A high-end restaurant in Shanghai has sparked buzz for its unusual rainforest-themed dining experience, charging diners ¥3,888 (around ₹45,000) for a 15-course eco-inspired meal that includes a dessert made from sterilised elephant dung.
According to the South China Morning Post, the restaurant was founded by two entrepreneurs who spent seven years researching Yunnan’s rainforests before opening the immersive concept. Their aim: to create “ecological fusion cuisine.”
A viral video by food blogger Mixue’s Culinary Notes shows the dining ritual beginning with guests plucking and eating a raw leaf. Courses include dishes like licking honey off ice cubes, tasting a “black goo” mimicking the smell of rotting Rafflesia flowers, and finally, a dessert called Flowers Inserted into Elephant Dung—a mix of dried dung crumbs, perfume, jam, pollen, and sorbet.
Before dessert, diners even climb stairs for a “dessert tour” to pick scents and toppings.
Online reactions range from disgust to curiosity. One user slammed it as “terrifying and humiliating,” while another said, “It’s not just food, it’s a concept. Unique, if nothing else.”