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eat

Pizza Maru Real Chicago, from $26.80 for

a nine-inch pizza; feeds six.
#B1-192/193 NORTHPOINT CITY (SOUTHWING), 1 NORTHPOINT DR. Think a fluffier, thinner and less dense
S769098. TEL: 6254-4307.
rendition of the famous Chicago deep-
Open daily 11:30am-10pm. Last orders at 9.30pm. www.pizzamaru. dish pizza. You’re encouraged to play
co.kr. THE FOOD with your food when you order this pie
This Korean pizza chain opens its first Singapore — pull out a slice just to see how far
outpost at the new Northpoint City heartland mall in its cheesy filling can stretch (the PR rep tells us it can go up
to a metre high, which is good for the ‘gram, but ours only
Yishun. It has over 650 outlets in its native Korea stretched to about, er, a quarter of that). The thick chewy
as well as the US, Hongkong and China. The local crust had nary a hint of the earthiness of black rice, if only
franchised branch is owned by the folks behind Korean ’cos our senses were completely overwhelmed by the 300g
casual diner Seoul Yummy and fusion don eatery of mozzarella and string cheese stuffed into it. Pepperoni
slices and tangy tomato sauce cut through the jelak-ness
Omoomodon. Nope, it’s not exactly like the just-as- of it all. Shiok and very hearty, but you’ll feel stuffed after
massive chain Pizza Hut, but more on that later. Pizza wolfing down a couple of three-inch thick slices.
Maru (‘maru’ in Korean refers to a communal hall where
people gather) prides itself on the “healthy” dough it
uses to make pizzas. The patented recipe comes in
two flavours, Green Tea and Black Rice. The extensive
pizza menu is also Korean-fied with K-style toppings
and sauces such as spiced chicken and beef bulgalbi
(marinated beef) sauce. A team of local staff makes the
pizzas here, having been trained by Pizza Maru chefs
who had flown in from K-land. No pork or lard is used
in the kitchen here; the 80-seat restaurant is in the
process of getting halal certification.

THE LOOK: The wood-furnished restaurant is decked
out like a hanok (traditional Korean house) complete
with a faux tiled roof. It’s located in a ‘food street’ in the
mall basement, lit by strings of quaint fairy lights and
flanked by a hipster Airstream trailer. We feel like we’re
feasting at a festive Korean night market. Very cute.

80 8 DAYS