Reddit Is Jealous Of Costco's Food Court Menu In Shanghai
For the uninitiated, Reddit is just another website full of anonymous comments. In reality, it's the sixth most visited website in the world, according to Digital Trends. In the U.S., it's actually the fourth most popular. The more than one million forums that make up Reddit are called subreddits. Each subreddit is catered to a specific topic that community members can introduce and discuss. Food subreddits can be amazing sources for recipes, techniques, and some of the most entertaining and wildest food conversations.
Subreddits always include an "r/" before the name of the community. For example, r/Costco will plop you into threads about new store openings, favorite new items, complaints about other customers, and pining for items that are no longer available. What's really fascinating is when members compare their various local Costco warehouses.
As Costco has grown to 847 global locations (per the company's website), those differences are adding up. The products in Hawaiian Costco spark some especially strong feelings. One r/Costco thread makes a good case to include a visit to Costco for poke, macadamia nuts, and Kona coffee between your stops at Diamond Head and Volcanoes National Park.
Costco's food court in Shanghai is turning heads
Lately, a r/Costco thread has sprouted to highlight Shanghai's food court that's probably pretty different from the food court you last visited. Most of us can count on Costco's hot dog combo price, but we aren't going to find a bulgogi bake next to the usual chicken bake.
That's just the beginning of the surprising menu additions and substitutions. Not only can you order lattes and Americanos, but you can choose between hot or iced. Avocado fruit salad and mushroom soup are interesting changes but, for some, may pale in comparison to the thought of a spicy fried chicken bucket. If that bucket piques your interest, have you seen Australian Costco's website? Those food courts can offer Korean chicken wings and a Southern style chicken burger.
These menu changes aren't new. Other threads on r/Costco from a few years ago reveal that the Shanghai location's food court is more than unique, it's flexible. Instead of mushroom soup, there's sometimes clam chowder soup. Mango soft cream sounds like a tasty break from vanilla ice cream. If you need to soothe some Shanghai Costco food court FOMO, take solace in knowing they can't nibble on a churro while someone checks their receipt.
Combo pizza is gone, but not forgotten (unless you're in Shanghai)
Costco pizza lovers have been frustrated that the popular Combo Pizza option has been removed from many stores, so much so that there's even a Change.org petition devoted to its desired return. That's not the case in Shanghai. You can still find the pie covered in pepperoni, sausage, and vegetables there. In addition to Combo Pizza, there's been Beijing duck pizza and truffle mushroom pizza. No offense to plain cheese pizza or pepperoni pizza, but those sound pretty great.
One of the menus posted to Reddit revealed Combo Pizza's counterparts were Hawaiian pizza or seafood pizza. That seafood option, according to Costco, adds "shredded onion, crab stick, three colored vegetables, tuna," and shrimp on top of the usual dough, sauce, and cheese. That might not win back the food court devotees who crave Combo Pizza. But a seafood pizza would certainly catch some attention, and might even move the needle in the Sam's Club vs Costco battle for the best food court?