Beijing’s Best Spin On the World’s Most Controversial Pizza

The Hawaiian pizza, contrary to popular belief, is not actually Hawaiian. It was created in 1962 by a Greek immigrant in London, Ontario.

The year was 1954, and Sam Panopoulos was setting sail from Greece for a new slice of life overseas. It is said that a quick stop in Naples was where, perhaps, Panopoulos first came across the pizza. It is also said that he first discovered pizza on a trip to Detroit in the 1960s. I take both claims with a pinch of salt.

What we do know, however, was that after opening the Satellite Restaurant with his brother in the early ‘60s, Panopoulos made history by going against the grain in the battle against blandness by offering a unique new topping -- pineapple. Apparently, the “Hawaiian” tag was merely lifted from the branding on the tin.

Moving forward forty years and a few thousand miles away, Beijing has a variety of different takes on the Hawaiian, each with its own unique twist. Annie’s, with their full pineapple rings, to maximize the tang. Gung-Ho!, with their guilt and gluten-free brown bases, making your pizza a healthy option. Tube Station, with their 24” gut-busting hangover cures (last weekend was tough). If the “Hawaiian Pizza Cup” were a thing, all would be worthy runners, but unfortunately, based on our recent survey, it doesn’t look like that’s happening any time soon.

If, however, it was, my vote would go to Jing A’s “Lao Gan Ma’s Luau”. As to not speculate any further about the historical origins of food, I decided it best to get a first-hand account of how my favorite pizza in Beijing came to fruition.

The year was 2019, and Simone Thompson of “FOODLE” fame was enlisted to create a new menu for Jing-A’s then freshly opened Longfusi location. With a menu centered around thin-crust sourdough pizzas “crisped to perfection in the Taproom’s hulking brick oven”, Thompson knew this gig would not necessarily be plain sailing. The Queensland native wanted to import her hometown’s love of pineapple to Beijing, alongside their “non-traditionalist” attitude to cooking. Thompson explains that pizzas bring a unique challenge in the consulting world: "people are so obsessed with what they want it to be, and it’s tough to create everyone’s perfect pizza.”

Taking note of other Hawaiian pies in town, Thompson didn’t want her pizza to do “that slippery thing” where the pineapple is “often too sweet, never roasted enough, and just slides off.” To combat this annoyance and let the contentious component show its true potential, the pineapple is marinated in fish sauce and brown sugar to enable fermentation before pre-roasting. “You really have to cook pineapple for a while to get its best qualities out of it.”

Experimentation continued after an internal debate over the base sauce. The double-acidity of tomato and pineapple “wasn’t vibing” with some (one) of the initial taste testers, so to double down on culinary controversy, they got to work on a new BBQ sauce; but there’s no smoke without fire.

Thompson reminisces about her formative years in Beijing and first discovering the nation’s favorite table sauce. “I discovered Lao Gan Ma when fresh off the boat, and I’m still obsessed with it. We all are.” Right on.

Suppose the Hawaiian pizza was named after the pineapple’s packaging. In that case, the "Lao Gan Ma’s Luau” pays homage to its predecessor on a deeper level than just ingredients. The humble ham and pineapple combo parties hard enough, but the ensemble of char siu pork, fish-sauce fermented pineapple and spicy barbecue sauce is a full-blown festival of flavor.

“Contrast in food is very important to me”, Thompson agrees, “Like Thai food, it’s all antitheses and contrasts: Tom Yum soup or a good curry has everything going on. Sweet, sour, salty, spicy.” She continues, “I guess sometimes Chinese food is like Spanish tapas, where every dish is… one thing. You’re going to the crushed cucumber for a hit of fresh garlic or sticky chicken for something sweet, but they’re all separate.”

When asked about her stance on the world’s most controversial pizza, Thompson doesn’t pull any punches. “If it tastes good, who gives a shit? Why should the pizza purists get caught up with traditionalism? Who cares if it’s not exactly the same as it was a million years ago when it was invented?”

Although she’s moved on from Jing-A and is currently working with The Bake Shop, Thompson continues to show her love for pineapple and that opposites attract through food.

“We have duck rillettes made in-house with a pineapple jam that’s sold separately in the bakery. We put them together in a brioche bun to make this new toasty.”

For now, Thompson can be found hanging around at Side Street or The Bake Shop, and if you happen to be reading this from overseas, on Instagram @simonelthompson

If you'd like to try the Lao Gan Ma Luau:

Jing-A Taproom Longfusi
38 Qianlong Hutong, Bldg. 19, Dongcheng District
东城区钱粮胡同38号19号楼

READ: The Most Disgusting Pizza Toppings, As Voted by You

Images: Unsplash, courtesy of Simone Thompson, Jing-A, and the Bake Shop