Strangest food you've eaten?

[claassenam]

One of the great adventures of travel is the unusual food we come across. I am by no means a picky eater, consider myself a bit of a foodie and am always up for a new food. That said, I've definitely come across some meals that left me a bit queasy! I found the food in Japan to be overwhelmingly wonderful (I love sushi, noodles, yakitori, and most of the other traditional dishes) - but at one of the formal kaiseki meals we were served what appeared to be a tiny brain and lung in a delicate broth. Other kaiseki meals provided similarly undefined but suspicious morsels. That was a little difficult to stomach, but we ate it. I ate Guinea Pig in Peru, which actually does taste just like chicken, and assorted skewers of scorpions and various entrails in China. We ate lots of yak in Tibet, llama in Peru, both of which are very tasty. I'd love to hear others' adventures, as my own are probably quite mild in comparison.

[bonniejoy03]

Claassenam.Hi. Great post. I try not to think about what I am eating in some places. For example, my husband and I were staying on Kwadule Island Lodge (in the San Blas Islands). The 1st night it was only us and another couple on the entire island.We were served all you can eat crayfish (more like small lobsters.) Were were so impressed!! The 2nd night the other couple left and it was just us. Well, we of course were excited for dinner thinking how they could possiby one up last nights meal. All the woman workers had left the island and the men were left to do the cooking. With a major language barrier, and the only occupants of the island, we asked what we would be having for dinner. They took us in the "kitchen" and lifted up the lid of the pot that our "food" was cooking in.....WOW....my surprise, I saw things in there that I don't believe had a name. I think they took anything they could find in the ocean and just put it in a pot. I did recognize octupus pieces and fish pieces (and not the pieces you usually eat.). The staff was so wonderful and proud of what they had made.My husband was so kind and ate what had been given him. I could barely eat but still managed to make a dent in my plate. Back at our hut, I was glad I had packed some granola bars!

[mary-j]

claasenam, allI can say is that you are very "brave". I do love to try differnt and traditional foods from the countries I visit but I would draw the line at some of the things you have mentioned!!! I am quite "boring" when it comes to food abroad.

[omegaet]

claassenam wrote:
One of the great adventures of travel is the unusual food we come across. I am by no means a picky eater, consider myself a bit of a foodie and am always up for a new food. That said, I've definitely come across some meals that left me a bit queasy! I found the food in Japan to be overwhelmingly wonderful (I love sushi, noodles, yakitori, and most of the other traditional dishes) - but at one of the formal kaiseki meals we were served what appeared to be a tiny brain and lung in a delicate broth. Other kaiseki meals provided similarly undefined but suspicious morsels. That was a little difficult to stomach, but we ate it. I ate Guinea Pig in Peru, which actually does taste just like chicken, and assorted skewers of scorpions and various entrails in China. We ate lots of yak in Tibet, llama in Peru, both of which are very tasty. I'd love to hear others' adventures, as my own are probably quite mild in comparison.






claassenam....we noticed a hand written menu in Aguas Calient, while waiting for the train back to Cuzco, offering Guinea Pig prepared twelve different ways (it's one of my prized travel photos)....we passed on the opportunity, since we are devout vegetarians. We recall one somewhatrepulsive incident....but rather than post it openly, we created a blog if anyone cares to read it.

[claassenam]

Bonniejoy - I love your story! Often in travels you come across "UFO's" - unidentified food objects that you sometimes just have to try (if you can) in order to not offend everyone. Sometimes best not to know what's in there!

O, I would imagine you have to learn great diplomacy as a vegetarian in such situations and you definitely seem to have the practice and patience to handle these times with grace and ease. I do recall reading the blog you mention and I too would have to politely decline such food - I have pets myself and could never cross that line!

[claassenam]

O, forgive me as I hadn't read your current blog entry when posting this! Don't know if I was getting confused with another member's story, but weren't you at one point offered dog somewhere? I'll post another comment at your blog as I have some thoughts about chicha also....

[jashermd]

Hello,

Great topic! I love trying unusual food when I'm overseas (my general rule is that I'll eat anything once, though I draw the line at anything derived from primates because of concerns about infectious diseases so no monkey brains for me).

The strangest thing I've ever eaten is probably the teriyaki crickets from Japan. They were a bit crunchy (there were some chewy ones but I didn't like those as much) with a nice hint of teriyaki, and were a health-food lover's dream: organic, fat free, high in protein, and high in calcium. The only problem was that the legs tended to get stuck between your teeth which could be a bit awkward...

Having crossed the insect barrier with the crickets, I've actively sought out the spiced fried mopani worms (caterpillars) which are popular amongst local people in South Africa but have not yet found a place which serves them (maybe I should ask for them the next time I'm at Singita -- their service and food are so phenomenal I'm sure they could find some fresh ones and serve them up nicely). Apparently I tend to travel at the wrong time of year and they're out of season by the time I arrive. No one wants a mopani worm which is past its sell-by date, now do they?

After eating frogs, various snakes, crocodile, and alligator I've found that I really don't care for anything cold-blooded other than fish -- the meat has an odd oiliness to it.

Speaking of dog...my cousin went on a long trip through Southeast Asia for her honeymoon. While visiting a market in one country (I believe it was Korea) she told one of the merchants that she was a newlywed. The merchant showed her a little white puppy and told her that she absolutely had to buy it, as having a white puppy would give you good luck for a long and fruitful marriage. My cousin said that as much as she would love to take the puppy, she doubted they would let her take it home on the plane. The merchant promptly offered to slaughter it on the spot for her...apparently the good luck comes from eating a white puppy.

Cheers,
Julian

[kyshel]

While I have never been called a tree-hugger and, to me, pets are pets, not people/children/etc., BUT eating a puppy just doesn't sit well with me!! Good story--bet that little guy didn't last too long if that's the custom...

I was inGuangzho on biz/plezh trip and chose the lobster from the tank. I guess I was surprised to see it on the table in shell form--made into a "sampan" type boat--filled w/crushed ice. covered w/saran and loaded with transparent chopped raw lobster. It was tasty, very rich, but I would definitely prefer it cooked and slathered in clarified butter.

I've eaten cho covered bees and grasshoppers, but they shouldn't count since they weren't au naturel...Not terrible adventurous with exotic foods, but Bahianchicken/blood stew is not a fave.

Thanks to all for sharing--there's a great feature in Budget Travel mag that has some pretty gross food stories, too.

[two2go]

Hi Claassenam

Really enjoyed readingabout your experiences with food,along with every other comment posted. I am really not very adventureous when it comes to food.Let's see...I've eaten all kinds of sushi, and I have tried alligator (enjoyed it very much), but I've never tried bugs or guinea pig. I will think of you all next time I will be given the opportunity totaste something,promise tokeep an open mind, and try it at least once.

two2go

[cruisinred]

The strangest thing I have ever had to eat is horse. I was an exchange student in Switzerland, and did not want to offend the host family.

Tasted like beef....but it was not something I will ever (knowingly) eat again.