Tino's Pizza Express by Chatime @ Bangsar South

Bubble tea colossus Chatime is venturing into the lucrative pizza business with this new outlet in Bangsar South's Nexus complex; it's the springboard for an imminent Tino's Pizza chain that serves what it considers to be Neapolitan-style pizza.

Baked at high temperatures of 500 °C for slightly more than a minute, Tino's pizzas showcase hand-tossed soft dough for a thick & filling bread-like base (not a crunchy thin crust). Tasty toppings like beef bacon, spinach & a sunny-side up (RM21.90 for this medium-sized, six-slice Fiorentina) help to make these recipes sufficiently satisfying.

We also like the Duck Caponata (RM25.90 for medium, RM38.90 for large), well-covered with roast duck, broccoli, capsicum & melted cheese. Everything tastes flavoursome & fairly fresh (for fast food), probably a notch above the large pizza corporations.

Lamb Abruzzo, with lamb, garlic, chilli flakes & mozzarella cheese (RM24.90 for medium). The pizzas are ready really fast, scarcely within 10 minutes of our order. But a customer's enjoyment of this might hinge on his/her tolerance for heavy crusts.

Oval-shaped pizzas are also available; we like the sweet-savoury four-cheese one made gooey with blue, parmesan, mozzarella & cheddar, drizzled with honey for the icing on this cake. RM19.90 (four slices).

Distinctive-looking 'Crustar' dessert pizzas are a speciality here too; this Matcha Mochi (RM16.90) comes with green tea powder, white rice cakes, red bean, crushed peanuts & mint leaves. Another possibility would be the Fruity Honey Pearl, which features apple, peach, kiwi fruit, cranberries & tapioca pearls.

Peanut butter alert! Among the sides, the top temptation is indisputably these fries, blanketed with peanut butter, beef bacon & chilli powder (RM9.90). The flavours blend well together in one addictive ensemble.

Other options: Pumpkin soup with dough slices (RM8.90), minestrone, fried jalapeno strips with passion fruit yoghurt dips, chicken wings with a 'Sicilian sauce' & more.

Beverages comprise a longer-than-expected list of lattes (vanilla, hazelnut, mocha, caramel), smoothies, fruit teas, soft drinks & of course, milk tea.

Tino's Pizza Express

Ground Floor, Nexus, Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur. Next outlet possibly in Mid Valley

Open 10am-10pm, but last orders might be around 9:30pm. Tel: 03-2242-0580 for pick-up pre-orders