In honour of Eat What You Want Day, we sample some of the most controversial food and drinks that feel like a fever dream.
Guys, happy Eat What You Want Day! If you’re just savouring the newfound meaning of 11 May like me, welcome on board. Founded by Thomas and Ruth Roy, Eat What You Want Day is a break from body image scares where you indulge, more or less responsibly.
Woke and meaningful as it is, a part of me can’t help but to interpret “eat what you want” in the most rebellious sense possible — like “eat what you want, whatever” plus an eye roll type of delivery. So I thought, why not take this opportunity to talk about cursed bites and sips? Try them out for real or not, it’s all up to you.
The food and drinks that spark controversies
Pizza Hut Taiwan: Taiwanese Royale Fried Chicken Pizza (TW$399, approximately HK$100)
Forget Flavortown, we have Pizza Hut Taiwan at home.
When it comes to evil culinary genius, Pizza Hut Taiwan has the recipe down to a T. Compared to the Taiwanese Royale Fried Chicken Pizza, having mere pineapple slices as a topping counts as an act of righteousness.
This manifestation of — for lack of a better term — dankness features fried chicken, fried calamari, fried fishcake and various spices, recreating a round table of classic Taiwanese flavours. To really push it over the edge, oreo cookies sit atop the jagged crust, serving as instruments of mass confusion.
If you’re in Taiwan right this moment, let me remind you that the Taiwanese Royale Fried Chicken Pizza is only a call away.
Tamjai Yunnan Mixian: Kimchi & Cheese Pork Chop Stirred Mixian (HK$44-46)
Shoutout to Tamjai, they kept me fed when I was a struggling college student. However indebted to Tamjai I am, the thought of cheese (the suspiciously pigmented Cha Chaan Teng type) and dry mixian noodles together makes me cower in fear.
When you take separate components of this dish into account, it’s pleasant enough: you have pork chop, kimchi, cheese, spring onions and mixian noodles, yum. Just, this creation is fast approaching the uncanny valley. I’ll have the usual baby-spicy soup with squid balls to go, thank you.
A.S. Watson Group: Sarsae
Staying true to its slogan “dare to be different”, Sarsae is a soft drink by A.S. Watson Group that has, over the years, remained the subject of Internet wars.
A variety of root beer with a Cantonese name homophonic with SARS the epidemic disease, Sarsae sports a potent half-herbal-half-chemical nose, a sugary palate and a rich, brown hue — I’ll leave it to you to figure out which property people have a problem with.
Personally speaking, Sarsae is nowhere near “nightmare fuel” category, but its polarising status certainly guarantees it a spot on this list. What’s more, this drink is surprisingly not as common as one would imagine, so maybe have a few of these bad boys on stand-by for your next house party.
VitaSoy: Devilish Spicy Lemon Tea (魔辣檸檬茶)
Crossovers are a means of creativity (and publicity sometimes), and creativity is to be commended — well, most of the time. When it is giving us something.
VitaSoy’s Devilish Spicy Lemon Tea has certainly crossed a line it shouldn’t have. Mixing together the beloved flavours of mala spicy and lemon tea, this 2021 Halloween limited-edition release puts the “trick” in “trick or treat” — the spice burns your throat, the signature sweetness is gone, and it doesn’t even emit a hint of lemon. Just look at the sign, it’s HK$1 per bottle. I’ll just conclude with words of wisdom by my late grandpa: good things don’t come cheap.
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