Proof's wood-fired sourdough pizzas are now recognised as the best in Malaysia and No 46 in the Asia-Pacific region. — PROOF
For the second year running, Kuala Lumpur-based Proof Pizza + Wine has been named the best pizzeria in Malaysia in the prestigious 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific 2024 rankings, unveiled on 4 March in Tokyo, Japan.
Proof, which is based in Bangsar's APW dining enclave, is the only Malaysian pizza joint to make it onto the list (and came in at No 46 in the Asia-Pacific region). The No 1 pizzeria in Asia-Pacific in the 2024 list is the The Pizza Bar on 38th in Tokyo, Japan.
Last year, Proof came in at No 42 on the list while in 2022, it was ranked No 46 alongside fellow Malaysian eatery Luce Osteria Contemporanea, which came in at No 44 (but has since not featured on the list).
Voting for the top 50 pizza restaurants is done by anonymous inspectors who travel throughout the region, determining which pizza joints deserve a place in the top 50. Criteria for selection include food quality, service, décor and ambience.
“The judging is done incognito, so we had no idea the judges had even come to the restaurant,” says Wong Yin-How, who helms the Tinkerman Collective which owns and operates Proof.
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Wong is hoping to leverage on Proof's success by organising more collaboration dinners with other ranked pizza eateries in the region so his team can learn from the best. — PROOF
Wong believes the eatery’s commitment to sourcing and using the best ingredients is what has given it an edge in the region.
“I think maybe the judges recognise that we use authentic, quality Italian ingredients – from our cheese to tomatoes and even flour.
“Also our pizzas are 100% wood-fired sourdough pizzas which are more time-consuming and laborious to make but I think it is what sets us apart in Malaysia,” says Wong.
Proof is renowned for its many quality pizzas, which include an Umbrian black truffle offering, a beef bresaola pizza and even a dessert pizza which features figs, gorgonzola cheese and honey.
Moving forward, Wong says that Proof will leverage on the traction it has gained from the award to organise more collaborative dinners with other ranked pizza eateries on the list.
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Cooking the pizzas using a wood-fired oven is one of Proof's key strengths. — PROOF
“The good thing is we have made some very strong connections through the award ceremonies because all the restaurants fly in for the awards. So from those networking efforts, we are now working on a four-hand collaborative dinner with a pizzeria in Hong Kong called Fiata that is ranked No 4 in Asia-Pacific as well as a Phuket-based pizzeria.
“So we are grabbing these opportunities to cross-pollinate and learn from the best,” says Wong.
