Telok Blangah home-based pizzeria firing up artisanal sourdough pizzas & nostalgic sides by former Surrey Hills chef

From a teenager joining the culinary world for some extra dough to being scouted as the founding chef for Surrey Hills Grocer — this chef’s latest pursuit has led to him opening an artisanal pizzeria right from his HDB flat! 

Tucked in the quiet residential district of Telok Blangah lies Rakae, a home-based pizzeria specialising in wood-fired sourdough pizzas. (Yes, the owners have a pizza oven right inside their flat!)

For head chef Winson Leong, who prefers to go by Kakae, 29, the journey started at just 14 years old, when he took on a part-time job as a means of earning extra cash. 

As he gradually fell in love with cooking, he went on to join Italian stalwart Pasta Fresca after graduating from secondary school to learn the ropes of a professional kitchen.

He was then introduced to wood-fired cooking and sourdough after he joined Amo, a now-closed Italian eatery serving artisanal pizzas along Clarke Quay. 

His passion and flair for sourdough pizzas quickly caught the attention of Surrey Hills Grocer’s then-founder and CEO — leading him to join Surrey Hills Grocer as its founding chef, helping build the brand’s culinary identity from the ground up. 

Even after 12 years in the culinary industry, his love for wood-fired cooking and sourdough has yet to abate. Together with his partner Rae, 28, they opened Rakae in August last year.

Rae herself has a background in luxury hospitality — she is a certified sommelier and mixologist who takes the lead on everything outside the kitchen, from curating customer experience to running its social media channel.

Dishing up artisanal pizzas made from scratch

Getting one of Rakae’s pizzas is straightforward: Place your order on its website for self-pick up at your preferred time slot. If you prefer piping hot pies right at your doorstep, you can also opt to have them delivered.

Wanting to experience them freshly out of the oven, we chose the former, picking them up from the duo’s home in Telok Blangah. 

At the heart of Rakae is its signature sourdough pizza. Rakae uses a blend of two types of flour and a specially crafted sourdough starter for its dough, producing a pie with a satisfyingly chewy base and a light, airy crust.

Rakae’s margherita pizza (S$19.90) is a good indicator of simplicity done well. Spread with a bright San Marzano tomato sauce, topped with buffalo mozzarella and a fragrant confit oil — it’s an easy-to-eat pie that’ll have you coming back for more.

No margherita is complete without the quintessential basil garnish and you’ll be surprised to know that Kakae grows his very own fresh herbs right outside his flat.

If you’re looking for a vegetarian option or are just a truffle lover, you’ll want to go for the seasonal truffle lover pizza (S$25.90).

The chewy sourdough base is covered in a medley of umami roasted mushrooms, pickled purple cabbage, Parmigiano Reggiano, chives, and thin truffle shavings to finish.

While the truffle element was definitely at the forefront, from the housemade truffle sauce to thin truffle shavings — it surprisingly didn’t overpower the earthiness from the mushrooms, making for a pizza that wasn’t too cloying. It is a nice respite from the more common cream-based truffle pizzas.

Of course, we can’t forget about the meat lovers — Rakae has a beef pepperoni pizza (S$23.90) to satisfy that craving. 

Compared to the more common pork-derived pepperoni, the beef version brought a deeper, smoky flavour and kept the pizza from turning overly greasy.

Besides pizzas, Rakae also serves up sides if you’re feeling peckish or looking to feed a larger crowd.

We had a go at its chicken & shroom mac & cheese. Priced at S$7.90, the substantial portion of creamy mac was reminiscent of the ones you might remember from your school canteen — made without frills and redolent with nacho cheese. Packed with tender rotisserie chicken and juicy mushrooms, this mac & cheese nails that comforting, nostalgic bite.

For more finger-friendly sides, Rakae also has hot & spicy drumlets (S$9.90) and fish fingers with a dill tartar sauce (S$9.90).

If you still have room for dessert, you’ll be happy to hear that Rakae has a small dessert selection. 

We got the Biscoff cheesecake (S$6.90) — the indulgent cream cheese base fills the cup before being topped with a generous layer of biscoff crumbs.

Each bite is incredibly rich so we’d recommend having it to share, but if you have a huge sweet tooth, you’ll want it all to yourself.

If desserts are not quite up your alley, there’s also a drink menu with housemade drinks such as a cold brew earl grey tea (S$2.90) or the Tropical Splash (S$2.90) — a refreshing blend of passion fruit, orange juice and lime juice. 

Looking to try artisanal sourdough pizzas without the price tag? Swing by Rakae to try it for yourself and support a local business while you’re at it! 

For more ideas on what to eat, check out all the new menus this September and Great Nanyang’s new after-hours concept!