Professional table tennis athletes Lin Gaoyuan of China and Lily Zhang from USA earned bronze medals at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals recently. The championships were held in Houston, TX. By playing mixed doubles together, this combination of Chinese and American table tennis athletes carries great significance, as 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the US and China engaging in what became known as “Ping-Pong Diplomacy.”

In the plot of Forrest Gump movie, the title character participated in the original “ping-pong diplomacy.” This plot point inspired the Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company. They created a menu item known as Ping Pong Chicken Pasta. As someone who cringes when English speaking people call table tennis by name of ping pong, I instantly dislike this dish. Yet, during a recent trip, I overcame my disgust for name of this pasta dish.

The Ping Pong Chicken Pasta dish costs $19.99. The menu description reads grilled chicken breast, linguine, cream sauce, grape tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.  Appropriately, this dish earned a piece of garlic bread to accompany it. In addition, this pasta entrée forms 2070 calories according to Bubba Gump’s menu. Unless you are a professional athlete, that calorie count should alarm most diners.

So, should people consider this pasta entrée?

First, Vivo Italian Kitchen offers far better pasta dishes. Since that restaurant exists also in CityWalk, Bubba Gump’s starts with a huge disadvantage. Also, the portion size rates smaller than the jambalaya dish served at Bubba Gump’s for similar price. Furthermore, I dislike grape tomatoes. This poor meal faces an uphill battle for a positive rating form me.

Having written all of that, this dish tastes above average. Of course, the pasta quality fades in comparison to real pasta places. The chicken quality adds to the dish. Now, this quality of chicken cannot carry any dish by itself. This continues to be true at a seafood place. The star of this dish rises as the crème sauce. Once again, the sauce would not make the menu at Vivo. However, the obvious fat and calorie content comes from the sauce. In terms of taste, the sauce performs well pulling the dish together.

Some guests ordering this pasta dish dislike the sauce. If you end up being one of those people, this dish will be a failure. However, if you like cream sauce pasta dishes, this item should appeal to you. In my opinion, if you find yourself dining at Bubba Gump’s, this pasta dish serves as a decent choice.

Personally, I would select the Jambalaya at this place at that price point. However, your palate may prefer smooth cream flavor over Cajun spice.

The Ping Pong Chicken Pasta functions like a slightly above average entrée. Though I dislike the branding, the food quality was easily adequate. Though I doubt this entrée would be served to Olympic would-be table tennis athletes ay US Olympic Training Center, this sporty dish could loop its way into your heart.