Pizzeria in Perlis blends Italian art with rustic village setting
A 29-year-old former pizzeria apprentice and his 28-year-old wife have turned a quiet Perlis village into a weekend destination, attracting about 1,000 diners a month to a wood-fired Neapolitan pizzeria built next to…
Source: Utusan Malaysia · August 30, 2026 at 9:01 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-source
KAMPUNG UTAN KANDIS, PERLIS, 30 AUGUST 2026 —
A 29-year-old former pizzeria apprentice and his 28-year-old wife have turned a quiet Perlis village into a weekend destination, attracting about 1,000 diners a month to a wood-fired Neapolitan pizzeria built next to their home.
Market Impact
Muhammad Zulfadhli Rodi and Nur Afiqah Najwa Noh opened Makwa Pizzeria in Kampung Utan Kandis, Arau, in March 2024, after two years of taking orders from home. The 30-seat restaurant occupies a reclaimed wooden house 50 metres from the main road, drawing customers with its thin, soft-centred Neapolitan pies baked at 485°C in a stone oven.
Nur Afiqah said the couple chose the village to prove that food businesses could thrive outside urban centres. “My husband was passionate about authentic Neapolitan pizza and struggled to find it in Perlis,” she told Mingguan Malaysia. “We started with small orders and pop-ups before taking the plunge.”
The menu highlights Neapolitan staples such as Big Breakfast pizza—pepperoni, egg and cheese on a pillowy crust—and Too Much Mushroom for vegetarians. Prices rose from RM25 during the pre-2024 delivery phase to RM30 after moving into the shop, where rent and utilities added RM25,000 to annual fixed costs, according to the founders.
Zulfadhli trained for a year after a 2024 course in Petaling Jaya, learning to stretch dough to 3 mm and bake it in 60–90 seconds. “Neapolitan dough is delicate,” Nur Afiqah said. “You can’t rush it.” Their 10,000-watt stone oven, costing around RM10,000, holds two pizzas at a time.
Housed in reclaimed timber salvaged from old village homes, the 80-square-metre shop had an estimated fit-out cost of RM300,000, excluding equipment. Nur Afiqah said the venue’s rustic charm—exposed beams, kerosene lamps and a garden patio—was as important as the food. “People come for the whole village experience,” she said.
The pizzeria seats about 30 and is open Wednesday through Monday from 3 pm to 11 pm. Staff of 10 rotate shifts, with Tuesday reserved as a weekly closure for restocking.
Nur Afiqah said the next phase would focus on staff training, customer service and marketing rather than rapid expansion. “We want to strengthen what we have before we think bigger,” she said.
In its first full month of shop trading, the outlet served roughly 1,000 customers, split evenly between locals and tourists from other states. Repeat visitors now account for about 30% of sales, the founders said.