If you’re jaded by the proliferation of artisanal pizzerias and are tempted to roll your eyes at the promise of yet another faux "famous" brand opening in Singapore – you might wanna hold those eyeballs. PST, aka Pizza Studio Tamaki in Tokyo, is coming to town on Jun 10. And it’s not only famous for real, it’s probably 8days.sg’s food editor’s favourite Neapolitan-style pizzeria in Tokyo. Squeal.

COOL CHEF-OWNER 

PST’s puffy-edged, brazenly blistered, tender-chewy-crackly pies are as delicious as its chef-owner Tsubasa Tamaki is cool. The tanned Okinawa-born, Tokyo-based dude with rugged good looks and trademark fitting white T-shirt and jeans sure doesn’t look like your typical greasy pizzaiolo. When we were lucky enough to have him behind the counter, he always handled the dough like a boss out of an edgy anime flick.

SERIOUS TOKYO NEAPOLITAN-STYLE PIZZA CRED, FAMOUS CUSTOMERS 

He first trained in Tokyo pizza temple Savoy (where in our opinion, his skills surpassed that of his shifu) and Pizza Strada before opening his own joint PST in 2017. It might not have made it super far up on the usual pizza awards lists (we’ve been to some of the higher ranking ones in Tokyo and found them middling anyway), but his restaurants (there’s another outlet in Higashi Azabu) are always fully-booked, always buzzy, always fun. 

Famous diners include singer Justin Bieber, actor Willem Dafoe, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and tennis star Naomi Osaka, among others, Tamaki told us. 

TAKES OVER SPACE FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY TIPPLING CLUB

But Tamaki isn’t content with just having pizzerias in Japan. Over a year after he initially told 8days.sg he had plans to open a franchise in Singapore, he’d set up one in Bangkok first. Initial plans for his Singapore branch fell through, he'd shared, adding details off the record. But it’s finally happening. The 60-seater will be located at Tanjong Pagar Road, in the space where Tippling Club once stood.

FRANCHISE WITH SINGAPORE-BASED COMPANY 

Yes, PST Singapore is a franchise. Tamaki has partnered Singapore-based JAP Dining Concepts Pte Ltd, a newish entity that also brought in the casual Yappari Steak from Okinawa to Singapore. While he will be in town to oversee the opening – expect to see the fit bro stretching dough in Singapore only about once a year. 

PST TOKYO CHEF STATIONED AT SINGAPORE OUTLET 

In his stead at this local outpost: His baby-faced protege Ryosuke Tanahara, 30, who trained alongside him for three years at PST Tokyo. Fingers crossed that the quality of the grub in PST Singapore hits the mark.

Speaking of Tamaki’s proteges, Beyond The Dough, which opened at Arab Street last year to great buzz, is helmed by Eddie Murakami, who once worked with Tamaki at PST. 

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN IT OPENS

PST will serve 12-inch pizzas in Singapore, somewhere between PST Tokyo’s one-person eight-inch and sharing 14-inch ones.

The menu will be similar to Tokyo’s, with nine pizzas available, starting from S$22. The signature is the Tamaki (S$30), a tomato-based number topped with cherry tomatoes, fresh smoked mozzarella, pecorino romano and basil. 

PRICES FROM S$22 TO S$34 PER PIZZA 

What we loved in PST’s Tokyo branch: The Bismarck (S$32) with yummy house-made sausage and an oozy egg, and the super savoury 5 Formaggi (S$34), laden with smoked mozzarella, gorgonzola, taleggio, grana padano and mascarpone. The appetisers are also great, like the Spinach, Chicory and Pine Nut salad with umami anchovies. 

Aside from tasty toppings brightened with the acidity of Italian tomato purée and Datterino tomatoes, Tamaki’s unique blend of Japanese and American flour made into a dough aged for over 30 hours, then cooked briefly in a blisteringly hot wood-fired oven yields a pie that’s incredibly light, yet brimming with character and flavours. 

The Singapore outlet will bring in these same base ingredients. Its oak wood-fired oven is crafted by Stefano Ferrara Forni in Italy, apparently one of the best in the industry. 

Mercifully, reservations are allowed. Fastest fingers first, obviously. Watch this space. 

PST Singapore opens Jun 10 at 38 Tanjong Pagar Rd, Singapore 088461. Open Mon-Fri 11am-3pm & 5pm-11pm; Sat-Sun 11am-3pm & 5pm-12am. Follow @pst.singapore for updates.

This story was originally published in 8Days.