Many of us were cooped up at home for two years, unaware that Jakarta’s culinary scene continued to move forward and left us behind. In my quest to reacquaint my taste buds with the best the capital city has to offer, I am going all out to review some of the most hyped new players in the scene for my regular column, ICYMI (In Case You Missed It). Bon appetit!
If you’ve been closely following the F&B scene in Jakarta, you might have noticed a sourdough-based pizza dough trend in the capital, with Beau Bakery’s Beau Pizza & Bagels and Solo Pizza among those leading the charge.
I was recently introduced to Pizzaloca in Kemang during a random craving for decent quattro formaggi pizza one evening, which left quite a first impression that led me to explore their other offerings — many of which play on beloved Indonesian flavors.
Having opened in late 2021, Pizzaloca claims to be “the first locally-sourced sourdough pizza in Jakarta,” though I believe it would be more apt to give them the honor of being the first pizzeria in the city to serve sourdough pizza with toppings such as Se’i Sapi and martabak manis.
My first Pizzaloca pizza, as mentioned above, was the Quattro Formaggi (IDR120,000) comprising four locally made cheeses: Mozzarella, Cotija, Cantal, and Tomme. Adding a spice kick was andaliman, a variety of pepper mainly used in Batak cuisine, as well as tomato sauce from Lembang. While the mozzarella shone, Pizzaloca’s Quattro Formaggi was more salty and with a stronger cheesy aroma thanks to the other three cheese variants. The pizza crust was thin and chewy, and the outer rim had a crispy outer layer.
On another occasion, I ordered three pies that tickled my fancy the most (which entitled me to a free spunbond bag): Spicy Se’i, Mangut Bebek, and Kepiting Saus Padang. I also drooled over Pizzaloca’s Wijsman Coklat Keju or martabak pizza, but they were sold out at the time of this review.
The Spicy Se’i pizza (IDR120,000) has slices of Se’i Sapi, Sambal Lu’at, kemangi (basil) leaves, mozzarella, and tomato sauce from Lembang. Se’i is East Nusa Tenggara-style smoked meat, and the dish can be derived from pork or beef accompanied by the spicy-sour Sambal Lu’at.
I clearly underestimated the spiciness because this Spicy Se’i pizza gave my tongue a good workout. I might be an Indonesian who has grown accustomed to some of the spiciest dishes the nation has to offer, but I found myself gulping water a lot of times while eating the pizza. Even so, the Spicy Se’i came out as my favorite Pizzaloca pizza so far.
Next up was the Kepiting Saus Padang (IDR120,000), featuring Saus Padang (Padang sauce) that’s commonly used in seafood dishes. Other toppings on the pizza were mozzarella, soft shell crab, baby crab, and crispy spinach. This one isn’t too spicy, however, and I’m not really fond of the soft shell crab and baby crab — which can pose a challenge to chew — on my pizza because I prefer to have them on a plate of warm rice.
The Mangut Bebek pizza (IDR115,000) consists of the Mangut sauce, mozzarella, smoked duck slices, asinan kol (pickled cabbage), and kecombrang or torch ginger (Etlingera elatior). It’s aesthetically pleasing enough for your Instagram feed, and it will please your taste buds too.
If I had to describe this pizza, it’d be “exciting” — the smoked duck slices are savory enough to be combined with the salty and sour purple pickled cabbage and the sweet kecombrang, with the latter two freshening the flavor of the pizza as a whole. FYI, mangut is a dish popular in regions such as Solo and Yogyakarta, comprising smoked fish in yellow thick curry gravy.
It has been a thrilling ride exploring Indonesian flavors through Pizzaloca’s pizzas, and the only flavors left for me to try are the classic Pepperoni, Seafood Andaliman, and Wijsman Coklat Keju. Judging by how the first pizza exploration went, it won’t be long before I went on another one.
FIND IT
Pizzaloca
Delivery only from Kemang Raya, South Jakarta
Opening hours: 2pm-9pm, daily
Order online via this link
US$1=IDR14,805
Also Read —ICYMI: Solo Pizza offers classic Italian flavors on natural leavened dough
