Crusty bits and the Papa

When we saw Worldwindows blog Papa John's a few weeks ago, we got pretty excited!
This was Cumi's all time favourite student's pizza take away/delivery (CUMI: There were Little Caesars too!!! Pizza! Pizza!) whilst studying in the states and he was really eager to see it if was still as good as he remembered. Me, I just wanted Pizza. Fullstop.

The red herring was Cumi kept looking at Tropicana City for the outlet to open because of the advertisements. However, it was Berjaya Time square that opened the 1st Papa John's outlet.


We heard the little girl exclaim to the waiter "But it's nothing like the one BACK HOME" (huge sad blues eyes)... and Cumi's expectations fell.. but the girl was so sad, so forlorn so cute.. I just wanted to hug her!

Me, I had no expectations. I only needed lardy cheezy pizza.. and oh yea, some of those famous side dips that they keep talking about.


The breadsticks were fair. Apparently more chewy and 'gooey' in the states. These were a little hard.


The pizza sets are good. They come with 2 cokes (we had light coke instead!) and the breadsticks, so this is the one to pick if you are trying to impress your date (.. with pizza..Oh, you big spender you.. lol)

Well, the highlight for me was the GARLIC BUTTER dip. Way back then, Papa John's came up with this great money saver.. an idea to reduce wastage of pizza crust and encourage people to clean up leftovers, by creating dips for just that purpose.

My, my .. little did I know how effective. I am one of those vain carbo watching chicks who doesn't like to waste time with crust and only wants the goop (the meat, the good stuff)... but by the end of the night, Cumi was swatting my hands away from his crusty BITS.. (ooo .. so selfish la this boy)



Verdict? I liked the fact that the tomato base has a raw, rough unprocessed taste and that they are generous with it. I didn't care much for the breadsticks but with that garlic butter, I'd dip and eat anything they serve up here :P

The differences? In the States, Papa John's represents a cheap, tasty, fuss-free student meal but here in Malaysia, it's priced and marketed as mid-range ... cosy enough for families, upbeat enough for groupies, and cool enough even for the executives to eat at (Oooo.. the glamorous.. the flossy flossy)
Though the ingredients in the States are far superior (chewier dough, stringier cheese, heavier/chunkier tomato base), Papa John's in Malaysia would now have to rank as my favourite pizza place, oh yeah.. For sure.

CUMI: "For me, they weren't that generous with the pizza sauce... I'm too used to the dripping thick sauce & cheese plus stacked toppings in America. The crust was too salty - must have localized the recipe. The breadsticks give your jaw a good workout! They charge for extra dipping sauce! ... you might getaway with a little extra if you are nice to your server, but generally first refills are free, however subsequent refills are chargeable !"

Others who have blogged this:
Mimi's dining room
Worldwindows
Masak Masak
Thenomadgourmand

Pizza: 7/10
Breadsticks:5/10
Garlic Butter Dip:10/10 !!! (Ooo, the hips baby.. the hips..)