KL’s best kept pizza secret: a M’sian couple’s fun journey to perfecting Neapolitan pizza

If you’re on the hunt for authentic Neapolitan pizza in KL, there’s a gem you need to know about: Pizza Duo. It’s located inside Tap Room in Bamboo Hills.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill pizza place, though. Behind it is a story of passion, perseverance, and a deep love for pizza. This brand was crafted by a dynamic Malaysian couple, Aina Ghani and Mark Lee. Their journey to perfecting the art of Neapolitan pizza began with nothing more than a shared obsession for great pizza. Today, they’ve turned that shared love into KL’s best-kept pizza secret.

Aina & Mark’s romantic pizza road trip in Italy

Image Credit: Thuy Diem Dang on Google Review (left) @wearepizzaduo on Instagram (right)

Who doesn’t enjoy a good slice of pizza, right?

Yet, Aina and Mark’s love for the dish runs much deeper than your casual pizza night. For one of Aina’s birthdays, Mark lovingly surprised her with a special little pizza road trip to Piedmont. The trip was meticulously planned, with stops at pizzerias across the region that were all rated 90 or above on Italy’s prestigious Gambero Rosso list—the country’s equivalent of the Michelin Guide. Only a select few pizzerias, fewer than 50 nationwide, achieve a score that high.

They savoured both Neapolitan and contemporary pizzas during their trip and their love for the craft deepened with each slice. Pizza road trips quickly became a regular part of the pizza-loving couple’s adventures.

When MCO hit in 2020, Aina and Mark turned their attention to making pizza at home. What started as a fun home experiment soon revealed the complexities of pizza-making. Their kitchen soon became a testing ground as they held pizza tasting sessions with friends. They served up 10 different varieties at a time! A feat that’s impressive no matter how many pizzas they’d eaten in their lives.

As their skills grew, an opportunity came up to take over the pizza section at Tap Room in Bamboo Hills. Eager to level up, the couple embarked on a research trip to Naples. They sampled over 20 pizzas in 10 days, gathering inspiration. Making a pit stop in London, they also trained with an Italian pizzaiolo to refine their craft.

What is Neapolitan pizza?

Image Credit: Isaac Cheah on Google Review (left), Xiangzz Lew (right)

Neapolitan pizza is a far cry from the thick-crusted, heavily-topped pizzas we Malaysians are accustomed to.

Unlike the typical New York-style pizza with its sturdy crust and mountain of toppings, Neapolitan pizza is characterised by its thin base, with a high, puffy crust that often has dark charred spots. This is a result of its quick baking time (70-90 seconds) in an extremely hot wood-fired oven (-+430°C), also giving them their signature soft and floppy texture.

A true Neapolitan pizza is rather minimalist, only using a handful of high-quality ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes, fresh Fior di latte cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil. The toppings are intentionally sparse to keep the dough fluffy, and delicate.

Image Credit: @wearepizzaduo on Instagram

The technical and short baking time means the crust can’t support too many toppings. Thus, customers should avoid requesting for extra toppings, as it can overwhelm the dough.

Despite some adjustments to cater to local preferences, such as using more cheese, Pizza Duo stays true to its roots by only using the best ingredients from Italy, ensuring that each pizza maintains its authentic flavour and texture.

Image Credit: Cheda Khan on Google Review (left), Hanis Zainul (right)

All Pizza Duo’s pizzas are made in a sleek custom, copper-clad Stefano Ferrara oven, visible right from the storefront. Ferrara is a world-renowned Neapolitan pizza oven maker, and is in such high demand that some restaurateurs have even broken down storefronts to bring one in. The oven was designed to match Tap Room’s beer tanks. A copper artisan even worked alongside Ferrara to bring it to life.

The 3,500kg oven, the largest of its kind in Malaysia, had to be brought in through the roof with a crane!

Letting their creativity shine

Image Credit: @wearepizzaduo on Instagram

While Aina and Mark take their Neapolitan pizza seriously, together with their team, they love to get creative with their toppings. Today, Pizza Duo offers 16 different pizzas, featuring classic favorites like Queen Marg (RM40), Formaggio (RM54), and Rosso (RM28), alongside more inventive options.

A creative standout is their CLOY pizza (RM68), inspired by the hit Korean drama Crash Landing on You. This unique pizza blends San Marzano tomatoes, kimchi, fior di latte, Angus beef short rib bulgogi, spring onions, and roasted sesame seeds. Offering a delicious fusion of Asian flavours that may feel familiar to fans of Korean cuisine.

Best selling pizzas at Pizza Duo like the Shroomami (RM72), Margherita 2.0 (RM44) and Supreme Being (RM56), have earned the duo a solid 4.7-star rating on Google.

Image Credit: @wearepizzaduo on Instagram

Though they stick to tradition in many ways, they also pay attention to local preferences, like slicing the pizzas for diners. This is something you won’t see in Italy, where Neapolitan pizzas are traditionally served whole. Here, at Pizza Duo, it’s also about making the experience easy and enjoyable.

While they do offer plates and utensils, they invite guests to let loose, get a little messy, and dig in with their hands.

Pizza & a lot of love

Image Credit: @wearepizzaduo on Instagram (left), Cassie F. on Google Review (right)

For Aina and Mark, what started as a thoughtful birthday surprise has blossomed into a shared adventure. One that’s changed their lives. From their early kitchen experiments to now running their own pizza joint, they’ve created something truly special together.

This is a couple who knows how to eat together, work together, and pour their hearts into every pizza they make. It’s the kind of love story carefully kneaded into every ball of dough at Pizza Duo. What began with a shared passion for pizza has turned into a dream they’re living out every day, sharing that love with everyone who walks through their door.

Image Credit: Yong De Tan on Google Review

Their story is just beginning, and as they continue to innovate and push the boundaries of what pizza can be, one thing is clear: Pizza Duo is more than just a place to get the best Neapolitan pizzas in KL—it’s a little slice of their heart, served hot and fresh.