Don't Pass By This: Pioneer of Kung Pao Pizza Still Slinging Pies, 15 Years On

To get you in the mood for the ongoing voting in the 2014 Pizza Cup, (see our round-up of pizza meal deals here) we've sent our minions out to patrol the streets for pizza. Here's a selection of what they've found:

Question: what’s your favorite Chinese dish? If you were to say kung pao chicken (宫保鸡丁), most lao Beijing would laugh you out of the room.

Fortunately, Hai Yan is not one of those judgemental locals: In fact, so many of her customers at the Nanluogouxiang’s Pass-by Bar professed their love for gongbao jiding that she decided to sprinkle it on a crust and serve it up in a fashion that couldn’t be so easily dismissed.

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“One of my American customers would ask me: ‘Why do you only serve traditional pizza? It’s boring, maybe you should some different things, like Chinese dishes,’” recalls Hai, who opened the bar with her partner, Xiao Biar, 16 years ago, and began serving pizza there a year after that, rendering it one of Beijing's earliest destinations for a slice.

But Pass-by is not strictly a pizzeria by any means. It’s more known for being a cafe, a bar and a hangout for travelers. It stocks imported beer from the US (like Samuel Adams) and the UK (including Old Thumper), as well as a half a dozen local choices on tap courtesy of Xicheng's NBeer Pub. Thirteen years ago Pass-by began selling its own t-shirts, stitched at a local suburban factory and covered in Cultural Revolution themed logos.  All that, along with its hutong setting, helps Pass-by attract many travellers staying in nearby hostels (hence the establishment’s name).

After her gongbao jiding pie earned a positive response, she decided to incorporate a far more authentic type of Chinese street food into her pizzeria’s repertoire: the ubiquitous lamb kebab.

“If you’re working in a hutong, you see a lot of young people always going out to buy lamb kebabs and bottled beer. It always left a deep impression on me, so I decided to give it a try on my pizza,” she says. Her yangrou chuan'r pizza eventually became the most requested item on her menu.

Another popular pizza at Pass-by is Hai's Spicy Beef with Sichuan Sausage pie. However, she believes the future of her restaurant lies with less carnivorous ingredients. Her vegetarian Walnut with Mushroom pizza, for instance, is quickly rivalling its meatier counterparts. That doesn't surprise Hai. She and many of her fellow restauranteurs have noticed a hankering, not only amongst their customers but also amongst themselves, for slightly healthier slices.

"I don't like too much meat on my pizza when I'm eating it myself," she says, adding her preference for slightly lighter fare has also prompted her to serve up thinner crusts at her restaurant.

Hai adds that her inventive use of Middle Kingdom ingredients may draw curious expats, but her Chinese clientele are attracted to pizza's simpler aspects.

"Pizza has become so popular with Chinese people because it's pretty easy for us to accept. It's not as strange to us some other Western dishes, a lot of us can acquire a taste for it pretty easily."

Vote for Pass By Bar in the 2014 Pizza Cup here.

Pass By Bar
Daily 9.30am-2am. 108 Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng District (8403 8004)
东城区南锣鼓巷108号

Photo: The Beijinger (archive)