Food For Thought

Some programs on the Discovery Channel about survival in the wild and the exotic foods of Asia got me thinking about things that I have actually managed to put in my mouth and swallow thus far in my life.

Apart from the everyday food, I have eaten/drank:

- Cobra blood and galls ( Thailand )
- Ox genital soup ( Thailand )
- Alaskan King Crab ( USA )
- Fried Scorpion ( China )
- Fried Grasshoppers ( China and Thailand )
- Ant’s thorax ( Thailand )
- Dog meat ( China )
- Rabbit meat ( Malaysia )
- Monkey meat ( Malaysia )
- Squirrel meat ( Malaysia )
- Lizard meat ( Malaysia )
- Fox meat ( Malaysia )
- Elephant meat ( Thailand )
- Crocodile meat ( Thailand )
- Fried maggots ( Thailand )
- Live Sea Urchin ( Japan )
- Live Lobster ( Japan )

I think that’s the complete list as of todate….my God! To think I even contemplated to put those things in my mouth. By saying that I must admit that the best tasting of the lot are the Alaskan King Crab and the Lizard.

I apprehensively ordered half a crab but was shocked and relieved at the same time when my order came. Shocked to see the size of each “leg” and relieved that I had the sense to only order half a portion. Each of the “legs” were like 1 inch in diameter and about 2 feet long and there were 4 “legs” in that particular serving. Managed to finish the meal amidst the bemused looks from surrounding tables and ended with a super burp which I am sure was heard halfway across the restaurant...hehehehe.

The lizard…it tasted a lot like chicken but better tasting and juicer in a lot of ways. It was my sixth day camping in the jungle ( King Scout exam ) and my partner suddenly came up with the idea of snagging a lizard to supplement our meals. So we spent 1 hour to build the trap and 4 hours to wait for the lizard. Catching was the easy part, killing the bugger was not as easy as it sounds. The trick was to strike it at just the right spot behind the head so that it ( the head ) can be separated cleanly in one blow. Sad to say that we made a mess out of it because the bugger was so full of hiss and snarl…..took about 6 blows to end his misery and start our happiness. The following night’s dinner was the best that I have had in a while. The balance of the bugger was bagged and buried in the river sand simply because the temperature of the river gets quite cold at night and it sort of acted like a natural refrigerator in some ways ( the gutted lizard was enough to last for 6 meals ).

For now, the eating experience that is topping my “future” list would be to try the “food on the maiden” set meal thingy. Must make it a point to have it on my next trip to Japan..kekekekeke

So, what’s your taste buds like?


2 every1 his/her OWN………….