The Pizza Company ain't half bad

I'm as surprised as anyone to be posting this, but I've ordered delivery from Pizza Company at least a dozen times, so I think I owe them this: it's really not bad. Not bad at all. And that's strange to say because you'd expect a Chinese pizza chain to be terrible, but they're not. Judged against expectations, I daresay they're GREAT. (Thus the four stars.) Oh, and they've always delivered within the 45-minute window they give themselves -- sometimes sooner -- so I've had no problems with their service.

If you judge the food for what it is and not how it conforms to what you think a Western-style pizza should look like, I think you'll find the product pleasantly tasty. The crust is crunchy and well-baked, a bit toasty (think Chinese Pizza Hut's pan crust), and the cheese/toppings ratio is just fine. This probably isn't the place for pizza snobs, but you probably already know that. The one complaint I'd lodge is that there is minimal difference between how their various pizzas taste: if you put me through a blind taste test, I might not be able to differentiate between the BBQ Italian pork and the Double Tropical Sausage, or even the Grilled BBQ Chicken. But I trust the ingredients are all "real," so who cares?

The real kicker, however, is that it's 39 yuan per medium pizza, 69 yuan for two. That's quite decent value. Pastas and appetizers and -- like at all the pizza chains here, for whatever reason -- Chinese gaifans also on the menu.