It’s official: your 2014 Pizza Cup Champion is and favorite pizza in Beijing is Gung Ho! Gourmet Pizza Kitchen.

After a grueling month-long battle against 64 Beijing pizza parlors, Gung Ho! was elected the ‘Jing’s Best Pizza in the Beijinger’s 2014 Pizza Cup, with a narrow victory over boozy pizza slinger The Tree, which had a respectable showing and ends the cup as the runner-up.

In the battle for third place, also decided in the last round of voting, Eatalia overcame a challenge from The Rug to secure the bronze.

All in all over 4,000 votes were cast, with nearly 25 percent of them tossed due to ineligibility or because they were ruled to be lame attempts at ballot stuffing.

This year’s contest was our first to utilize weighted balloting, our attempt to level the playing field in matches that featured competitors of different sizes. In tabulating the winners, restaurants with multiple locations had to have won with a larger margin of victory if they faced off against smaller competitors.

It’s been a long wait for their chance in the top slot for Gung Ho!, who was the runner-up in our only previous Pizza Cup, held three years ago. In that match Gung Ho! was in the finals but placed second to Kro’s Nest.

Gung Ho! kicked off the Pizza Cup with participation in our first-ever Pizza Festival (photos here and here), impressing the crowd with their on-site acumen in serving up slices without delay to the hungry crowd.

They then went on to best some of the top names in Beijing’s pizza scene on their way to the top: Domino’s, Hutong Pizza, Pizza+, La Pizza, The Rug, and finally The Tree. Along the way they proved that their smooth decor, excellent delivery, and Chinese takes on the classics are a winning formula.

We hope you had a great time during the 2014 Pizza Cup, and that you didn’t put on too many extra pounds, given the vast majority of you claim to have eaten more pizza and drank more beer than usual over the past month.

Stay tuned to our blog over the next few days as we bring details of any celebrations that may be planned by our new champions.

Finally, a salute to everyone plying the pizza trade in Beijing. We’re spoiled for choice here, and what with the bad traffic, shitty air, inhospitably cruel winters and roasting hot summers, we owe a real debt of gratitude to those that deliver.

And if you just can’t get enough, catch up with all our Pizza Cup content here, ranging from how to make your perfect Chinese-style pizza to where to get your next cheesy hit.

Our Final Rankings in the 2014 Pizza Cup:

Overall Champion: Gung Ho! Pizza

Champion, Bar/Café Pizza: The Tree
Champion, Mid-Range Restaurant Pizza: Eatalia
Champion, Fine Dining Pizza: The Rug
Champion, Pizza Specialists: Gung Ho! Pizza

2014 Rankings:

1. Gung Ho! Pizza
2. The Tree
3. Eatalia
4. The Rug
5. La Pizza
6. Alio Olio
7. Sugar Shack
8. Kitchen Igosso
9. Pizza Plus
10. Mao Mao Chong

11. Vineyard Café
12. La Dolce Vita
13. Annie’s
14. Tube Station
15. Bang! Bang! Pizza
16. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel
17. The Kro’s Nest
18. Pizza Express
19. Hutong Pizza
20. Sureño, The Opposite House

21. Tavola
22. Pie Squared
23. The Irish Volunteer
24. Stuff’d
25. Scott’s Family Ristorante Italiano
26. Isola
27. Peter Pan
28. 1st Floor
29. Lily’s American Diner
30. LMPlus

31. Luga’s Little Italy
32. The Local
33. Papa John’s Pizza
34. New York Pizza
35. Xian Bar
36. Domino’s
37. The Den
38. Frost
39. Pizza Buona
40. Pizza Hut

41. The Veggie Table
42. Ramo
43. Twilight
44. Mrs. Shanen’s
45. Yummy Box
46. Lakers
47. Charlie’s
48. Grandma’s Kitchen
49. Nanjie
50. Loft Eatalicious

51. Matta
52. Peter’s Tex-Mex
53. FA Cafe
54. Time Cafe
55. Fratelli Fresh
56. Agrilandia
57. Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken
58. Via Roma
59. Elisa’s
60. Passby Bar

61. Abella
62. Bene
63. Prego
64. WhaleWell Pizzeria
65. Red House
66. (tie) Hercules
66. (tie) M+ Café
66. (tie) Nasca Cafe
67. Paddy O’Shea’s
68. PBD Pizza Bar
69. Pizza Maru
70. Bella Vista

71. (tie) Alba
71. (tie) Parkside Bar & Grill
71. (tie) Windy City
71. (tie) The Yard
72. Amigo Pizza
73. Paro
74. Sarpino’s Pizzeria
75. Fuel

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 24, 2014.

Photo: The Beijinger

The Tree, one of Beijing’s longest-running bars whose credentials have been built on its winning combination of wood-fired pizza and Belgian beers, faces off against our previous Pizza Cup runner-up, pizza maestros Gung Ho! in the final match of the 2014 Pizza Cup.

Gung Ho! booked their ticket into the Final Four with a victory over La Pizza in the tough Pizza Specialists division. With perhaps the most challenging route to the finals, Gung Ho! had previously rolled the dough over Domino’s, Hutong Pizza, Pizza+, La Pizza, and finally The Rug.

Old-timer The Tree on the other hand blazed through the ranks in the Bars/Cafés classification, batting its competitors out of the park, plowing through Laker’s, The Local, Bang! Bang! Pizza, Sugar Shack, and finally Mid-Range Restaurant champion Eatalia.

Eatalia and The Rug were the runners up and meet in the match to determine third place.

On its way through the Upscale Restaurants category, The Rug slipped past Kempinski’s Via Roma, The Opposite House’s Sureño, The Four Season’s Mio and Kitchen Igosso.

Italian-owned Eatalia topped the Mid-Range Restaurants category, after victories over Abella Italian Restaurant, Scott’s Family Restaurant, Vineyard Cafe and Alio Olio.

In the meantime, last round we asked you pizza lovers to tell us a bit about your preferences when eating pizza.

An unsurprising 34 percent of you preferred beer to accompany your pizza, followed by carbonated soft drinks (20 percent) and juice (12 percent).

Breaking down the beer category revealed a strong preference (37 percent) for craft beer to accompany your ‘za. This signals a big market opportunity for brewers out there (or an enterprising pizza shop or two who wants to get into the beer-making trade).

So there you have it: The Tree and Gung Ho! are your finalists … you have until Sunday night to make your choice. And for those of you who haven’t tried one or both of these establishment, you’ve got the weekend to go for a pizza and a beer at one or both places and make a fair judgement for yourself.

Check here for the full bracket image.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 21, 2014.

Photos: the Beijinger

Voting in the Final Four is open through midnight Thursday, November 20 … so get voting!

Action in the Elite 8 concluded last night, with the four division champions – Gung Ho!, Eatalia, The Tree, and The Rug – moving on to meet in the Final Four.

Gung Ho! booked their ticket into the Final Four with a victory over La Pizza in the tough Pizza Specialists division. With perhaps the most challenging route to the finals, the Gungsters had previously made mincemeat of Domino’s and dispatched Hutong Pizza before edging past Pizza+ and finally La Pizza to reach the top of the heap.

In the Mid-Range Restaurants division, second-seeded Eatalia moves on with a victory over Alio Olio. Eatalia started their Cup with a victory over Abella Italian Restaurant, followed by victories over Scott’s Family Restaurant, Vineyard Cafe and finally Alio Olio to reach the peak of their division.

The Tree‘s path to the top of the Bars/Clubs division sent them past Sugar Shack in the most recent round. Previously The Tree had felled Laker’s, The Local and Bang! Bang! Pizza.

On its way through the unpredictable Upscale Restaurants category, The Rug slipped past Kitchen Igosso in the Elite 8. Their previous victories included edging past the Kempinski’s Via Roma in the first round, The Opposite House’s Sureño in Round 2, then over The Four Season’s Mio before its latest triumph over Kitchen Igosso.

Gung Ho, representing the Pizza Specialists category, now meets Upscale Dining champ The Rug to determine a slot in the penultimate match. Meanwhile on the bottom half of the bracket, Mid-Range champ Eatalia faces off against Bar/Cafe champ The Tree.

Voting in the Final Four is open through midnight Thursday, November 20 … so get voting!

Final Results from last round’s Elite 8 Voting:
The Tree (#1) uprooted Sugar Shack (#3)
Eatalia (#2) greased Alio Olio (#4)
The Rug (#8) floored Kitchen Igosso (#7)
Gung Ho! (#5) rolled La Pizza (#3)

In our runner-up matches:
Pizza Plus (#1) bested Tube Station (#7)
Mao Mao Chong (#2) shot down Bang! Bang! (#13)
Vineyard Cafe (#3) squeezed by Annie’s (#1)
La Dolce Vita (#6) surpassed Mio, Four Seasons Hotel (#4)

Based on the margin of victory and total number of ballots received, we’ve derived the rankings of those that have been eliminated from the original field of 64, which gives us our initial seedings for 2015:

5. La Pizza
6. Alio Olio
7. Sugar Shack
8. Kitchen Igosso
9. Pizza Plus
10. Mao Mao Chong
11. Vineyard Café
12. La Dolce Vita
13. Annie’s
14. Tube Station
15. Bang! Bang! Pizza
16. Mio, Four Seasons Hotel

Rankings 17-75, as determined in previous rounds:

17. The Kro’s Nest
18. Pizza Express
19. Hutong Pizza
20. Sureño, The Opposite House

21. Tavola
22. Pie Squared
23. The Irish Volunteer
24. Stuff’d
25. Scott’s Family Ristorante Italiano
26. Isola
27. Peter Pan
28. 1st Floor
29. Lily’s American Diner
30. LMPlus

31. Luga’s Little Italy
32. The Local
33. Papa John’s Pizza
34. New York Pizza
35. Xian Bar
36. Domino’s
37. The Den
38. Frost
39. Pizza Buona
40. Pizza Hut

41. The Veggie Table
42. Ramo
43. Twilight
44. Mrs. Shanen’s
45. Yummy Box
46. Lakers
47. Charlie’s
48. Grandma’s Kitchen
49. Nanjie
50. Loft Eatalicious

51. Matta
52. Peter’s Tex-Mex
53. FA Cafe
54. Time Cafe
55. Fratelli Fresh
56. Agrilandia
57. Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken
58. Via Roma
59. Elisa’s
60. Passby Bar

61. Abella
62. Bene
63. Prego
64. WhaleWell Pizzeria
65. Red House
66. Hercules
66. M+ Café
66. Nasca Cafe
67. Paddy O’Shea’s
68. PBD Pizza Bar
69. Pizza Maru
70. Bella Vista

71. Alba
71. Parkside Bar & Grill
71. Windy City
71. The Yard
72. Amigo Pizza
73. Paro
74. Sarpino’s Pizzeria
75. Fuel

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 17, 2014.

Photos: The Beijinger

To get you in the mood for the ongoing voting in the 2014 Pizza Cup (see the Elite 8 here), we sent our minions out to patrol the streets for pizza. Here’s what they’ve found:

Will Yorke’s Vineyard Cafe is well known for its brunch options, but the owner says he and his wife actually opened the restaurant in 2006 as a source for ultra thin crust pizza slices. 

"At the time, the only thing on the menu was pizza,” Yorke tells the Beijinger, adding: "My wife, Xu Duan, and I had just finished restructuring a pizza restaurant which was facing imminent destruction and we moved on from there to create the Vineyard.”

Xu, who hails from Beijing, had yet to try an English breakfast. So her UK born husband decided to that to the menu for her and her friends. "We didn’t advertise it at all, but for some reason loads of people turned up. I don’t know how they knew, but of course we weren’t ready for the numbers that turned up, and it was total chaos!”

These days Yorke and his staff are more than prepared for those breakfast craving throngs. And yet, he has also taken special care to ensure his pizzas have continued to evolve as well. 

“Since I began selling pizza, the options for it were not as developed (in Beijing) as they are now,” he says, adding that his numerous ‘za competitors haven’t so much saturated the scene as upped its ante. He adds: “Pizza … differs from place to place, but there is always room in the market for more pizza … For some reason every place that makes pizza makes them differently. They couldn’t even make them the same if they tried. Everyone is making good pizzas, but each pizza represents a different understanding.”

He goes on to describe the source of those numerous variations: "I guess there is a different philosophy in the balance of sauce, cheese and toppings. Our pizza is based on our understanding of this philosophy. You don’t want too much or to little of either. You don’t want the sauce to overtake the flavour but you need to know it’s there. The sauce should be thick, but not too thick. And I am not a big fan of sauces that taste like tomato paste. I am not a fan of dried oregano overkill.”

But many customers (including yours truly), might argue that the Vineyard’s most distinctive attribute is its slender crust, perhaps one of the thinnest in Beijing, at least on its Meaty-orite pie. That pizza is coated with – brace yourself – roast chicken, bacon, pepperoni, ham, bolognese, roasted mixed peppers, mozzarella, a generous heaping of olives and onions, and more. The mountainous layers of toppings, combined with such a spindly thin crust, make for one of the most sumptuous pizza juxtapositions in town (although it may be overkill for those who prefer the restraint of more traditional pies, or some of our city’s healthier options). 

Yorke adds that the Meaty-orite is actually only his second best seller. The top slot actually belongs to the Mediterranean. 

"I think the interaction of its feta and fresh pesto just makes it a nice combination,” he says of the Mediterranean, adding that it works as a fine alternative to the Meaty-orite. He goes on to say that Mediterranean is subtler and "tastes fresh and more-ish."

Vineyard Cafe
Tue-Sun 11.30am-11.30pm. 31 Wudaoying Hutong (just north of the Confucius temple) Dongcheng District (6402 7961)
东城区 五道营胡同31号

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 13, 2014

Photos: Kyle Mullin

Top seeds Annie’s and Pizza+ were knocked off last night as the Beijinger‘s 2014 Pizza Cup marched towards its inevitable conclusion.

In this round you’ll pick the champions in each of the four brackets: Pizza Specialists, Mid-Range Restaurants, Bars/Cafés, and Upscale Restaurants. The champions will then go on to meet in the final rounds to determine our overall champion for 2014.

In the Pizza Specialists category, Gung Ho! Pizza toppled the bracket’s top seed Pizza+, while third-ranked La Pizza pushed aside Tube Station, setting up a final that La Pizza vs Gung Ho.

Meanwhile in the Mid-Range category, Alio Olio, capitalizing on our new vote tabulation methodology that factors in the number of locations of each competitor, toppled the top-seeded Annie’s, seen by many as a favorite to win the whole shebang. Meanwhile, Eatalia outdistanced Vineyard Cafe, and moves on to take on Alio Olio in final that pits two Italian-owned eateries against one another.

Over in the Bars/Cafés category, 13-seed Bang! Bang! Pizza‘s Cinderella story came to an abrupt end as the bracket’s top seed The Tree bulldozed them. In the bracket’s other match, Wudaokou’s Sugar Shack narrowly outdistanced hipster fave Mao Mao Chong.

Meanwhile the Upscale bracket once again proved  to be hard to predict as there were upsets in both matches, with the lower of the two seeds moving on to victory. Our Upscale final now pits Kitchen Igosso vs The Rug to see who moves on.

Voting in the Elite 8 is only open until midnight Sunday (Nov 16), so get voting!

Here are detailed results of the Sweet 16 matches:

Mid-Range Restaurants
Alio Olio (4) over Annie’s (1)
Eatalia (2) over Vineyard Café (3)

Pizza Specialists
Gung Ho (5) over Pizza+ (1)
La Pizza (3) over Tube Station (7)

Bars/Cafés
Sugar Shack (3) over Mao Mao Chong (2)
The Tree (1) over Bang! Bang! Pizza (13)

Mid-Range Restaurants
Kitchen Igosso (7) over La Dolce Vita (6)
The Rug (8) over Mio, Four Seasons Hotel (4)

Meanwhile, we asked you to rank the 16 venues knocked out in the last round, which will serve as our final seeding for these venues in the 2014 cup and the basis for next year’s cup:

17. The Kro’s Nest
18. Pizza Express
19. Hutong Pizza
20. Sureño, The Opposite House
21. Tavola
22. Pie Squared
23. The Irish Volunteer
24. Stuff’d
25. Scott’s Family Ristorante Italiano
26. Isola
27. Peter Pan
28. 1st Floor
29. Lily’s American Diner
30. LMPlus
31. Luga’s Little Italy
32. The Local

Rankings 33-75 determined in previous rounds:

33. Papa John’s Pizza
34. New York Pizza
35. Xian Bar
36. Domino’s
37. The Den
38. Frost
39. Pizza Buona
40. Pizza Hut
41. The Veggie Table
42. Ramo
43. Twilight
44. Mrs. Shanen’s
45. Yummy Box
46. Lakers
47. Charlie’s
48. Grandma’s Kitchen
49. Nanjie
50. Loft Eatalicious
51. Matta
52. Peter’s Tex-Mex
53. FA Cafe
54. Time Cafe
55. Fratelli Fresh
56. Agrilandia
57. Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken
58. Via Roma
59. Elisa’s
60. Passby Bar
61. Abella
62. Bene
63. Prego
64. WhaleWell Pizzeria
65. Red House
66. Hercules
66. M+ Café
66. Nasca Cafe
67. Paddy O’Shea’s
68. PBD Pizza Bar
69. Pizza Maru
70. Bella Vista
71. Alba
71. Parkside Bar & Grill
71. Windy City
71. The Yard
72. Amigo Pizza
73. Paro
74. Sarpino’s Pizzeria
75. Fuel

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 12, 2014.

Photos: the Beijinger

For the November issue of beijingkids, we spotlight British brand PizzaExpress in our Dining Out section as pizzas are a go-to birthday food option that children can munch on in between activities. So finding out which pizza purveyors people are talking is all the Beijinger’s 2014 Pizza Cup is about.

The voting continues as 16 pizza joints get canned tonight as Beijingers help to sieve through the numerous places around town to get a thin or thick crust vegetarian or meat option. Click here to vote for your recommendation.

What does your vote mean? Not to sound like a television political commentator but there are categories that are so close your vote could tip the scales. Also, there’s a dark horse in these rounds so voting for your place helps to make your favorite place a dark horse. Let the upsets begin…

Voting in the Pizza Cup is well underway and Round 2 sees 32 still alive … so now’s the time to order up.

To aid you in that task, we’re highlighting pizza deals and specials around town for you to begin your indulgence – we’ve found specials at just over half the field of 32.

Note: some of these deals are from Chinese-language group buying sites such as Dianping, Lashou and Meituan and therefore will require fluent Chinese (or a fluent friend) to fully indulge — we’ve marked them accordingly.

In the mean time, take a look at the results of the first round here or cast your ballot in Round 2 and help us select the Sweet Sixteen!

And now onto the promotions:

MID-RANGE

Eatalia is offering 20% off their pizzas for the duration of the Pizza Cup and Dianping.com is offering RMB 240 vouchers for RMB 180 (33 percent off) for use at their Di’anmen location

Luga’s Little Italy: Every Monday pizza is 50 percent off!

PIZZA SPECIALISTS

Pizza+  50% off on all slice and round pizza on Mondays and 20% off coupons are available for purchase on Dianping.com, good for their at their Chaoyang Park location

Eatalia is offering 20% off all its pizzas for the duration of the 2014 Pizza Cup at all three of their locations: 798, Di’anmen and Wudaokou.

Gung Ho! Pizza is offering a weekday lunch special: order any pizza at ther SLT location and get either a free side or two soft drinks, or add RMB 20 and choose one of their new shares: fried fish bites, barbecue ribs or chicken wings.

The Kro’s Nest has its Quiz Night every Thursday at its Sanyuanqiao location … no discounts on pizza but you could win free booze — a great time to try their pizzas as well.

La Pizza is offering 11 percent off vouchers on Meituan that are good for use at their Soho Shangdu and Santlitun buffet shops.

Pizza Express: Score a 20 percent discount on your bill if you snap a selfie at Pizza Express and share it on social media, or partake in their Etna Romana or Pollo Forza Romana pizza as part of their Autumn special set menu that includes one starter, two mains and two desserts for RMB 260.

Tube Station: Try their massive pizzas while you suck down 50 percent off cocktails M-F 5-10pm or at their free beer refils on Tuesday evenings promotion

BAR/CAFE
Bang Bang Pizza: Dianping.com is offering several discount vouchers including a set meal for 3-4 valued at RMB 140 for only RMB 88, which includes a pizza, salad and sides.

1st Floor is offering half price pizzas every day before 6pm and 20 percent off between 6pm to 9pm

Sugar Shack is offering a free pizza upsize weekday afternoons from 2-4pm (delivery only) or you might try one of their pies during one of their fabulous Thursday evening Beer Pong Tournaments

The Local: Perhaps Fridays after 9pm may be the best time to scarf down a pizza when ladies drink for half price

The Irish Volunteer is offering a FREE Pitcher of Tsingtao Draught Beer with every 19-inch pizza order (Monday-Thursday)

UPSCALE

La Dolce Vita is offering an awesome deal for two on Dianping.com featuring two 10-inch pizzas, two salads and two 300ml Budweisers … the deal is worth RMB 307 but the discount brings the price to a mere RMB 97.

LMPlus is offering a voucher for 12 percent off, good for use at all three of their locations, via Dianping.com

Kitchen Igosso Grab a 12% off discount voucher from Dianping.com and try one of their pizzas

 This post first appeared in thebeijinger.com on November 1, 2014.

Image: Eatalia