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| MORE THAN EXOTIC FOOD | |||
Oh, the thrill of all those faraway places- fantastic views, dashing foreign lotharios, tasty exotic food...on second thoughts maybe you should pass on those little cubes of red jelly... |
You're on that dream island and a waiter brings you a tray of snacks, the kind you've never seen before, the kind eaten on this island resort. So you think to yourself: ‘when in (insert dream destination of choice)…'
But before you take that mouthful, there are just a few things we'd like to share with you. One of the best things about travelling is the food. The travel brochures and guide books are filled with restaurants and exotic dishes that always sound absolutely amazing. What they seldom tell you is what you shouldn't eat. In some foreign destinations you may not necessarily recognise what's being offered.
You may be unwittingly contributing to animal cruelty, exposing yourself to potential stomach bugs or just snacking on something you'd prefer not to eat if you knew what it really was. Like grilled baby mice, for example. Here's our guide to what not to eat on your travels.
Japan
Fugu, or putterfish, is regarded as a great delicacy in Japan and served in hundreds of specialist Tokyo restaurants. But it's deadly if prepared by the wrong person, so avoid fugu if it's not prepared by a rigorously trained fugu chef (who carefully removes the poisonous liver and ovaries before cooking it). An estimated 20 people die every year from eating incorrectly
prepared fugu.
It contains tetrodotoxin, which is 250 times deadlier than cyanide; a mere 1 mg – enough to cover a pinhead – can kill an adult. And there's no antidote. Also, if you're not into insects, avoid dishes like hachi-no-ko (boiled wasp larvae), zaza mushi (aquatic insect larvae), inago, (fried rice-field grasshopper) and sangi (fried silk moth pupae).
Australia
The witchetty grub (moth larvae), eaten and enjoyed by Aborigines for thousands of years, is now inching its way into trendy city restaurants down under, although it's generally served roasted, stir-fried or with vegetables, as opposed to au natural. Still, eating grubs is definitely not for the faint-hearted. And neither is kangaroo (or emu), which may have been popular there for some time now but is bound to upset those of us who grew up with TV programmes like Skippy: The Bush Kangaroo. And if you're out on a walkabout, it's best to avoid any berry, mushroom or bush-like plant (unless you're absolutely certain what they are), since much of the indigenous fauna is highly poisonous.
America
McDonalds may be ubiquitous and boring – but unless you've got seriously outrageous tastes, best avoid the insect fare that is fast becoming popular in the American west. If you balk at our own
little mopane worm snacks, you're unlikely to be persuaded by theirs, even if they are mealworms coated in chocolate or
arthropods disguised as sweets.
Would you try a Cricket-Lick-it, a crème de menthe flavoured lollipop from Texas that contains a real cricket? Imagine Parktown Prawn popsicles. Enough said. You should also watch out for menus boasting Rocky Mountain, Armadillo, or Rattlesnake Oysters. They've got squat to do with molluscs, and are in fact lamb or calf testicles peeled, rolled in flour and fried. And if you're going out with a crowd, don't have anything with ramps in it. This alarmingly pungent member of the onion family makes your breath reek like never before. Children have been known to eat plate-loads of the stuff so they can be sent home from school.
Korea
It's cats you'll want to steer clear of in Korea. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has reported an alarming new trend – cat juice. The cats are crammed in tiny cages on top of one another and dropped into a broth while they're still alive. This ‘soup' is reputedly a good cure for rheumatism and arthritis. It's sold from street stalls, as are other dubious delicacies. If you don't understand what you're supposed to be eating, best don't eat it.
France
If you're at all sensitive – watch out for guts, particularly chitterlings, which are the intestines of young pigs that are minced and added to sausages. And also tripe de la mode de Caen, which is ox stomach cooked with calves' feet and beef fat and flavoured with Calvados.
Also avoid fois gras or ‘fat liver', as this generally involves ducks and geese being force-fed until their livers are up to 16 times their normal size. And when in France, tempted as you may be, skip the frogs' legs. Like veal, eating frogs' legs is becoming deeply politically incorrect. These amphibious creatures are eaten in their millions every year and frog populations, which are a sensitive barometer of environmental health, are being steadily decimated.
Thailand
Grilled baby mice is a distinctly weird dish here and certainly not one for the squeamish. They're generally served in a dipping sauce of garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander, fish sauce and rice vinegar. The idea is to pop them whole into your mouth (bones, tails and all). And locals say wild mice are tastier at harvest time when they're plump from eating rice. Watch out for Phrik kha nou, which translates as mouse-shit pepper.
The name is based on their resemblance to rodent's droppings – but they're actually chillies that are eye-wateringly fiery. The worst of all though – and found throughout South East Asia – must be live monkey brains, an eating practice that has been roundly condemned by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). A live monkey is secured in a special circular table so that only its clamped head is visible. A machete-wielding waiter then lops off the top of the skull and diners are invited to eat the throbbing brains. It's served in the swankiest restaurants and tourists are extremely unlikely to be offered this dish. Thank the sweet Lord…
China
Be on guard here – China is one of those places where people appear to happily eat anything that breathes. Local menus will feature things like snake fillet, pig uterus, bear paws, owl soup, sautéed tiger testicles and tiger penis soup (around US$ 2 000 a shot). Another speciality is pigs' and calves' ears cooked until the cartilage is crunchy, cut into narrow strips and mixed with garlic and beansprouts.
And washed down with Five Penis Wine, made from the genitals of ox, snake, sheep, deer and dog infused in alcohol. There's also Just Born Mice, a charming meal made by taking squishy mice foetuses and grilling them for about a minute on each side. And the equally horrendous live mice dish known as Three Screams. The first scream is said to be uttered when they are picked up and dipped into the accompanying flavouring, the second when they're stabbed with a fork and the third when they're bitten…
Phillipines
Anyone for grilled fruit bat? In the Phillipines these small flying mammals are crunched whole (often served with lashings of garlic to mask their unpleasant odour) and are believed to be good for your eyesight.
When steamed fish is served, the eyes are also often left in place (they're considered a great delicacy), so avoid that if you don't feel like being watched while you eat. And balut, the national snack, should also be given a wide berth. These are duck embryos allowed to develop for 16 days and then cooked. Sold at many street stalls, balut are popular with men because they apparently improve virility, but are distinctly unpleasant when you break them open!
Vietnam
Don't buy those little cubes of red jelly that look like sweets and are sold as fortifying snacks all over Vietnam. They're made of the blood of pigs, chickens, ducks, buffalo and dogs. The blood is boiled until it congeals, cooled and then cut into one-inch cubes. Also, and this almost goes without saying, avoid anything with dog meat in it. According to animal w
| story by Bridget-Hilton Barber from FAIRLADY | |
| image by exotic food | |
