Ever ordered escargot or steak at a 必胜客 (Bìshèngkè, Pizza Hut)? I certainly hadn’t, that is – before going to China. Being from the Midwest where Pizza Huts tend to be on the outskirts of town hiding somewhere in the urban sprawl, I don’t hold them up as a beacon of fine dining to say the least. They are good for the occasional cheesy fat pill, delivered to my doorstep, but not much else. I pretty much wouldn’t consider eating at a pizza hut in the US unless I was desperate.
I was surprised to find that Pizza Hut in China is completely different from its counterpart in the US. They offer three-course gourmet meals at a pretty penny. You can find on the menu: seafood (including: oysters, snails, and shrimp), salads, soups, steaks, pizza (of course), and all kinds of desserts. To complete the Western dining experience you can also drink a bit of 咖啡 (kāfēi, Coffee) with your meal. Dan, an American who taught English in China, wrote about pizza hut in his blog, “For one thing, it’s ‘classy.’ The servers are well-dressed, the place looks really nice, and there are no groups of screaming children. Western restaurants are more of a fine-dining experience in China, even the ones that would never be considered as such at home.”
I remember in first-year Chinese class at Oberlin College our Chinese teacher was introducing the topic of food, asking us what we like to eat, what we don’t like to eat, etc… (In case you don’t know, Oberlin is a pretty hippy place. On an average day you’d be pretty unlikely to see any Oberlin students eating in a fast food restaurant. Actually, you’d be more likely to see Oberlin students rallying against the fast food chains of America.) The teacher asked us, “你们喜欢吃肯德基/麦当劳/必胜客吗?” (Nǐmén xǐhuān chī Kěndéjī/Màidāngláo/Bìshèngkè ma?, Do you all like to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken/Mcdonalds/Pizza Hut?). There was a great moment of uncomfortable non-response and smiling from the class. Most of the students would usually prefer to eat a spinach wrap with sprouts inside rather than a bacon cheese quarter pounder from Mcdonalds. I think the teacher really was oblivious to the status that fast food has in the US (especially to middle class liberal minded college students, don’t get me wrong here).
You can see in the advertising how different Pizza Hut’s marketing schemes are for China and the US. This American advertisement for 必胜客 appeals to your interest in being a lazy bum and eating in the convenience of your own home. Your kids will also love you by the way and you’ll be the coolest dad on the block. Basically pizza hut food=junk food that you can wolf down at your house and feel awesome about.
Then check out this Chinese Pizza Hut ad for a sharp contrast. It appeals to the consumer’s interest in Western culture. Taking your date to Pizza hut in China is a great way to show off your wealth and interest in foreign cuisine. The joke at the end where the Chinese dude can’t help himself and starts yelling in Italian = you will also soak up foreign language and culture if you eat at 必胜客.
You can check out the offerings today at Pizza Huts in China here. They have expanded their menu to include a whole range of options including Greek Lamb, BBQ Kebab, kimchi pork rice, and for dessert – chocolate mousse, or a selection of pies.
An interesting phenomenon at Pizza Hut is the way Chinese people sometimes make use of the self serve salad bar. I don’t know if they still have it these days (Can any skritter users out there tell us?), but I’ve heard that in the early 90s when Pizza Hut first came to Beijing one of the big draws of the restaurant was the fact that in your single trip to the salad bar you could pile as much salad on to your plate as you could manage to balance on the way back to your table. Here are a couple of photos of what some Chinese people with too much time on their hands created at the Pizza Hut salad bar.
