Elephant Dung For Dessert? Shanghai Restaurant Sparks Controversy With Rainforest-Themed Dessert

A restaurant in Shanghai, China, is taking fusion food to a whole new level! As per reports, a luxury restaurant in the Chinese city has introduced a rainforest-themed menu that includes a dessert made with processed elephant dung. Yes, you read that right! Offering an “authentic” rainforest dining experience, this restaurant has stirred controversy with this dessert, and here’s all you need to know about it.

Shanghai Restaurant Serves Processed Elephant Dung Dessert

A restaurant in Shanghai made “elephant dung” into a dessert! Restaurant staff responded: 3888 yuan per person! The founder had studied the rainforest for 7 years, and the restaurant is equivalent to a small rainforest museum. pic.twitter.com/MdrUaLs8cO

— Yos M Lio (@LioYos) April 13, 2025

According to the South China Morning Post, a restaurant named Canopia, in Shanghai’s Maqiao area, has introduced a rainforest-themed menu. What’s interesting about this menu is that it also includes a dessert made with elephant dung! The restaurant is known for its eco-friendly cuisine. It offers a 15-course meal priced at 3,888 yuan (roughly ₹45,900), not including drinks. The dishes in the meal include tree leaves, honey-coated ice cubes, and a black goo designed to mimic the smell of the Rafflesia flower.

The limelight, however, was stolen by the dessert on this menu which is made from sterilised, dried elephant faeces. The restaurant founders, one from China’s Blang ethnic group and the other from France, reportedly spent seven years researching the rainforests of Yunnan province. They decided to “bring the rainforest” to Shanghai with this elaborate menu.

The elephant dung dessert received mixed reactions from diners and social media users. While some netizens were praising the dessert’s creativity, others called it revolting. Some reports online suggest that the high-end restaurant in Shanghai is now under investigation for potential food safety violations.

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Food Blogger’s Post Brings Restaurant To Limelight

The Shanghai restaurant serving elephant dung dessert gained attention after a well-known food blogger, Mixue’s Culinary Notes, took to Chinese social media platform RedNote, and shared her experience. In the post titled ‘Shanghai’s New Restaurant Pushes the Limits of Crazy,’ she shared details about the restaurant’s unusual offerings.

The blogger explained how the dining experience began with a dining ritual where guests pluck a leaf straight from a potted plant, dip it in sauce, and consume it raw. In the later courses, diners are treated to an array of unconventional experiences. This includes licking honey and pollen from ice cubes.

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We are speechless on this one! Share your two cents in the comments.

Cover Image Courtesy: X/@LioYos & Canva (representative image)