Here's What Locals Really Think Of Pizza Hut Taiwan's Pig's Blood Pizza
The writing was on the wall — Pizza Hut Taiwan's Facebook wall, that is — when the company teased that a new flavor would be unveiled. For days, the chain kept its fans guessing about what it was going to put on its pizzas next.
One fan predicted it would be a "super weird pizza combination topped with coriander, century egg and pig's blood cake." Another cheekily suggested that it "could be kimchi and stinky tofu." And the mystery graphic lead one user to ask whether Italy had, in fact, declared war on Taiwan.
In the end, the truth proved to be (only slightly) stranger than fiction when the chain debuted its "Cilantro Pig's Blood Wu Geng Chang Wang Pizza" as a follow-up to its "Cilantro Century Egg Pig's Blood Cake Pizza," which was introduced in 2021. This year's pizza combination features pig's blood cake and fresh cilantro, as well as sections of pig intestine. It's all jazzed up with Wu Geng Chang Wang, which Taiwan News reports is a combination of five herbs: "garlic shoots/green onion, suan cai [pickled cabbage], chili pepper, garlic, and ginger." And because this is pizza, the concoction also features mozzarella cheese.
Pizza Hut's new flavor had the internet divided
As with its predecessor, this unusual combination had its fans and critics. Taiwan actor and singer Aaron Yan used social media to say he was the first to try the new offer, which her first thought was "absurd," but which he later told his fans and followers was "really good." His followers weighed in by sharing photos of their own pizzas in the thread.
Not everyone seemed enamored by the new pizza; one of Yan's social media followers said it would've tasted better without the pig's blood cake. Another suggested that the pig's blood cake should be swapped for century egg. Kidding or not, one Twitter user said: "I'd definitely eat this one. But I'd have an extra portion of my own freshly chopped cilantro to add on the side."
Few minced their words the way Taiwan's expatriates did over the new flavor, with one taking to Twitter, saying: "Listen carefully because I can only say the following words once without summoning a Lovecraftian horror: 'Cilantro, pig blood cake, pork intestine, duck blood pizza.' Pizza Hut Taiwan d*** lost they minds." Another mused: "And I thought the boba pizza was bad enough."
Pizza Hut and Domino's have experimented with local fusion flavors before
To be fair, Pizza Hut Taiwan isn't the only fast-food chain that's embraced localization so enthusiastically that it's raised eyebrows in the west. In 2021, Pizza Hut Singapore released a limited-time Bubble Tea Blossom Pizza, which came with the chain's "signature base smothered in a brown sugar milk tea sauce, topped with bubble tea pearls, marshmallows and mozzarella cheese," per The Singapore Women's Weekly.
For an extra cheese hit, the pizza came with Pizza Hut's signature stuffed crust. While the magazine writer's verdict wasn't too favorable, she conceded, "Nonetheless, everyone's tastebuds vary, and I can foresee how some bubble tea fanatics may find this unique creation appealing."
But the lack of enthusiasm was absent from another Twitter user who tried Domino's Taiwan's Boba Pizza, which came without colored marshmallows. He not only lived to tell the tale, but he enjoyed it, too. "Omg it's incredible," the Twitter user raved. "They nailed it. Not joking, everyone here needs to try this. The pizza is savory, but it's sweetened with honey on top, the boba aren't mushy, and the whole thing is [super] Q af." He also gave a shoutout to another Twitter user who he said "daringly tried this with me and who agrees that it is in fact delicious."