Baozza On Steamed and Filling Treats

Ahead of this year's Pizza Cup and Festival, we are serving up bite-sized details about this year's participants in a series we call Pizza Mania. This segment features an interview with buzzy newcomers Baozza.

The shīfù (师傅) lifts the top off the steamer, revealing the steamed treasures within, each glistening ever so slightly from the condensation. You order one of those delectable orbs, and lift it to your nose to inhale the bāozi’s (包子) intoxicating aroma. Purchasing and munching on such doughy steamed dumplings is a comforting but all too ordinary part of most foodies’ routines in China, be they local or expat. But as you sink your teeth into this baozi’s cushioned casing, a flavor that's familiar for entirely different reasons spills out over your tastebuds. Yes, instead of minced pork, cabbage or other conventional baozi fillings, this dumpling is instead stuffed with cheese and marinara, thus becoming an Italian-Chinese fusion food that its creators have dubbed the "Baozza."

This pizza-esque steamed dumplings have earned serious buzz in Beijing’s F&B scene since it started as a pop-up in the CBD early this past summer, before going on to be served from booths at various events like World Baijiu Day and the Beijinger’s very own International Foodie Weekend. After those initial successes, the Baozza team are planning to turn up the heat and let their prospects truly rise like fragrant air in a bamboo steamer, by offering official delivery services for those looking to devour their fusion dumplings. More exciting still: they're also planning to open one or two Baozza retail outlets in Beijing soon.

Below, co-founder Loren Heinold tells us more about what inspired Baozza and his team’s plans for the future.

How did you get the idea to combine pizza with baozi?
Baozza was born from a play on words that (co-founder) Alex (Cree) made while traveling with clients in southern China last summer. Someone had been complaining that most baozi found on the street lacked flavor and used low-quality fillings. A discussion ensued about how to make baozi more amenable to the Western palate, and Alex suggested pizza baozi, then blurted out “Baozza!” It was a Eureka moment. After that came the shocking realization that nobody had done pizza baozi before … or at least done it well. Alex went right to work experimenting, at which point it became clear the two would go together amazingly, and that there was an opportunity to be had in bringing this to market.

At first the homemade Baozza were not pretty, but they tasted great. Then, once our team was formed and we went into more serious test cooking, that changed quickly. Our aim has been to create awesome food that truly unites East and West; something interesting, fun, honest, and satisfying. The results have been fantastic.

Click "Read more" for the rest of the interview.

Did that whet your appetite? Then click here to continue nibbling all of our tasty Pizza Mania coverage.

The Beijinger's 2016 Pizza Cup and Festival is just around the corner. The celebration kicked off last week with Pies for the People. Get special deals from various pizza parlors around town. Click here for more details.

In addition, tickets are now on sale for our October 15-16 Pizza Fest at the Zaha Hadid-designed Wangjing SOHO. Tickets are limited so buy ahead to make sure you don't miss out! Click here to purchase.