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PEOPLE who have seen the film "Eat, Pray, Love" will remember the scene in which Liz (Julia Roberts) goes to Naple's L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele seeking what was said to be the best pizza in the world. After one bite, Liz smiles with satisfaction and declares, "I am in love, I'm having a relationship with my pizza."
Roberts, known for her slender figure and healthy lifestyle, actually wolfed down eight entire slices of pizza - one for each of the scenes eight takes - not a single nibble.
When faced with the temptation of pizza, who can resist?
The history of pizza
Like some of mankind's other great achievements (gunpowder, moveable type, the compass), "Italian" pizza, it is said, originated in China.
The story goes that when Marco Polo visited China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), he fell in love with cong you xian bing, a kind of baked scallion pancake in what was then north China. Of course, it didn't contain cheese, which most Chinese people didn't like - that was an Italian inspiration.
When he returned to Italy, Marco Polo missed the Chinese pancake so much that he described the ingredients and taste in detail to his chef in Naples. But it was impossible to reproduce the taste and embed the stuffing in the dough.
Finally, the cook gave up, spread the ingredients on the dough, added some cheese as well and placed it in the oven. The resulting "pizza pie" smelled delicious and Marco Polo and everyone enjoyed it. Soon it became popular throughout Italy.
The rest is history.
Pizza and Italy
In search of the best pizza in Shanghai, we have been "tasked" with tasting and interviewing enthusiastic Italian pizza chefs who faithfully introduce Italian pizza. And Italian wine and the laid-back Italian lifestyle.
At Prego Italian restaurant in the Westin Bund Center, chef Stefano de Geronimo shows me how to make my own pizza, explaining how to make the dough, roll it out, spread on tomato paste and toppings, and monitor its progress in the oven.
"It is only by experiencing the whole process of pizza, from making to tasting, that you can understand what the real Italy pizza is," he says.
And if not for Daniella, the chef of Y's Table at World Financial Center, I would never have connected the famous Margherita pizza with the three key colors of Italian flag: red for tomato; white for mozzarella cheese and green for basil.
The chef from southern Italy was quite emphatic: "Don't say 'Italian' pizza but 'Napoli' pizza," said the Neopolitan.
One Roman chef, however, said he didn't mind calling his roman pizza as Italian.
Chef Tino Giuseppe of Favola Italian Restaurant of Le Royal Meridien, being good at making Napoli Pizza, said Roman pizza and Napoli pizza - Rome is to the north , Naploli is to the south- are quite distinct, like the regions of Italy.
The north, he said, is more culturally diverse, so Roman pizza to some extent has absorbed influences from Italy's European neighbors. Its crust is thinner and crispier than that of Napoli pizza, which is relatively thicker and softer. Both use buffalo mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. The south, says Chef Tino, is the most traditional and "authentic" Italian culture.
Although Napoli pizza is by far more famous than the Roman style, many Italian chef still complain that many so-called Italian restaurants worldwide serve what they call Napoli pizza that is not made in Napoli style.
According to Vera Pizza Napoletana (Authentic Napoli Pizza), an organization certifying authentic pizza, preparation should follow strict procedure.
First, the pizza should be baked in a wood-fired dome oven; gas-fired and electric ovens are unacceptable.
Second, only fresh, 100 percent natural and non-processed ingredients may be used. Nothing from a can.
Third, the dough should be kneaded either by hand, or with a low-speed mixer. Mechanical preparation is not allowed.
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