'Ribbit this right into the garbage': Pizza Hut China's new pizza featuring a whole fried frog draws shock

Step aside pineapples, now this is a pizza topping that will truly make an Italian grandma cry.

In a Weibo post on Monday (Nov 18), Pizza Hut China announced a new dish in collaboration with the mobile game Dungeon and Fighter: Origins.

The Goblin Pizza, as it is dubbed, features an entire fried bullfrog on a mala base. If that wasn't contentious enough, the pizza is topped with coriander, possibly the most divisive herb.

There are also two "eyes" that give the dish an eerie feel, despite Halloween being long over.

The pizza was available for pre-order from Nov 18 to 20 for customers who signed up for a limited-edition set meal costing 169 yuan (S$31), which came with merch from the game, before being released for general sales on Nov 21.

A perplexed Weibo user commented on the post: "A question mark slowly appeared over my head," akin to the goblin in the ad.

Another shared that they were going to send the photo of the pizza to their Italian classmate, while one even tagged the Italian embassy's Weibo account and jokingly asked them to "send troops".

Some netizens wondered if Pizza Hut China had drawn inspiration from its Taiwanese and Hong Kong counterparts, who are known for eclectic creations including a turtle-shaped pizza and one containing snake meat respectively.

The dish even appeared on the subreddit r/PizzaCrimes, where Redditors humorously suggested the creators should be sent to jail or be charged with a felony.

One sensible comment read: "I'm fine with frog, but bones do not belong on pizza."

"You can ribbit this right into the garbage," another read.

One Weibo user took one for the team and bought the set meal, sharing his review on Nov 21.

"Is it even possible for someone to come up with this meal concept?" he wrote.

The mystery of the "eyes" was solved, as he shared that they were egg halves with olives as the "pupils", and tomato sauce or ketchup mimicking blood vessels.

The coriander was provided in a separate bag, which the Weibo user didn't notice until he was almost done with his meal.

Beholding the strange pizza, he asked for Pizza Hut China's research and development team to contact him.

"I want to know how you were feeling when you created this," he joked.

drimac@asiaone.com

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