Semoga di antara pembaca artikel ini nggak ada orang Italia ya, karena yang mau dibahas disini rumornya bakal bikin warga Italia ngamuk nih!
Len Liore the (New) Cafe
Jadi, beberapa waktu lalu, sekitar bulan November, aku menemukan satu kafe baru di Malang yang menurutku unik banget. Terletak di Kayutangan Heritage, kafe ini seperti memberi warna baru dari kafe-kafe di Malang yang umumnya punya menu itu-itu aja, kalau ngga rice bowl ya gorengan dan tentunya kopi ya.
Awal menemukan kafe ini bisa dibilang nggak sengaja. Saat itu aku dan temanku lagi jalan-jalan di daerah Kayutangan, nggak kepikiran sama sekali bakal ngafe. Pas di depan semacam rumah makan, ada orang teriak. Penasaran dengan orang yang teriak promosiin kafe baru, langkah kami tergerak untuk ikut naik bersama orang tadi. Kesan pertama waktu lihat kafenya adalah…..ini kafe baru banget buka ya? Kardus dan plastik yang masih terpasang, kursi-kursi yang nggak terlalu banyak dan cuma di area luar, meja kasir yang cuma satu meja udah kayak bangku sekolah, and we’re the only customers. Fix, ini kafe baru banget buka!
Len Liore the Cafe namanya. Lucu juga dan somewhat mengingatkan pada nama “Soleh the Cat”. Logonya cute dan gede banget warna biru, sama kayak dekorasi dan grand design kafe ini sendiri. Nggak mau asal judge, aku dan temanku yang sepertinya juga lowkey having the same doubt tetap jalan ke meja kasir dan lihat-lihat menu. I was surprised (in a good way) when I saw the menu because what do you mean you have western and korean food in one place? And they also serve coffee and other beverages of course.
But anyway, what made me even more surprised adalah menu pizzanya! I asked the cashier about a pizza named Pizza Inferno, a pizza with beef balado as topping. Beef Balado. That is like the rarest and most unique pizza I’ve ever known! I was blown, but also doubted how it would taste which I admit was a big mistake because now when I see the pizza online, I kind of regret not choosing it.
Let’s Talk PIZZA!
So my friend and I, we eventually ordered a pizza that would likely make an Italian furious. It was Hawaiian Pizza. Yes, the pineapple one! I personally never have a problem with pineapple on pizza. It’s fresh, i think. And so does Len Liore’s Hawaiian Pizza. The pizza looks appetizing, even though it was not what I expected it to be. I thought…that would be like margherita with pineapple cuts. Well, what do I know? I’ve only had Domino’s, Hut’s, and frozen ones before.
Regardless of my limited pizza exposure, I can say there’s type of pizza that tastes like too bread-y, and there’s more like crisp and light. Personally I prefer the later one because you’d be able to taste the sauce better, and so far Hut’s and Domino’s are not my type. Len Liore’s is my type of pizza. I’ve finally had a pizza that has thin, crispy dough. It’s golden. Plus, the dough is less greasy than the others, and it matters in my book because sometimes a pizza could have too much tepung gandum it makes the dough greasy dan seperti makan pasir.
That’s the dough. The sauce itself is green, which I assume it may be pesto at first. Rasanya gurih banget! Beda sama saus pizza biasanya yang dari tomato sauce yang cenderung ada hint asamnya. The pineapple itself adds freshness into it. Overall it’s unexpectedly good!
The pizza (and their overall concept) holds a sense of curiosity in me I decided to send a DM to their Instagram, asking about their ideation in creating a pizza that I’ve never been known before. Turned out I was quite right, instead of using only tomato concasse, they use tomato concasse and pesto sauce that add to saltier and richer sauce.
Hawaiian was not the only thing that caught my attention that night. Aside from it, Liore Tuna Pizza was as well. What do you mean you put tuna with base genep (which I know it’s Balinese spice) on the pizza? Len Liore I’m not aware of your game!
Personal Notes
Not only the pizza is good, the chef is also very kind! Chef Marno, the person behind pizza masterpiece, explained that the ideation of making such unique pizzas came from his years of experience working with Italian chef specialized in Italian food. He collaborates Italian’s pride with Indonesian’s deeper touch (the beef balado, base genep, tuna), and tap into an untouched market, and for me that feels new and personal. He also shared what materials used for making the pesto sauce. What a chef!
In the end, everytime I think of Len Liore, that cafe should be recognized more (and I’m sure it will!). Menu-menu yang unik, harga dan rasa yang juga decent banget. Banyak kafe di Malang, tapi yang berani beda mungkin beberapa, dan Len Liore salah satunya. It’s sad I only spent so little time there. So little yet so great 🙂
