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Home » Feature » People

Reflecting on fond memories at Pizza Hut

By Ruby Gao | August 21, 2015, Friday | Print Edition

A restaurant chain in business for more than two decades is much more than just a provider of scrumptious food. It becomes part of the communities in which it operates and a witness to the times, especially if chosen by guests to celebrate the most important moment in their lives.

Shanghai couple Wu Qingfang and Wei Xue’an forever will hold fond memories of Pizza Hut. They met in 2002 at a branch in Xujiahui Metro City and married in another Pizza Hut in South Mall on Lianhua Road one year later. It very well could have been the pizza that sparked such lasting chemistry.

They are the first and only couple who have married in Pizza Hut in China, which has been in the country for 25 years and has about 1,400 locations.

Wu, 45, born in Jiangxi Province, came to Shanghai 16 years ago to do a post-graduate degree at Shanghai Finance University. She is now a lecturer teaching human resources at East China University of Science and Technology. Her husband Wei, born in Shandong Province, is now a Shanghai-based engineer.

The couple along with their daughter celebrated their 12-year anniversary at the Pizza Hut Metro City store yesterday, Chinese Valentines Day.

“During my youth, Pizza Hut in Xujiahui Metro City store was undoubtedly the first dating option for local people due to its location. It’s so close to Metro Line 1 and the cinema,” Wu says.

Pizza Hut at that time was also one of few places in Shanghai where locals unfamiliar with and curious about Western culture could try American pizza at an affordable price.

“We chose it because Western dining is generally regarded as more romantic than Chinese restaurants,” Wu adds.

Wu remembers everything about meeting her husband for the first time after being introduced by a mutual friend, even what she ordered.

“I ordered a cup of tea,” Wu says. “Then we went upstairs to watch a movie.

“I would never think of getting married at the restaurant chain where we first met. I guess it was our destiny,” Wu adds.

Wu and her husband had a group wedding with 87 other couples in 2003. Pizza Hut was the sponsor of the ceremony and made headlines in town after it baked a 6-meter-diameter pizza for the couples.

“I didn’t want to be a traditional Chinese bride, standing on the stage and drawing all the attention. That makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable,” Wu says, explaining why they wanted to take part in a group wedding.

The restaurant chain also sponsored Wu’s wedding dinner at its South Mall branch on Lianhua Road.

“Some of my wedding photos were taken by journalists since the restaurant chain invited media guests. I feel honored,” Wu says.

Wu’s mother-in-law had difficulty accepting such a casual wedding dinner initially since Chinese tradition dictates weddings are celebrated either at home, a Chinese restaurant or a fancy hotel.

“I don’t like showing off,” Wu says. “I prefer simple living. But that dinner, although not fancy and luxurious, was impressive.”

She shows a photo taken on her wedding day. A long table with a pink tablecloth decorated with roses and lilies was set in the center of the restaurant.

Wu wore a pink qipao.

“The qipao was first created in Shanghai and is not as formal as a wedding gown, which suits the casual and family friendly ambience of Pizza Hut,” she says.

The classic wedding cake was replaced by a three-level pizza.

“I remember they served the ‘Japanese dancing’ pizza, a new flavor at that time,” she recalls.

The name of the pizza derived from the topping okaka (a Japanese smoked and shaved skipjack tuna). When it’s placed on hot food, the heat makes the tuna shavings move about, making it look like its dancing. That pizza is no longer on the menu, but Pizza Hut made it especially for Wu and Wei’s 12th wedding anniversary.

The traditional Chinese wedding game “biting apple” was substituted with a deep-fried squid ring at the celebration. The couple was asked to bite the squid ring, which was hung with thread in front of them. At the moment their lips touch the squid ring, their friends pull the thread so that they make a big kiss.

Nowadays, the couple goes to Pizza Hut with their daughter every two months. The chicken wings and waffles are their favorites.

“Although there are many new Western dining options in Shanghai these days, I am into Pizza Hut. All my sweet memories are here,” Wu says.

With the chain’s early entry into the China market, Pizza Hut has played a key role in enlightening locals about Western cuisine.

“Pizza Hut has been in China for 25 years, serving more than one billion customers. Wu and his husband is the only so far getting married in our restaurant. We are impressed by their true love withstanding the test of time,” says Vincent Lu, general manager of Shanghai Pizza Hut.

Lu bespoke a baking tray for the couple, engraved with Chinese characters 真爱必胜, a pun in Chinese meaning true love wins and true love at Pizza Hut.

And many locals can share stories about their meals at Pizza Hut.

“It’s the salad bar at Pizza Hut where I first learned of the buffet concept,” recalls Faye Gu, a 28-year-old woman. “I used to play a game with my friends in Pizza Hut called ‘salad tart’ in which we competed to put the most ingredients onto one salad plate.”

Zhou Hui says she had afternoon tea for the first time at Pizza Hut.

Businessman Peter Li says he learned how to use a fork and knife at Pizza Hut because it was affordable compared to formal Western restaurants.

May Li, who often travels abroad for food and wine, says, “My interest in Mediterranean food started at Pizza Hut, from Spanish tapas to Italian tiramisu.”

People


 

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