Chicken tikka pizza? Inspired by Indian cuisine, MasterChef Singapore winner opens Pasir Ris hawker stall

The debate on whether pineapples belong on a pizza is a long and controversial one.

But what about combining other supposedly non-conventional dishes such as chicken tikka and palak paneer with pizza?

While they are not what immediately comes to mind when one thinks of pizza flavours, there's no denying the uniqueness of it.

These Indian cuisine-inspired selections are created by Derek Cheong at his Pasir Ris Hawker Centre stall.

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Fans of the hit TV programme MasterChef Singapore would immediately recognise him as the participant who was crowned the winner in season two in 2021.

The former engineering student from Nanyang Technological University once shared on his Instagram that he "dropped everything" he had on hand – from submissions for school assignments to finals – to chase his dream of becoming a chef.

It certainly seems to have paid off.

Roughly two years after his MasterChef Singapore victory, the 25-year-old shared on social media site Lemon8 that he has taken a "leap of faith to invest and open [his] own hawker stall".

In the post published on Monday (May 15), Derek provided some insights as to how the collaboration came about.

Wanna work together?

While dining at a pizza restaurant with his girlfriend one day, the opportunity to venture into the pizza industry came about.

Derek got a tap on the shoulder from the regional CEO of a pizza chain.

"He passed me his name card and hence, this was how the collaboration came about," he wrote in his Lemon8 post.

Talk about a moment of serendipity.

In an Instagram post, Derek explained why he chose the unconventional hawker route.

"A lot of chefs want to open big restaurants and get all the accolades, but I feel that [being a] hawker is such a dying trade in Singapore," he said.

"As a Singaporean, I want to showcase and be proud of my hawker culture."

Falling in love with a new cuisine

During his days as a chef, Derek had opportunities to dine in many restaurants and that was when he realised that he loved the flavours of Indian cuisine.

The cuisine's complexity of flavours and marriage of spices inspired his latest menu offerings, such as butter chicken pizza ($10.90) and Kofta pizza ($10.90). 

Kofta is a meatball made from ground lamb or beef found in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines.

His sides include cheese tteokbokki ($9.20) and original wings ($8.90 for the small size, $25.20 for the large size).

But if you're looking for something on the crunchy side, there's mushroom pakora ($7.90). 

Pakora is a fritter that originates from the Indian subcontinent. It could be items such as mushroom, potatoes or onions coated in seasoned gram flour batter before being deep fried.

ALSO READ: 'My palms are always peeling': Young man on helping to keep family's fishball business going

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