A touring exhibition of the world’s most challenging foods has opened in Hong Kong, running until 26 November 2026. The Disgusting Food Museum at AIRSIDE’s GATE33 Gallery in Kai Tak features maggot cheese, mouse wine, and fermented shark, among other “delicacies.”
Organised into five themed zones exploring food traditions, cultural differences, and sustainable nutrition, the museum brings visitors face-to-face with real and replica exhibits, video and scent stations, and interactive displays.
Fermentation is a strong (smelling) aspect of the gallery of gastronomic rogues. Visitors will encounter surströmming, or Swedish fermented herring, which some people say tastes like nappies, as well as Icelandic fermented shark, hákarl. Greenlandic fermented seabirds, or kiviak, are also on the museum’s bold menu.
Some might argue that cruel and unusual food preparation methods are also up for discussion. One of the beverages among the exhibits is Peruvian frog juice – made by skinning live frogs like a banana, and blending the unfortunate creatures raw, with carrots, maca root, and honey.
If the idea of frog juice turns some stomachs, perhaps cheese and wine are more to visitors’ taste? That is, Sardinian maggot cheese, and wine in which hairless, baby mice have been steeped. No? Rest assured, the museum equips each visitor on entry with a vomit bag, just in case the culinary culprits on show become too much to bear.
Compared to some of the exhibits, nibbles made of crickets (one of the world’s most sustainable and high-quality sources of protein); sauerkraut juice; and the Australian yeast spread, Vegemite, seem relatively uncontroversial, but of course, everything is subjective. For those visitors prepared to try anything, the title of “Taste Bud Adventurer” is up for grabs.
The Disgusting Food Museum has opened at Kai Tak’S AIRSIDE. Photo: HKFP. https://t.co/KOSeK4ZMZI
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) September 28, 2026
In all, over 80 distinct types of food from all around the world can be encountered in the show, which has already seen installations in Berlin, Los Angeles, and Taipei, attracting over half a million guests so far.
To catch the temporary museum while it is in Hong Kong, note that it opens from midday to 8:00 pm, Monday to Thursday, with standard adult tickets priced at HK$68 (around €7.75). It is worth being aware that it’s more expensive to visit on weekends and public holidays, when opening hours are also shorter: from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, when entry costs HK$88 (around €10). Children under four go free, and group tickets are on offer.
For those seeking a less revolting food experience, acclaimed Japanese chef Masahiro Tanabe will take up a four-night Hong Kong residency in Wan Chai’s MINATO, from 7 to 10 October 2026. He is proposing an 11-course menu, combining seasonal Japanese produce and classic French techniques. Bon appetit!
