Origus

The cuisine in China is absolutely fabulous. Candied lotus root, sweet spring rolls, and ginger eggplant are some of my favorites so far. However it can be a challenge to take a 2 year old to a restaurant. This morning she broke a glass, and we never leave somewhere without rice on the floor.

So last night, to take a break from being a public spectacle, we decided to get take-out pizza. I spotted a little joint called “Origus” and it claimed to be a pizza buffet. Aaron and Maeli camped in the hotel room while I sojourned into the night streets for some greasy American food.

Origus tries really hard to be American. The paintings on the wall resemble a cross between the decor of Panera Bread and Quiznos. Like most Chinese establishments, they are way overstaffed. Six people work the small front desk where you order.

So, I walk up to the desk and say, “Pizza, wai dai?” which means, “Pizza, takeout?”. Because of the buffet sign, I was worried that they didn’t offer takeout. A young Chinese man nodded and handed me a menu.

Okay…the menu is mostly in Chinese. The only English parts are the titles like:

Dish
Soup
Salad
Beverage
Dessert

Then I notice that you can order spaghetti and wings. Nope, I want some Pizza! Oh yes, here it is:

ORIGUS Deluxe Pizza
Florida Beach Pizza
Boss Pizza
Double Flavor Pizza
Ranchero Pizza
Western Scenery Pizza
Strong Affection Pizza
Sunshine Beach Pizza
Heart Pizza

Hmmm….what to do? Wait, what do I see? ...a Vegetable Pizza. Score!

So, after I painstakingly figured out that they had different sizes, I ordered the largest Vegetable Pizza which came to 68RMB, or about 9 bucks.

The nice Chinese clerk directed me to the waiting area and served me hot water. Chinese people usually don’t drink cold beverages. I prefer hot water to cold anyway, so good for me.

Finally the pizza came and with my handy dandy Chinese/English dictionary I asked for a takeout menu. The nice young Chinese clerk looked confused and then in an attempt to save face, his finger shot up and he said, “Uh HUH!”. He went to the desk and brought me a receipt. Oh well…can’t have everything.

Back at our hotel room, Aaron and Maeli were patiently waiting for dinner. I slowly opened the box and “ta-da”, it actually looked like pizza!

Surprisingly enough it tasted like pizza too, but the kind that you’d get at a roller rink or an elementary school cafeteria. The dough was like thick bread and there wasn’t much sauce. The cheese tasted okay and it was topped with corn, black olives, red and green peppers and mushrooms.

If I had to do it over again, I’d probably order the Heart Pizza or the Strong Affection Pizza.