Century egg coffee, octopus latte or oysters in Americano, anyone?

While it’s one thing to have century egg with congee, it’s quite another to have it in coffee. (There is ca phe trung or Vietnamese egg coffee but that’s a tasty story we’ll explore another day.)

The very black, preserved eggs that you associate with Teochew porridge have been surfacing on social media mashed into milk coffee. And to rub it in, these concoctions are often topped with a whole century egg. Er, yum?

A YouTube video as well as a clip posted on a Reddit thread dedicated to Chinese food showed just how the controversial drink is made, well, at least on Reddit. First, a whole century egg is dropped into a plastic cup, mashed and topped with ice.

By now, it’s too late to look away and you might as well continue watching as a good portion of milk and a black, shiny orb that is a whole de-shelled century egg are added. Then, what looks like a shot of espresso is poured into the cup and served.

The drink, which has been described by Redditors as “like having boba in coffee” has been seen in China, where the cafe scene is apparently very competitive.

And it’s not only century eggs that cafe owners are using to grab coffee drinkers’ attention. According to this Instagram account, more bizarre lattes have been created with octopus, fermented vegetables, garlic or even satay paste.

More of an Americano drinker? China has got you covered, too, said this Instagrammer: Oysters soaked in Americano with lemon juice and ice. Or make it fancy by opting for more seafood such as salmon, scallop and shrimp. For a taste of local flavours, try Americano with Shanxi aged vinegar, braised pork, beef balls or stinky tofu.

Coffee has even been used as a sauce on chee cheong fun or steamed rice rolls. Feeling repulsed yet? You'll know now how Italians feel about putting pineapple on pizza, said the Instagrammer.