La Pizza, Gung Ho Duke It Out for 2018 Pizza Cup Championship

The Beijingers | Nov 2, 2018 3:00 pm | Add a comment | 2587 reads

Following just over six weeks of intense, lip-lickingly delicious competition, the two venues to duke it out in this year's Championship Round of the 2018 Pizza Cup stand before us, proud, defiant, and slightly burnt around the edges: Gung Ho and La Pizza.

Now eight years old, Gung Ho has proved a formidable foe in every single one of our Pizza Cups, showings that have culminated in their winning of the crown in 2014 and 2015. Additionally, they placed third in 2016 and fifth last year, dropping a couple of places but still leaving close to 100 venues trailing in their wake. A strong marketing campaign and some brilliantly thought out games at this year's Pizza Festival undoubtedly put the New Zealand-hailing restaurant in the minds of this year's voters.

In this year's competition, the Gung Ho crew has had to fight off a number of strong competitors, including Pizza Saporita, last year's winners Pie Squared, and 2016's champs Bottega in the Final Four, proving that year-to-year it's still anyone's game.

Though La Pizza is the underdog in this year's competition, having never held high the gilded pizza trophy, they similarly have faired very well in previous cups, placing fifth, ninth, fifth, and seventh in 2014-2017, respectively. Among their loyal fans, the nine-year-old restaurant is adored for its wood-fired pizzas and authentic Italian toppings; "everything at La Pizza comes from Napoli in Italy: the owner, the oven, the chef, and the ingredients, including the flour, the peeled tomatoes, the mozzarella, and even the salt."

In their lead-up to the final, La Pizza had to duel it out with a couple of their own countrymen, laying to waste Tavola in the opening round before taking out Eatalia in the Elite 8. Not even Courtyard 4 favorites The Local could stop La Pizza's run towards the finish line.

Scan the QR code below or forever hold your peace. Vote for whoever you want to see crowned the 2018 Pizza Champ!

Stats breakdown

Now for the number crunching. Last round, we asked you a little bit about your pizza habits, and this is what we found:

  • The Pizza Festival has changed hearts and minds: 42 percent of you have changed your opinion on your favorite pizza in Beijing
  • The Pizza Festival broadened your pizza horizons: 80 percent found out about new pizza places you had not heard of before, and 61 percent of you went out to try them
  • The Pizza Festival probably fattened you up: 58 percent of you have eaten more pizza than usual and 42 percent of you have drunk more beer

We also asked you which regional styles you liked the best, with Neapolitan edging out New York-style, 28 percent to 24 percent. In the epic battle of the ownership of pizza in people’s minds, Italian styles (Neapolitan, Roman, and Sicilian) combined to reel in 56 percent of voters, whereas the American styles (New York, Chicago, Detroit, and New Haven) combined to take 44 percent. The tally:

  1. Neapolitan-style (28 percent)
  2. New York-style (24 percent)
  3. Roman-style (14 percent)
  4. Sicilian-style (14 percent)
  5. Chicago-style / Deep Dish (11 percent)
  6. Detroit-style (7 percent)
  7. New Haven-style (2 percent)

Naples and New York also scored big when it comes to being the cities you most closely associate with great pizza. Naples, the traditional home of pizza, took a full third of the votes, while 21 percent – our homies in the capital of the Middle Kingdom – chose Beijing, with New York in third place, giving a top 10 like this:

  1. Naples (34 percent)
  2. Beijing (21 percent)
  3. New York City (14 percent)
  4. Rome (8 percent)
  5. Chicago (6 percent)
  6. Any Italian city (3 percent)
  7. Shanghai (2 percent)
  8. Milan (2 percent)
  9. Melbourne (2 percent)
  10. Detroit (1 percent)
  11. All others (7 percent) (Auckland, Belgrade, Florence, London, New Haven, Palermo, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Marino, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Sicily, Tokyo, Turin)

Additionally, we asked you what your reaction would be if your dining companion asked for a knife and fork (or a pair of chopsticks) to eat their pizza. Fifty-eight percent of you remarked that pizza should be enjoyed with your hands only, while 42 percent were much more tolerant of eating pizza with a knife and fork or a pair of chopsticks.

The top 10 responses from the hands-only camp:

  1. I’d give them an Ultimate Warrior Flying Double Leg Kick to their disrespectful face.
  2. I’d stick them with the bill and delete their WeChat.
  3. I’d tell them they can DiDi home alone.
  4. I’d ask if they have lost their mind. Would likely not eat pizza with them again.
  5. Blasphemy!
  6. I’d give him or her a slap in the face.
  7. I’d flip the table.
  8. I’d tell them God is going to punish them.
  9. I’d give it to them in dismay. I have chosen the wrong dining companion.
  10. I’d tell them we are no longer friends.

And from the laissez-faire anything goes side:

  1. Whatever, I’m not a fascist.
  2. Chopsticks? *bows down* Teach me, master.
  3. Everyone enjoys pizza his or her own way!
  4. All good, gotta be stuck up to care.
  5. That’s cool, each to their own!
  6. Give it to them, it’s better they enjoy the pizza than care about the method.
  7. Give them a pair, everybody is free to enjoy their pizza the way they want.
  8. I tell them I embrace diversity.
  9. I’m Italian, and I love to eat pizza with knife and fork; in this way I can eat more slowly and I can have pizza for more time!
  10. Whatever, man, it all tastes the same.


It's a divisive foodstuff this pizza! And with that, all there is to do is to vote, wait, and eat more pizza than you probably should. Tis the season after all. Voting closes on Monday, Nov 5 at noon and the ultimate Pizza Champion will be crowned and announced at 3pm! Stay tuned!
 

Final rankings from #5 on as voted by you

5. Annie's
6. Pie Squared
7. Eatalia
8. Q Mex
9. Great Leap Brewing #45
10. Pizza Saporita
11. Kro's Nest
12. Tube Station
13. Pyro Pizza
14. Papa John's
15. Ramo
16. Yummy Box
17. Paddy O'Shea's 
18. Pizza Marzano 
19. Tavola
20. Xian at East, Beijing 
21. Mao Mao Chong 
22. Domino's 
23. La Villa 
24. Lievito
25. Tiago 
26. The Veggie Table 
27. Lily's American Diner 
28. Lakers 
29. Tribe 
30. Pizza Hut 
31. Legend Beer 
32. NBeer Pub 
33. Pizza Factory 
34. Stuff'd 
35. VSports 
36. Luga's Villa 
37. Eudora Station 
38. The Rug 
39. Fellas 
40. Grandma's Kitchen 
41. Le Fromager de Pékin 
42. Tim's Texas BBQ 
43. Bocca Della Verita 
44. Nasca Cafe 
45. Mrs Shanen's / Green Cow Cafe 
46. Pizza by LMPlus 
47. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel 
48. 1st Floor 
49. Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano 
50. Andy’s 
51. Joe’s Bar & Kitchen 
52. QS 
53. Mr Pizza 
54. Assaggi 
55. Pizza Buona 
56. Flypizza & Hoodakdak Chicken 
57. Peter Pan 
58. Panda Brew 
59. Nine Road Pizzeria 
60. Buddy Bar 
61. PBD Pizza Bar 
62. Fratelli Fresh 
63. Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel 
64. 789 (A-Life) 
65. Radici 
66. Peiping Machine 
67. Pizza Now 
68. Bene 
69. Uno Bar & Grill 
70. Passby Bar 
71. Red Rose 
72. Charlie's 
73. Max Pizza 
74. Mix's Italian Grill 
75. Four Ace 
76. Botany 
77. Leos Pizza 
78. Elisa's 
79. Jazz-Ya 
80. Prego, Westin Financial Street 
81. Casalingo 
82. Kitchen Igosso 
83. Agrilandia 
84. Hisewel Brew-pub 
85. Pizzagram 
86. Loft Eatalicious 
87. Yun Brew 
88. Blufish 
89. Pinvita 
90. Whale's Pizza 
91. Miss Pizza 
92. Byone 
93. Jushi Pizza Just in Time! 
94. Atta BJ 
95. Ebeiguo 
96. BK's Tavern 
97. Pomona 

Images: the Beijinger