Now remember, what's normal for you can be strange for someone else -- so if you see your favourite dish listed, don't blame me :)
The dishes are listed by country of origin (alaphabetically).
The Amazon
1. Piranha
Tried piranha in the Amazon. Didn't care for the mushy texture.
Ellen Meeson
Australia
2. Witchity Grub
My wife and I visited Australia last year and while up in the Northern Territory at an Aboriginal site I was offered a live Witchity Grub. I was told how to properly eat it so I did what they suggested and bit off the head and spit it out, sucked out the insides and then chewed the skin like chewing gum.
It really didn't have much taste and wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Rudy Koch
(Witchity Grub II)
I ate a live witchetty grub in Australia. They dug it out of the tree and handed it to me. Not bad...a little sweet flavor. The cooked grub tastes like creamed corn.
Ellen Meeson Chile3. Barnacles
Strange but nice experience was eating picorocos (cooked barnacles) in Chile. Tasty and sweet -- like lobster! For dessert I had some delicious lucuma ice cream -- made from a sapote-like South American fruit.Brian Merget
China4. Jellyfish
On my first day of business travel in Beijing China, the local Sales Management wanted to make a good impression and took us to a special restaurant. Everyone was given a small pot of broth over a warming pot. The fare included raw vegetables, meats, and fish, which were to be cooked in the broth.
I was trying to be polite, and yet a little adventurous, and tried the beef, pork, and one type of fish. Although language was a slight barrier, by description and hand gestures, I was able to determine that the white opaque fish was actually jellyfish.
I was in the middle of asking for a description of what appeared to be a long, dark meat (served on ice), when several actually JUMPED off the plate. The only description that could be attempted was "squirmy little fishy thing." I politely declined and returned to the vegetable plate.
During my two and a half weeks in Beijing, my adventurous nature declined the longer my trip lasted. Although our hosts were very gracious, I was ready for basic pasta on my return to the States!
Jackie Parker
(Jellyfish II)
Jellyfish in China. I didn't know till after the fact what it was. Feels like pasta, but when you chew, it is kind of crunchy and squeaky. Tasted ok though.Linda Schaefers
5. Dried Fish Rectums
Little white tubs, very crispy and like pure salt. The Chinese love em and eat them by the handful.
What are they? Dried fish rectums. Yuk
Gary Gates Sr.
6. Duck Tongue
Hi Michael – I just returned from China and had duck tongue…………tasted like gristle! I saw fried scorpions and seahorses on a stick in at an outdoor food vendor, but didn’t have the courage to go there.
Lynn
(Duck Tongue II)Duck tongues in Hong Kong market - supposedly quite a delicacy - rather chewy, but full of flavor.
Neil Falkeid
7. Tube Steak?!?
Maybe not strange, but in Xian, China, many years ago it was difficult to get western food, but the food served in China at that time was horrible.
So, for our last night I booked an entire Western meal at around $80.00 additional per person. They brought us into a room where a lady was playing the harp, dressed in black gown and waiters were in tuxedos.
First course was thinly sliced beef, we assume. Condiments on the table were substances resembling catsup, mustards and mayo.
Second course, served on huge silver trays was five hot dogs for every person in the group. no rolls, no beans, no nothing but five hot dogs rolling around on huge silver platters for each of us.The next morning the proud manager of the hotel asked me how I liked my meal. Not wanting to offend, I said it was very nice but that we are not used to having so many hot dogs served w/o anything to go with them.
He was very offended and couldn't quite grasp 'hot dog', then started rattling in Chinese with about every other word 'tube steak'!
Well it was better than Chicken feet soup or duck embryos!
Lee Turner
8. Chicken Feet
Baked (or perhaps boiled or fried?) chicken feet in China. Don’t really know why I decided to try them, guess it was because there were everywhere.
Not too bad, good for the experience, but surely would not eat them again. They were nothing to write home about.
Jerry Leynes
9. ScorpionsMaybe not that strange, but I had fried scorpions in Shanghai
Ray Schwartz
10. Garden Pests!!!
While traveling in Beijing, I accompanied a co-worker and her niece, who was living there, to a Hot Pot restaurant. This is basically an eatery with pots of boiling broth placed in round holes in the tables and you cook the meats and vegetables that you order before you eat them.
We finished eating and I was fishing through the boiling broth for any meat and veggies we may have missed and came across what looked like baby shrimp. We didn’t order these and I thought they were just part of the broth.
I ate one and it tasted like dirt.
I fished around and found many more. Upon closer examination, they appeared to be grubs. I asked our local host what they may have been. He asked if there were any vegetables in our order. I assured him there were. He told me they were probably garden pests.
Now the pickled jellyfish I had while there were soooooo much better than this but this makes for great story telling of my international travels!!
Steve
11. Deep Fried Pigeon
One of my colleagues had a deep-fried pigeon in China (I was not there). Head, skull, and all; he said it was crunchy & delicious.
R. A. Pease
Democratic Republic of the Congo
12. Caterpillars and Grubs
While in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last summer, my husband and I were served both caterpillars and grubs by Congolese friends.
I managed to eat a grub, and it was crunchy and a little smoky, actually not bad. I understand from my husband that the caterpillars tasted a lot like bacon because of the way they were grilled.
I, however, picked up one from the bowl and just dropped it again. I figured Bob was upholding the family honor!
Nancy Archibald
France
13. Pig’s Trotters in Tripe SourceMy husband and I love all of the food in France and we're game to try anything. Sometimes the experience is a little different than our expectations.
In Roussillon, our favorite small village in Provence, my brave hubby decided to try "pieds et paquets", a very traditional Provencal dish.
I know enough French to know that "pieds" means "feet", so I decided to opt out and have something I recognized.
Poor guy!
He really had trouble working through the plate of pig's trotters and tripe in a heavy sauce! I couldn't stand even looking at the "pieds".
La Juana WestIndonesia
14. King CobraI had an introduction to a family who owned a hotel in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. I rang them after I arrived in Jogja and they invited me to dinner that same night.
When I went to their house they informed me that they would take me to a recently opened restaurant that they wanted to try.
When we pulled up in front of the restaurant, I looked up at the name and gulped: KING COBRA, with spotlighted paintings on either side of the name of the specialitie de la maison.
I hate snakes. I am terrified of them, I admit it.
After we were seated, the waiter asked me, the guest of honor, if I would like to choose the main course for dinner from a large, shallow, lidded box in the kitchen while it was still alive.
I declined the offer and ask him to choose for us. After vegetables and a few other unidentified side dishes had been brought to the table, the waiter brought out the main course, fresh, fried King Cobra, stacked on a silver platter looking like nothing so much as a pile of chicken nuggets.
They were bright pink inside, the color of bubble gum, and they tasted like--you guessed it--chicken and it wasn't bad at all! I saved face by pretending to enjoy the experience, but the truth is that all during dinner,
I kept an eye on the floor in case any of the other main courses escaped the kitchen.
Mike Blevins
Italy
15. Donkey
In Cisternino, Italy (REGION OF PUGLIA) I had at a local restaurant roast donkey. When asked how it tasted I responded, " Tastes amazingly just like jackass" Regards, Rich ChitosJamaica
16. Blue Goat Meat
Cooked Blue Goat Meat in Jamaica, WI. It tasted OK after you got past the blue color. The color had something to do with the way it was cooked
Walter Ward
Japan
17. Bacon FatI had some 1-inch cubes of lightly cooked bacon fat at a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo.
They looked yucky but tasted wonderful.R. A. Pease
Mexico
18. Road Kill
Probably the strangest thing I've ordered is Atropellado. This is an appetizer on a Mexican menu. Loosely translated - road kill. The dish itself was quite tasty. It looks like shredded road kill and you eat it with tortillas and spicy sauces.
JB
19. Worms
I ate some small worms (gusanos) in Mexico City. They were very tasteful and sauteed in olive oil and Garlic, and were delicious! Some of our group would not eat more than a tiny sample; but a few of us had seconds and thirds. They were excellent.
R. A. Pease
Nepal
20. Salt Tea
I had a cup of salt tea in Western Nepal (at Dhorpatan). It was NOT made with rancid yak butter. Unfortunately, I volunteered to drink my buddy’s tea, and then, to be polite, I had to drink a third cup. I spit salt the rest of the day. It was NOT very nice.R. A. Pease
New Zealand
21. Whitebait
Whitebait (juvenile fish) in New Zealand is a local (expensive) delicacy. When we invited friends over for dinner - they were pleased to have us try this (having recently scooped up a big net of whitebait out of the river).
Whitebait look like tiny transparent worms - along the lines of caviar with eyes. They are mixed in a pancake-like batter to make whitebait fritters - so the taste is pretty similar to savory pancakes - with the exception of feeling like you are being watched as you take each bite.
Nada Wheelock
Philippines
22. Milk FlanLeche flan made from fresh carabao milk. Thick, rich, and heavy cream taste. Served in restaurants in Bacolod City in the Philippines.
Brendan MaddenTurkey
23. Sheep Intestine SandwichThe strangest food experience I had was on my recent trip to Turkey. While in Istanbul my travel partner and I ate a sheep intestine sandwich (the intestine was fried).
It didn't taste too bad, kind of crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. We followed that with a big helping of goat's milk ice cream, which had a very gummy consistency, not smooth like we are used too.
Cheers, Marcy Benson
Got a travel question you want answering?
Email it to me at michael@mobalphone.com
