Wackiest thing you've ever eaten

[Zingano]

Sorry if this has been done before (it must have been), but a favourite pub conversation among our well-travelled friends centres around the wackiest food we've ever eaten.

I'll start the bidding with deep fried scorpions. (Served as a started before duck in a restaurant in Beijing.)

[sockettrousers]

I'll raise you Japanese food torture*.

I've eaten still kicking prawn sushi. I asked for ama-ebi, the sushi chef said he didn't have any but turned around and pointed at the fish tank offering "<undecipherable> ebi, very good" instead. We agreed and within split seconds, the prawns were out of the tank, shelled and on rice in front of us. Putting them in your mouth made them twitch.

We also ate four year old oyster, shark smelt and fermented squid liver. In the same meal.

Of course, raw and live are the same word in Japanese - I first discovered this in a teppan house where what I thought was fresh lobster was actually live lobster, grilled to death 6 inches from our noses.

rog

* of the food, not us. It was delicious.

Edited January 2, 2004 by sockettrousers (log)

[Raynickben]

Whataburger.

[Pan]

I thought the wackiest food I'd ever seen were the insects for sale in the central market in Bangkok. Water trotters, huge waterbugs (big cockroaches), etc. I sort of dimly remember it now, over 28 years later, but it was a shock to my young system then. No, I didn't eat any of them!!

[phaelon56]

My wackiest has been far less interesting. Until recently it was the cow's foot soup I had in Belize (I love oxtail but believe me.... cow's foot soup is even grosser than it may sound).

A few eeeks ago I went to dim sum with a coworker and he insisted that we order BBQ ducks feet. We each ate one. Truly odd spongy texture and a reallt peculiar taste.

[GG Mora]

On the domestic front: tuna sandwich with peanut butter. Way better than it sounds, though. We call it a Mungo Sandwich.

[sockettrousers]

My wackiest has been far less interesting. Until recently it was the cow's foot soup I had in Belize <snip>.

A few eeeks ago I went to dim sum with a coworker and he insisted that we order BBQ ducks feet. <snip>

Cow heel is fairly common in my native Lancashire and getting trendy in many British restaraunts. Can't say I'm a great fan of the traditional Lancashire dish (boiled with vinagar) but in the hands of a top chef I like it.

BBQ ducks feet reminded me of a boxing day trip to a Chinese place in Soho (London) where we ordered braised ducks tongues. I like beef tongue but ducks tongues were slimy with a rubbery core. Not recommended.

r

[Pan]

Oh, I just realized the name of the thread is "wackiest thing you've ever eaten" not "wackiest food you've ever seen."

Well, I've eaten all manner of innards - bull's testicles in a Yemenite restaurant called Shaul's in Tel Aviv in 1977, pig's intenstines in various Chinese restaurants, calf brains, tripe, etc. The bull's testicles get the most surprised responses, but I really don't think any of these things are that wacky. I've had turtle soup a couple of times but prefer mock-turtle soup, and I've eaten sea cucumbers and so forth. Again, not very wacky, I'm afraid.

Edited to say that I've had cowfoot soup in Jamaican places many times, and oxtail soup in both Jamaican places and a British colonial hotel I stayed at in Kuala Lumpur 26 years and longer ago, but I don't find those things very wacky. I've had ducks' tongues, too, and don't recommend them. I like chicken feet, though. Again, not very wacky. I get them almost every time I go for dim sum.

Edited January 2, 2004 by Pan (log)

[gus_tatory]

Well, I've eaten all manner of innards - bull's testicles in a Yemenite restaurant called Shaul's in Tel Aviv in 1977, pig's intenstines in various Chinese restaurants, calf brains, tripe, etc.

on Fear Factor they're paying people $$$ to do that!

i am a featherweight in this discussion, because the most "bizarre" thing i ate was calves' brains in brown butter.

Edited January 2, 2004 by gus_tatory (log)

[Pan]

Well, I've eaten all manner of innards - bull's testicles in a Yemenite restaurant called Shaul's in Tel Aviv in 1977, pig's intenstines in various Chinese restaurants, calf brains, tripe, etc.

on Fear Factor they're paying people $$$ to do that!

That's nuts.

Chinese people eat stuff like that every day.

[lleechef]

Whale blubber.......disgusting. Also, Eskimo "ice cream" which is beaten seal fat (looks like Crisco) with sugar, berries and boiled fish. Even more disgusting!

[Pan]

I think you win!

[wesza]

I had the experience of somehow becoming involved with a "One Up" Dinner Banquet between Managers of a Chain of Hotels that operates in Tokoyo, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Manila, Kula Lumpar, Bangkok, Indonesia. Siri Lanka, China, Singapore, Fuji and various locations in India.

This Banquet or Party was held at a neutral location at another well known hotel in Hong Kong since the availability, customs and access were the best in Asia.

What I didn't know until I actually accepted was that this was a party that evolved by them having got together over drinks at a company meeting where they kept trying to out gross each other about what was eaten in their local communities on a regular basis.

The Menu was set up with various courses with only several neutral items agreed upon such as Rice, Beer, Wine, Tea, Water and Congee. There were also Large Individual Bowls provided just in case.

Courses were in several guises; Raw, Cooked, Fermented and Pickled or Smoked.

Vegetables

Insects and Spiders and Worms

Fish and Seafood

Birds and Eggs

Reptiles of all types

Rodents

Wild Animals and Game

Domestic Animals

Combinations considered ethinicy acceptable.

Medications

I was awed as i'd be getting the opportunity of actually being able to see ediables that i'd never seem or imagined but hadn't considered that i'd be expected to actually eat the stuff. This was one occasion where I wished to become a Orthradox Jew or at least a Buddest, but two many of the hosts knew my eating ability.

There were 60 people at the Banquet seated in 5 tables of 12 and all the dishes were served Chinese Style from Lazy Susans in the tables center, being potioned out by our grinning waiters. Seconds were available if requested.

The only thing I approved of is that we didn't have to rate or comment on each dish provided, everything was served in good humor so we only tasred and ate what we wanted to try.

What I wasn't aware of was that our hosts had previously arranged that all items were weighed before being served by the food checker in the kitchen and then again after being bussed from the tables.

This was due to the fact that our Hosts had placed bets about how much of each dish would actually be eaten by the guests. The only table where the food wasn't being monitered was the Hosts since they felt it wouldn't be fair.

Looking around the room I realized that the most popular item was actually the alcoholic beverages, especially since in Hong Kong everyone took taxis so no designated driver was required.

My favorites were the Rice Worms, Civet Cat, Fermented Skate, Drunken Shrimp, Stinky Bean Curd, Hakka Beef Testicles, Pickled Baby Eel with Sea Slugs, Rice Birds, Monitor Lizard, Rice Field Rodents, Fried Soyu Cockaroaches and Beeatles, Fermented Fat Crabs in Pickled Vegetables.

What I didn't eat and considered the grossest items were: Live Maggots in Fermented Fish Guts, A dish of Fish Eye Balls, Several of the Casseroles that looked interesting but really stunk, and quite a few dishes that I couldn't handle because they were much to spicy hot that even just taking a small taste swelled my lips. I will admit that there were dishes that seemed repulsive to me that I wouldn't even consider that others seemed to relish.

All in all it was a interesting experience that next time I will try to avoid if possable, since i'm no longer [i hope] getting paid to eat this stuff. I only wish that i'd kept notes as to what was served, but at the time I geared up apprehensively for the next course.

It would have been easier if I actually knew what we were being served as there wasn't any written menu and the servers only spoke Cantonesse. Fortunately others at the table were more familiar about what we were served, and told me about those dishes they were familiar with but there were many that i'll never fiqure out what they were.

Appearently the Medications were served to calm down our stomachs, but to me they looked and smelled the worst of all the items, even though others encoureged me to try them as they are good for you. HAH.

Irwin

Edited January 3, 2004 by wesza (log)

[caroline]

Wesza, I find it hard to imagine that anyone can beat your story,

Rachel

[jsolomon]

Mine would have to be activated charcoal. Definitely wacky.

[StInGeR]

This is one thread I definitely have to get in on BUT somehow I don't think I'm going to beat wesza While I was in the Australian Army, a group of us took a trip to Vietnam to visit various battlefields, and write reports etc etc etc. While drinking in a typical Vietnamese bar in Ho Chi Minh City we met up with some ex-regular Vietnamese soldiers, who upon finding out we were Australian and Army invited us to join them for dinner. We ended up in this small restaurant out the back of god knows where and continued drinking not knowing what the hell was on the menu. A few of us should have guessed what was on the menu when they seated us all at a table with a small hole right in front of each of us!!!!

**NOTE** this is what happens when you drink too much Viet beer!!!!!

The food was brought out one course at a time, soups, rice, and to be honest so much other stuff I couldn't name it all and then out came the MAIN COURSE!!!!

In front of each of us,placed through the holes in the table, were live monkeys. Following the lead of our hosts, we lifted the top half of the skulls and proceeded to eat the brains of the monkeys.... in all honesty is was like eating tofu except for the fact that we all knew it wasn't......

Thankfully after this I can't remember much else except for asking the guys the next morning if it was a dream, to which the reply was "nope and they want to take us out for dinner again tonight" But that's another story!!!

[uberleet]

I thought the wackiest food I'd ever seen were the insects for sale in the central market in Bangkok. Water trotters, huge waterbugs (big cockroaches), etc. I sort of dimly remember it now, over 28 years later, but it was a shock to my young system then. No, I didn't eat any of them!!

There's a Thai market here in Boise that sells those big ol' bugs! They have a freezer full of great stuff - whole eels rolled up like a cinnamon roll, bags full of frogs, and other stuff like that. My favorite part is the live snails in a big plastic tub.

[StInGeR]

I thought the wackiest food I'd ever seen were the insects for sale in the central market in Bangkok. Water trotters, huge waterbugs (big cockroaches), etc. I sort of dimly remember it now, over 28 years later, but it was a shock to my young system then. No, I didn't eat any of them!!

There's a Thai market here in Boise that sells those big ol' bugs! They have a freezer full of great stuff - whole eels rolled up like a cinnamon roll, bags full of frogs, and other stuff like that. My favorite part is the live snails in a big plastic tub.

You can get baby turtles in Chinatown in Manhattan .... I haven't had the heart to tell my NY neice that the turtle we bought her was sposed to be lunch

[Nick]

In front of each of us,placed through the holes in the table, were live monkeys. Following the lead of our hosts, we lifted the top half of the skulls and proceeded to eat the brains of the monkeys....

Maybe you could tell us how you lifted the top half of the skulls off the live monkeys.

[StInGeR]

In front of each of us,placed through the holes in the table, were live monkeys. Following the lead of our hosts, we lifted the top half of the skulls and proceeded to eat the brains of the monkeys....

Maybe you could tell us how you lifted the top half of the skulls off the live monkeys.

What I found out later was that they get the monkeys drunk and when they pass out the chef slices through the skull basically using a bone saw. You then just lift the top off and there you go... To be honest it's not something I'm in a hurry to do or try again!!!

[wesza]

This is one thread I definitely have to get in on BUT somehow I don't think I'm going to beat wesza While I was in the Australian Army, a group of us took a trip to Vietnam to visit various battlefields, and write reports etc etc etc. While drinking in a typical Vietnamese bar in Ho Chi Minh City we met up with some ex-regular Vietnamese soldiers, who upon finding out we were Australian and Army invited us to join them for dinner. We ended up in this small restaurant out the back of god knows where and continued drinking not knowing what the hell was on the menu. A few of us should have guessed what was on the menu when they seated us all at a table with a small hole right in front of each of us!!!!

**NOTE** this is what happens when you drink too much Viet beer!!!!!

The food was brought out one course at a time, soups, rice, and to be honest so much other stuff I couldn't name it all and then out came the MAIN COURSE!!!!

In front of each of us,placed through the holes in the table, were live monkeys. Following the lead of our hosts, we lifted the top half of the skulls and proceeded to eat the brains of the monkeys.... in all honesty is was like eating tofu except for the fact that we all knew it wasn't......

Thankfully after this I can't remember much else except for asking the guys the next morning if it was a dream, to which the reply was "nope and they want to take us out for dinner again tonight" But that's another story!!!

StinGeR: I'm pretty sure that you were Stung.

The price of live monkeys in Vietnam has always been very very expensive.

Even at the Emperors Banquets served at extremely high prices in Hong Kong very rarely the Monkey Brain Dish is served from a small special table where the special chef does the deal, and the brains are spooned into serving dishes for the entire table of 10/12 and then served together with a special wine.

Individual holes around a full tabletop would be extremely difficult to coordinate. During the Vietnam war and even after it was over we heard stories in Hong kong that this was supposedly being served but only if the customers were drunk enough to not be able to realize they were being served Fat Rice Rats, Feral Cats or even other Rodents all Drunk or Drugged with the Skulls pre-cut by a electric battery operated saw. There would often be posts in the Hong Kong Newspapers about Police Raids with Arrests in Vietnam.

Don't think I could ever sit thru that type of individual service ever.

Irwin

[Pan]

There's a Thai market here in Boise that sells those big ol' bugs!

You're kidding? They sell waterbugs (huge cockroaches) for eating, with the approval of the Department of Health? Wouldn't dead cockroaches in a store normally cause it to fail inspection in the U.S.?

[jo-mel]

Well, I can't compete with most of the above!

I've eaten my share of Pigs Blood and Bamboo Rat, etc --- but the one dish that always comes to mind is Fried Fat. It was in China, and I was with a bunch of students in Heng Shan, North of Beijing. (I was one of the -ahem - older students) We were in an auditorium with hundreds of other people and one of the dishes looked like fried meatballs. It wasn't. It was just plain cubes of fat that had been deep fried. I guess nothing went to waste!

[uberleet]

There's a Thai market here in Boise that sells those big ol' bugs!

You're kidding? They sell waterbugs (huge cockroaches) for eating, with the approval of the Department of Health? Wouldn't dead cockroaches in a store normally cause it to fail inspection in the U.S.?

Yeah, they look like three inch long cockroaches! Isn't that crazy? Next time I'm there, I'll see if she'll sell me some and post a picture.

Geez, I hope they don't get shut down because of my big mouth!

[StInGeR]

There's a Thai market here in Boise that sells those big ol' bugs!

You're kidding? They sell waterbugs (huge cockroaches) for eating, with the approval of the Department of Health? Wouldn't dead cockroaches in a store normally cause it to fail inspection in the U.S.?

Yeah, they look like three inch long cockroaches! Isn't that crazy? Next time I'm there, I'll see if she'll sell me some and post a picture.

Geez, I hope they don't get shut down because of my big mouth!

Cmon don't just post a picture....... try a couple and then report back on how they taste