Crust Pizza has been from my memory about a 2 year old franchise in Victoria Park. Its that sort of thing which the little darling says she want to try and we kept mentioning it but never actually did go and try it. Fortunately, one can make amends and recently, I received an invitation from Crust Mount Lawley’s Michelle to go and give their latest offering a shot. To celebrate the summer season, Crust Pizza has decided to reinvent the classic Margherita and to finish the meal on a healthy note, a caramelized fennel salad.
Crust @ Victoria Park!
The Heirloom Tomato Upper Crust Pizza @ $19 is one of Crust Pizza’s new offering.
For this price you get delicious flavors which for me highlighted the intensity of the tomatoes. The tomatoes under the pizza oven has developed to the extent where it start caramelizing creating that plump juiciness which just oozes when bitten into. I could barely fault with the tomatoes being the main element except for its content! It was perfectly ripe, juicy and just perfect in so many ways. While that for me was an extreme highlight for such a pizza, I on other hand do question the existence of the buffalo mozzarella which as my photo shows look no more than dollops of mayonnaise. It barely had any effect. For $19 it soon becomes a question of value as such old school Margherita was executed so close to perfection but its content did not suffice. For me, I could have passed on the buffalo Mozzarella but definitely double up those tomatoes.
The next pizza which the Peking Duck Pizza @ $24 came recommended by close friends and the store owner Michelle herself.
This pizza unlike the vegetarian Heirloom Tomato one was covered by a generous amount of shredded duck meal and bok choy. Its flavors felt close to a typical Peking Duck but could have been better with if those fresh pungent spring onions. The flavors were really good all in all. For me the only thing that my fussy side faulted with is the crust of this. Not quite used to such rough and crispy edges for my Peking Duck dish. But hey, this is a pizza is it not? Overall, this was a pretty solid performer. It had quality and consistency albeit my dining companion found the sweetness a little too intense for her liking.
And the refreshener to lift the mood off the gueey cheese was the Caramelised Fennel Salad
If this dish is all about the caramelized fennel, then this is already a winning recipe. But because the fennel is part of the dish and not a dish of its own, it has to gel with the rest of the lot which includes crumbled ricotta, proscuitto, fresh greens and roasted hazelnut. For me, it was pretty good if not for the lack dressing which made this too dry. Just felt as if there is not enough moisture as all we were given was a small packet to pour on top. Over as a salad it was not bad but definitely could have been better.
Now that I have eaten as much as I could, I was stuffed and jaw was partly aching from my attempt of trying to down both pizzas which failed miserably. I cannot thank Michelle enough for this special invitation as I am now able to tick Crust of my list of to places try for 2012. What Crust has offered me today is a very unique combination of pizzas which buck the trend of what is considered typical. But with a price that is not in any way cheap, Crust face a whole lot of contention including Italian staples like Ciao Italia or Il Padrino and even Australian Champs Little Caesars and Olympic pizza champion Delizioso. Nevertheless, I believe the Pizzas such as the Peking Duck are there to stay as fans will always look forward to the outstanding flavors the Crust has an offer and while a well composed Pizza Margherita is likely to sell, the few tomatoes are a hard buy for its price. It either has to be a fair bit cheaper or a whole lot more tomatoes :)!
WenY
