It was a love of cooking, the feeling of making people happy with food, that made Alex Chandra decide to leave Jakarta for London.

He set his eyes on London’s renowned culinary institution of Le Cordon Bleu. There, he sharpened his culinary skills for two years, learning the trade from top chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White.

Returning home, he landed a job as a sous-chef in a South Jakarta establishment, but a strong passion to pursue his dream of running his own place made him not stay there for long.

After four months of preparation, he opened the doors of Alex’s Pizze e Pasta at Epicentrum Walk in Kuningan, South Jakarta, in October this year before fully opening the restaurant in style on Nov. 11, the “triple 11” day.

The 24-year-old said that he opted for pizza and pasta because he believed that Jakartans were already familiar with Italy’s signature dishes, something that he had the chance to study while in London under Billy Reid, Pierre White’s protégé and head chef at Belvedere London at the time.

“My hope and dream is to make this place as comfortable as possible to many people and that people will appreciate the food I offer and cook here,” says Alex, who is involved in the day-to-day routine of the restaurant, casually stopping by to talk or share a joke with his diners.

He realized there were many other restaurants offering pizza or pasta similar to his place, but believed that his food quality, service and atmosphere, specially designed to make diners feel they were in Paris or Rome, would entice people to come back.

“This is a place where friends have casual meals, or where couples linger over glasses of wine,” he says.

With many varieties of pizza and pasta on the menu, selected by Alex with the help of his consultant Gil D’Harcour, there are certainly many reasons to keep on coming back.

The pizza is traditionally made and baked inside wooden ovens to offer a real Italian flavor.

Visiting the restaurant, my choice of lasagna was perfect, with the portion not too light or big for a late dinner. The taste was rich and the tomato sauce not too strong, the way I preferred it.

The Quatro di Carne pizza also met expectations, coming with rich toppings (salami, pepperoni, spiced beef, smoked beef and mozzarella cheese) on a thin crust. Aroma of the pizza — traditionally made and baked inside wooden ovens to offer a real Italian flavor — pleased one’s appetite even before tasting. The use of homemade barbeque sauce made it taste even better.

A must-try is the Ravioli di Aragosta [lobster ravioli served with jus]. Alex said the recipe came from Marco but he then improvised, instead of using tomato or cream sauce, the lobster stock was made into a sauce and blended with tomato sauce.

The offerings come in a long list. Diners can also opt for the Linguine con Pollo I Pesto Genovese [Linguine Pesto with chicken and pesto sauce], Pappardelle al Funghi [Pappardelle pasta mixed with a cream sauce and parmesan cheese] or Penne con Pollo Arrabiata [Penne pasta with chicken, garlic and chili tomato sauce].

For the beverage, it’s recommended to try the SexyBerry mocktail, which is made of strawberry juice, purée and orange juice. But if you are into something colorful and unique, try the Blue Diamond, which is served with sprite soda.

If you want to go for something stronger like wine or cocktail, it would do no harm to try Sex and the Cosmo. Inspired by the Sex and the City movie, the cosmopolitan drink contains vodka and liqueur with cranberry juice, perfect to end the night away in style, as if you were somewhere in Paris or Rome.

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