It’s the kind of place where the pretty young things hang on weekend evenings, playing liar dice while downing shots of beer, all the time their faces illuminated by smartphone glow. At Chai Pizzeria however, they have quality to gorge themselves on too.
Whereas the past couple of years have blessed Nanjing with locally run restaurants that unlocked the secrets of authentic Italian pizza (see The Me, Mona and The Wing; we’ve reviewed them all), Chai Pizzeria has, on the other hand, succeeded in sourcering that mythical creature; a Chinese pizza that’s actually really good.
So how to identify Chinese pizza? For one, the dough is a little thicker and softer. Then there is the selection of toppings; the salami and bell pepper with mushroom for which The Nanjinger opted being an instant giveaway. Beef granules with red and green peppers, onions, corn and mushroom sounds mighty suspicious, but the pepperoni and spicy sausage, again with green peppers, onion and mushrooms (sense a trend here?), would be our choice upon the return visit we are sure to make.
Pita bread, garlic bread, chicken wings and cheese stuffed mushrooms are all available as appetisers while for the mains it is the first time we have found pork knuckle going by its proper name of Schweinehaxen in Nanjing! All this and more in what is not much more than a little hole in the wall.
Forking out ¥76 for a 10 inch pizza (¥88 for a 12 inch) is something which we should probably start getting used to, especially this close to the city centre. Did I not see a chart somewhere recently putting Nanjing on the list of most expensive cities in Asia for expats?
On the refreshments front, Nanjinger craft Brewer Master Gao has virtually a monopoly on Chai’s beer selection. How many can the pretty young things knock back, we wonder…
Find Chai Pizzeria on Yongqing Xiang, opposite Wutaishan stadium. Tel: 13705186446 / 13776609606
