Stiff Chilli

Hello Unregistered,

279 Jalan Besar, Tel: 6297- 5509 Open: 11am to 3pm (Tuesdays to Fridays), 6 to 11pm (Mondays to Fridays), 11am to 11pm (Saturdays and Sundays)

The parking is hell and this restaurant isn’t exactly easy to find, being tucked away in a row of shops selling toilet fixtures and lights.

But those who seek out Stiff Chilli are well rewarded.

It serves burrata, a fresh ball of Italian cheese that is mozzarella on the outside and cream inside.

This Jalan Besar eatery also serves fantastic pizzas, made in the special oven installed at the back of the restaurant about two months ago.

Owner Rodney Holt, who also runs several restaurants in Bali, designed the oven and had it built there, then shipped it to Singapore.

It is a wood-fired beauty which turns out the thinnest, crispest pizzas.

A chef reckons it’s the best he’s had in Singapore and he’s not far off the mark.

Order the speck pizza ($18), topped with slices of the juniper-flavoured ham and a goodly amount of gorgonzola cheese. Hot ham and oozy blue cheese. Need I say more?

The more common parma ham and rucola pizza ($18) is also good, with the peppery rocket leaves adding some punch. Cheese fanciers should go for the four cheese pizza ($16), made with gorgonzola, mozzarella, goat’s cheese and scarmoza or smoked mozarella.

The crust on the pizza is very thin, almost biscuit thin.

Now, the deep dish pizza gang and those who prefer a more chewy crust might be disappointed. But think of it this way: The thinner the crust, the less filling the pizza, the more pizzas you can order.