In Hong Kong, Pizza Hut sells snake pizza.

Pizza Hut, an American brand, has collaborated with Ser Wong Fun, a storied Hong Kong restaurant established in 1895, to create a unique culinary fusion: a pizza topped with snake meat. This inventive dish combines shredded snake meat, a staple in traditional Hong Kong snake stew, with black mushrooms and Chinese dried ham. This move is part of Pizza Hut Hong Kong’s strategy to stir online excitement.

Snake stew is a winter delicacy in Hong Kong and southern China, with local Cantonese lore suggesting that snake is best eaten when autumn winds begin, as snakes are plumper in preparation for hibernation. Many believe snake meat offers medicinal benefits, such as improving skin and warming the body. Snake-based cuisine is also prevalent in other Southeast Asian regions like Vietnam and Thailand, where snakes are often farmed for food.

Pizza Hut’s new pizza, enhanced with cheese and diced chicken, brings out the richness of snake meat. The company describes the meat as “nourishing” and believes it boosts blood circulation, aligning with traditional Chinese medicinal beliefs. The pizza represents a bold step from conventional health concepts and promises a unique culinary challenge.

The 9-inch pizza, distinguished by its abalone sauce base instead of the traditional tomato, was available for sale until November 22. CNN’s tasting noted that snake meat’s texture is similar to dry chicken.

Local responses vary, with some like Mabel Sieh, an adventurous pizza lover, finding the idea intimidating, while others like Rachel Wong, who grew up enjoying snake soup, are intrigued by the novel offering. Karen Chan, General Manager of Pizza Hut Hong Kong and Macao, mentions that they leveraged Ser Wong Fun’s expertise in snake preparation, using a mix of Chinese rat snakes, banded kraits, and white-banded snakes for the recipe.

Beyond this, Pizza Hut in Hong Kong is also launching a pizza featuring Chinese preserved sausages, commonly used in claypot rice dishes popular in cooler weather.

This is not the first time an Asian Pizza Hut franchise has embraced local culinary traditions. In Taiwan, they introduced pizzas with durian, pig blood curds, and preserved eggs. Pizza Hut Japan once offered a Tonkotsu ramen-topped pizza. Similarly, Dominos in Taiwan experimented with boba-topped pizzas, aligning with the local popularity of bubble tea.