When I was in China, I had plenty of opportunities to eat bizarre foods. One of the strangest was sea anemone. I did need a few shots of mao tai before I picked up enough courage to eat it. At the same meal I also tried duck tongues and snails.
What unusual foods have you tried during your travels?
Posts: 236 | Location: Berkeley, CA, USA | Registered: 02 March 2003
Bull testes are also called "Prairie Oysters" over in Saskatchewan.
Nothing really odd, but some things I've eaten: escargot (snails), gator meat, some sort of spider on a non-alcohol induced dare and I guess that's about it.
I'm not put off by weird foods though, if eyeballs with a side of dog brains were presented to me then I'd probably dig in.
Hm, I'm a Vegetarian as well, so I haven't eaten 'strange' meat things in a while. Nevertheless, some of our eating habits in Switzerland (especially when you're grand parents are farmers) are quite strange. So, I've eaten cow intestines as well as the inside of a cows spinal (I think this is forbidden these days, due to BSE), blood sausage is quite strange as well, if you think about it. In China I ate something that I don't know what it was up till now. I trusted my Chinese friends that it was no meat/animal. But other than that...no clue. It tasted fine though.
I had grilled cicada last year in Beijing. It was right next to the scorpion, which I wish I had tried. The cicada tasted like pork rinds.... go figure.
Shark meat is common around here too, though apparently it is not on the "green list". (BTW, North American fresh fish eaters should choose Mako rather than Thresher shark. It tastes better than Swordfish, which is definately on the "red" (don't eat) list)
I don't get the big deal about eating intestines, since after all, what are "natural sausage casings"? OTOH, I cannot stomach Menudo.
I have eaten lamb brains (battered and fried). (After doing so, I disproved the theory that "you are what you eat".) Good with scrambled eggs. Of course, so is hash. (both kinds)
When in SE Asia, I shy away from what I call "the bug cart", though they probably taste fine (deep-fried Adidas would taste fine too) but I can't get over the squick factor. (I know, I know: I'm a wussie)
Of course, I gladly eat escargot, but would never knowingly eat snails. And I ain't got the cajones to eat Rocky Mountain Oysters.
Posts: 16114 | Location: Richmond-by-the-sea, California | Registered: 02 January 2001
I've ate cow innards with noodles somewhere in Malaysia. There were the usual liver, intestines and tongue. The tongue had some weird "hairy" particles on it, but tasted pretty good and chewy. Escargots are delicious, becoming less of a rarity now. In Philippines, there's something called the baluk, which are half-developed duck eggs. Nasty stuff with a nastier smell...I couldn't even bear to eat the thing and threw it away. There's also fermented beancurd, which frankly smells like wastage from sewers. But if you can just take that first bite, you'll come to recognise it as a delicacy! Snake gall or blood are a common sight in thailand and so are monkey brains. From what my dad accounted, the process is quite gross actually.
Live monkey, saw off the top of the skull... there's your brains still fresh and bloody. Another story I have regards eating donkey(or mule) meat in rural provinces of china. They just bring out the donkey, ask which part u want, skin it right there in front of you. There you go... fresh meat. And the donkey lies there to wait for its death. These were quite some years back, so I have no idea how much truth it holds.
Posts: 42 | Location: Singapore | Registered: 26 November 2003
Of course, unusual foods are not limited to meats. There are some unusual vegetarian foods out there too. Natto - slimy fermented soy beans from Japan - comes to mind.
Posts: 236 | Location: Berkeley, CA, USA | Registered: 02 March 2003
Lets see - Chicken heads and snake in China, Scorpions in Bangkok, I had a Bydot(spl?) sandwich in Lebanon, If you all don't know what that is I won't tell! If you drive like 20 miles from my house(everglades) you can eat Gator and Frog legs!
Sincerely, the TP necklace guy!
Posts: 747 | Location: heading to the uk (girlfriend) | Registered: 19 April 2003
quote:Originally posted by murk: In Philippines, there's something called the baluk, which are half-developed duck eggs. Nasty stuff with a nastier smell...I couldn't even bear to eat the thing and threw it away.
I forgot to mention frogs and turtles are quite common in SE Asia. Not too sure about the rest of the world. Turtle meat taste like chicken, the skin taste like some sort of sponge.
Have you guys tasted durians? It's a delicacy to Asians, but westerners seem to hate the smell.
[This message was edited by murk on 06 December 2003 at 23:10.]
Posts: 42 | Location: Singapore | Registered: 26 November 2003
Well, I change mine once a week. So I guess that be quite afew? (Actually I meant that it was quite elastic and chewable. Having no other edible examples near it, I thought sponge will be a proper description...)
Posts: 42 | Location: Singapore | Registered: 26 November 2003
Turtle meat? The only time I tried that was at a tiny grocery store in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana. The store served the most wonderful Cajun food, and one of the items was "turtle sauce piquant".
The turtle meat was heavier and meatier than chicken - more like venison.
Posts: 236 | Location: Berkeley, CA, USA | Registered: 02 March 2003
If you drive like 20 miles from my house(everglades) you can eat Gator and Frog legs!
(Actually I meant that it was quite elastic and chewable. Having no other edible examples near it, I thought sponge will be a proper description...)
