give diners more flavour and more speed. Its new ‘Overloaded’ pizzas come with a double portion of toppings at just S$3 more, while it has also curated a selection of ‘5-Minute Favourites’ which are meant to be eaten, as the name suggests, within five minutes and are served only when you’re ready to eat.

Given PizzaExpress’ rather comprehensive menu, we decided to also try a couple of non-pizza items. For our starter, we had the Garlic Butter Clam (S$17), clams served in their shell, cherry tomato and garlic butter, which came together in a delicious sauce. My companion’s 10-year-old particularly enjoyed slurping up the sauce – indeed, we felt the portion was a tad small and wished there were more clams go around. Some of the other options like baked wings, salads, doughballs with garlic butter and a platter of Italian cold cuts now seemed much more substantial in comparison, but we knew we had to save our stomachs for the pizzas.

PizzaExpress also offers several pastas and we went for one with the most luxurious-sounding sauce – and decadent it proved to be. This time round, the portion was one of the more generous ones I’ve had in a restaurant in a while.

The pasta was topped with crabmeat, onion, garlic and coriander in a delicious cream sauce. It was elevated with tangy and briny notes added by a surprising dollop of caviar and lime. I declared this would be my favourite dish for the evening and it was indeed a hit all round the table. This is a dish I’d return to PizzaExpress for as a solo diner.

Overloaded Pizzas

Our Overloaded pizzas (S$24-33 depending on type and size) arrived shortly after to satisfy our newly piqued appetites. The upgrade stacks up the proteins of selected pizzas from PizzaExpress’ Classic and Romana menu for only an additional S$3 more, making the Overloaded option a no-brainer for the meat lovers who want more value.

Available options:

Sloppy Giuseppe – Spiced minced beef, bell pepper, red onion, mozzarella and passata
American Hottest – Pepperoni, hot green peppers, jalapeños, red chili, and spicy Italian sausage with passata and mozzarella, topped mozzarella, parsley, and chili oil
Pollo Forza – Chicken with smoked chili, garlic oil and dried chili flakes, paired with red and yellow peppers, jalapeño, and mozzarella. Finished with Parmesan, chili oil, and fresh parsley
Parma e Rucola – Passata, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto crudo, balsamic reduction, pesto genovese, herbs and garlic oil
American – Pepperoni, mozzarella and passata
Hawaii-Not – Ham, pineapple chutney, mozzarella, red onion, and basil on a creamy béchamel base, topped with Parmesan, garlic oil, parsley, and fresh basil

We tried the Polla Forza, which truly lives up to the ‘forza’ in its name and is recommended for those who like it spicy. The generous portions of chicken get a fiery dose of heat from the smoked chilli, chilli flakes, peppers and jalapeño, and an extra finishing of chilli oil.

We also tried the Parma e Rucola. We liked the pleasantly contrasting flavours that came from the saltiness of the cured ham slices and mozzarella and the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar in each mouthful. While the Overloaded Pizzas are all meat, note that vegetarians will not be left out as its regular Classics and the Romana series of thin and crispy pizzas include several meatless options.

5-Minute Favourites

We decided to order the ‘5-minute Favourites’ pizzas later – staying true to the recommendation that they be eaten within five minutes, as they are ‘fired to order’ and best enjoyed hot, fast and fresh.

Available options:

American Hottest – Pepperoni, hot green peppers, jalapeños, red chili, and spicy Italian sausage with passata and mozzarella, topped mozzarella, parsley, and chili oil
Hawaii-Not – Ham, pineapple chutney, mozzarella, red onion, and basil on a creamy béchamel base, topped with Parmesan, garlic oil, parsley, and fresh basil
Calabrian Hot – Tomato and chilli sauce, mozzarella, ‘nduja mix, pepperoni, hot honey dressing and a sprinkle of chilli flakes and parsley
Margherita Prima – Fresh mozzarella, basil and passata
Carbonara – Farmer-style Smoked bacon, mozzarella, Parmesan, and garlic oil on a creamy béchamel base, topped with a cooked egg, parsley, and Parmesan
Calabrese – Calabria-style sausage, spicy Italian sausage, mozzarella, jalapeños, roasted peppers, and red chili, mozzarella, pesto Genovese, parmesan, and rocket
Impossible™ Teriyaki – Impossible™ Teriyaki served with sauteed leek, mozzarella and spring onions. Drizzle of vegan mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce.

We chose the ‘Hawaii-Not’, PizzaExpress’ version of Hawaiian pizza, and I thought that it would probably have made a good choice for the ‘Overloaded Pizza’ version as well. This arguably ‘crowd-favourite’ flavour has chunkier and juicy toppings like ham, pineapples and red onions, and I could just imagine biting into a thick layer of them spilling over the Overloaded version.

‘Hawaii-Not’ was a change from the usual tomato base we had tasted elsewhere, as it featured a creamy béchamel sauce, topped with Parmesan, garlic oil, parsley, and fresh basil. However, there could have been more sauce as we could not taste much of it. For those who like cream sauces, Carbonara might also be a good option and it becomes even more rich topped with a egg, as we saw a very Instagrammable version tempting us from the adjacent table.

For dessert, we could not go without the classic Tiramisu (S$12), a sizeable portion here, and the Dough Balls with Nutella (S$8), a seemingly banal and childish choice, but who can resist warm and chewy dough balls dipped in a chocolate-hazelnut spread? Since we did not get the signature ‘Doughballs PizzaExpress’ (with garlic butter sauce) earlier as the starter we absolutely had to have them here.

The kids, enthusiastic with anticipation, declared the Dough Balls to be their favourite of the evening and that was how we concluded our visit to PizzaExpress – on a warm, sweet and filling note.

For more information on PizzaExpress’ offerings and outlets, visit www.pizzaexpress.sg.