[Photo/VCG]

After experimenting with various recipes, Cree says he’s perfected his product.

What's different about his product is having the outside as Chinese, made up of the traditional baozi dough.

But the inside is stuffed to the gills with the Italian dish that Americans have come to adore: pizza ingredients of cheese, Italian herbs and tomatoes.

“They’re very intrigued and they want to have a taste,” said Cree, co-founder of Baozza. “So what we then see is that once they have a bite, they realize it’s not a joke and it’s actually very delicious.”

One taster, Owen Zheng, was impressed.

“The flavor once you put the sauce on is really good if you ask me, it’s got this mixed taste, a bit spicy while the saltiness is just right and the cheese is all chewy, anyway it’s the first time I’ve ever had a baozi like this, and I think it’s not bad,” said Zheng. The real test is Zhan Mimi, who runs a baozi stand.

“I don’t think it’s going to become very popular in China, they might get it in KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), but I think there’ll be very few independent stores like ours selling these kinds,” said Zhan Mimi. Her little one is also not convinced: one bite, and he made a sour face.

But nobody said diplomacy is perfect though, right?