Mokky's Pizza brings a slice of New York to Bukit Jelutong
While my feet have not tread upon the sidewalks of New York City just yet, I’ve been fed with a wealth of information about one of its most celebrated treasures - the legendary New York pizza.
The city’s pizzerias have apparently mastered the art of crafting a slice that has somewhat become more than a meal - it’s a gastronomic adventure.
What draws me to it, is its considerably larger than average pizza, made with thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go.
But of course, the crowning glory is its gooey cheese and tangy tomato sauce infused with a blend of herbs and spices. Nothing like a good slice of pizza to comfort you on both good and bad days.
I’ll manifest in savouring a slice of New York slice pizza in the Big Apple itself one day, but for now there is a local pizzeria in the small neighbourhood of Bukit Jelutong offering New York style pizzas, that allows me to live my New York dream.
With its straightforward and simple set up, Mokky’s Pizza & Coffee has quietly emerged as a rising star in the local pizzeria scene. The unassuming eatery has captured the hearts and taste buds of the local community through its passion in creating the perfect pizza slice, using locally sourced products.
Come into the restaurant and you’ll be greeted with friendly staff, ready to serve scrumptious slices for you to indulge in before leaving with a full, happy tummy.
Just like in New York, Mokky’s Pizza sells larger than average slices to go, where patrons can indulge in different flavours in one go, or simply just have one. Smaller sizes, come as whole pizzas in a box.
The menu is also straightforward and not over complicated with too many offerings. There are 11 pizza flavours but some standouts were the classic Pepperoni, Chicken BBQ, Alfredo Chicken, Mellow Mushroom, Fake Margherita, which my colleagues and I had the pleasure of trying.
All pizzas are crafted with dough that strikes the perfect balance between thick and thin. Muhammad Shahmi Shaharudin, or fondly known as Mokky which the pizzeria is named after, shared that the beauty of New York style pizzas lies in its ability to hold more weight for toppings, compared to Italian pizzas.
You can’t go wrong with the Pepperoni at Mokky’s. They are generous with the pepperoni slices and the cheese, ah the cheese - it drapes each slice, and becomes a unifying force that binds the whole thing together.
The Alfredo Chicken is also a popular choice. For those who love white sauce based pizzas, give this a go. The marriage of the Alfredo sauce and chicken is complemented well by the melty goodness of the mozarella cheese. It’s creamy, but not too creamy to the point where you want to stop after one.
Another white sauce based pizza was the Mellow Mushroom. This is perfect if you’re looking for a lighter bite as the toppings aren't as heavy as the Alfredo Chicken. Shahmi explained that both of these flavours were actually inspired by pasta dishes.
One of its crowd-favourite is the Fake Margherita. The star of the show for this was of course the tomato sauce, which is then accentuated with fresh mozarella cheese and basil. There is a burst of freshness and subtle complexity to each bite.
Shahmi, who studied in the United States and would often travel to New York said the Chicken BBQ flavour is actually a popular flavour among the New Yorkers too, which is why he decided to emulate the flavour for the Malaysian crowd.
Just as the tomato sauce is the star of the show for the Fake Margherita, for this, the barbecue sauce takes centre stage.
I like that it yields a tangy, slightly sweet profile. The rest of the toppings include tender pieces of chicken generously scattered across the pizza. The slightly charred notes complements the barbecue sauce just nice.
Typically on weekdays, the team at Mokky’s are able to sell out 90 boxes of pizzas on the daily, while weekends go up to 150 pizzas a day.
Its head of front service Muhammad Azfar Abdul Aziz said their pizzas generally sell out by 7pm. For the record, they are open from 11am 10pm, however by 7pm, pizzas are sold out.
“I would advise customers to come at lunchtime or before 7pm before the pizzas are sold out,” he said.
Due to the high-demand, the team addressed this by updating on their socials on their “pizza stats”.
Customers who come to the eatery can also view at the entrance how many pizza doughs are left and what is the estimated waiting time. Azfar said that this was done so that customers would know what to expect.
When pizzas are sold out, customers would opt for other offerings on the menu such as pastas, side dishes, burgers or even coffee and cookies.
The Smoking Olio is worth a try for its pasta selection, and the Moza Sticks are delicious bites to have on the side (just be sure to eat them hot!).
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Before Mokky’s came to be one of the popular go-to pizzerias in the neighbourhood of Bukit Jelutong, it started off as a home-based business.
Shahmi began selling pizzas from home during the Covid-19 era, but was soon able to secure a loan from the government where he then set up a small space in an office space located at Central Walk, i-City.
A year after that, he teamed up with two more partners Umar Abdul Aziz, chief executive officer of Mokky’s Food Services, Ahmad Zharif Maslan, head of maintenance, as well as Azfar to establish the eatery.
It has been about six months since Mokky’s set foot in Bukit Jelutong run by these four young lads, receiving a healthy mix of customers from families to neighbourhood residents and even locals who traveled from as far as Johor Bharu and Penang.
“We are planning to open another outlet somewhere in the heart of Kuala Lumpur before we move further down to expand in Johor Bharu,” said Azfar.
Mokky’s Pizza & Coffee is located at 4-G-04 Dvida Shop Office, Jalan Bazar U8/100, Bukit Jelutong, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.
