Durian And Century Eggs Among Dishes Featured In Sweden’s Disgusting Food Museum
Do you find durians too nasty to eat? Are you tired of other Singaporeans criticising you for not liking durians?
If you answered yes to both these questions, you’re in for a surprise. The city of Malmo in Sweden shares your sentiments in a very interesting way.
Malmo’s Disgusting Food Museum is exhibiting “80 of the world’s most disgusting food” and our favourite durian has made it to the list.
Mixed reactions
The museum’s website offers no description of the food it will be exhibiting, but Singaporeans aren’t taking their criticism of durian well.
There are a handful who support the museum’s durian decision but they’re a minority.
Sounds like any other argument here in Singapore during the durian season.
Whether you’re a fan of durians or not, we should be excited that the regional king of fruits is gaining recognition worldwide.
Century eggs
Durians weren’t the only regional favourite to make the list. Everybody’s favourite century eggs were also rubbished as “disgusting”.
A comfort food to many, century eggs are duck eggs preserved overnight in strong black tea, lime, salt and freshly burned wood ashes.
Its jelly-like texture and pungent smell don’t deter it from becoming a staple in rice porridge.
You can find them in most Chinese restaurants that sell porridge here in Singapore or at any major supermarket like Cold Storage and FairPrice.
At least 12 of the exhibits are from Asia
Here are some examples of other Asian delicacies at featured at the Disgusting Food Museum.
Spicy rabbit head
Popular in Chengdu, China, rabbit heads are soaked in water for several hours to remove the blood before being cooked in spice-infused broth.
It is recommended to wear gloves while eating them because of the precise manoeuvres required to dismantle the heads.
The parts that people enjoy eating include the tongue, cheek meat, eyeballs and brain.
Stinky tofu
Stinky tofu is a national snack in Taiwan and is usually deep-fried, barbecued, braised, steamed or stewed.
Opinions are divided on whether it tastes as bad as it smells, but if you’re curious to find out, you can find them in Singapore at the one place that sells it:
Mini Star Fermented Beancurd (星仔(香港)臭豆腐)
Other Asian foods up for display are:
- Baby mouse wine
- Bull penis
- Kopi luwak
- Kumis
- Pickled sheep’s eye in tomato juice
- Nattō
- Fruit bats
The Disgusting Food Museum
Before anyone starts accusing the museum of being insensitive to people’s dietary preferences, listen to what the curators have to say.
Disgust is one of the six fundamental human emotions. While the emotion is universal, the foods that we find disgusting are not. What is delicious to one person can be revolting to another. Disgusting Food Museum invites visitors to explore the world of food and challenge their notions of what is and what isn’t edible.
So what this exhibition intends to do is expose visitors to the vast cultural differences worldwide and make them rethink their perceptions of food.
If you’re planning to travel to Sweden in the next few months and want to check out the Disgusting Food Museum, here are the details:
Location: Slagthuset, Jörgen Kocksgatan 7A, 211 20, Malmö, Sweden.
Exhibition period: 29 October 2018 – 27 January 2019
There’s also a tasting experience offered to groups so you can gather some friends and give this unique experience a go.
Featured image from Disgusting Food Museum.
