'world's most disgusting pud' of dish sponges and washing up liquid served up

IN THE LATEST OCCURRENCE OF 'HYPER-REALISTIC' DESSERTS, ONE MALAYSIAN RESTAURANT HAS STARTED SERVING UP 'DETERGENT SPONGES' BUT AS IS OFTEN THE CASE, THINGS AREN'T

QUITE WHAT THEY SEEM 18:37, 30 May 2025 Sponge pudding is one of the everlasting greats of the dessert world. It’s simple, it’s sweet and most of us had it at school – and quite liked it.

But now, a restaurant has gone viral after plating up “detergent sponges”, alongside “dishwater” as puddings. This bizarre twist on a classic is available at KANTIN at The Granary in

Malaysia, but don’t worry – it’s not actually cleaning supplies and dirty water. In reality they’re just hyper-realistic desserts made to resemble the grimy sink water used to clean cups and

plates. Even when they’re wheeled out of the kitchens, the puds come with what appears like soapy suds and a garnishing of detergent. Despite the grim visuals, the sweet treat is said to be

rather delicious. Flavours include lemon butter sponge with English orange marmalade, topped with a lemon foam. The “detergent”, far from being something you weren’t allowed near as a kid,

is actually pandan lime syrup – yum. To wash this all down, customers get a cup of “dishwater”, which servers claim has a “curry flavour” having just had their team meal – which was a

chicken curry. Article continues below Disgusting right? Turns out this too is also just part of a hilarious jape – the drinks are actually a blinding mix of turmeric, ginger water and

coconut oil, three things which link up as wonderfully as Foden, Bellingham and Kane do in the box. People on social media have jaws agape at how realistic it looks. “Omg. It really does

look like sponge! You get the lil foam on it too!” one person typed in awe. “Why would anyone want to drink dirty sink water or anything that looks like it?” asked another person. “Why?”

another simply pleaded. One person, at least, seemed to be down with the idea: “This is a dope concept restaurant…. It’s a great attraction for customers to post but also unique in concept

compared to just serving high priced food items,” they wrote. Article continues below The restaurant’s madcap offerings seems to have done well with the critics – in 2024 KANTIN was awarded

a Traveller’s Choice Award from Tripadvisor. According to the food review website, visitors should: “EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK! EVERYTHING IS ADDICTIVE!" The KANTIN restaurant is found in

the historical Granary building, built back in 1885.