If I spot something unusual on the menu chances are I’ll opt for that. I’ve crunched my way through scorpions, nibbled locusts and enjoyed ostrich steak.
...a slice of lemon with your seafingers and barnacles?
While on a photographic assignment for The Cape Verde Experience I came across two local delicacies new to me: perceves (sea fingers) – they look a bit like purple fingers, you break off the end and peel off the skin to find the meat which is a bit like squid and cracas – I was served a lump of rock covered in barnacles and something resembling a knitting needle to poke around with! I’m sorry to say they were rather disappointing and more trouble than they are worth (but they were the only let down on my trip and I’ve since been back to the islands of Cape Verde on holiday).
Without a doubt the worst thing I ever eat was in Senegal, a really lovely country with very friendly people and some excellent restaurants (many with a French influence reflecting their colonial past). On a three day whirl-wind photography trip for The Senegal Experience I was invited to dinner at Hotel Espadon in Saly, a great hotel in a beautiful location on the beach. When I saw sea eurchins on the menu I couldn’t resist ordering them. My host suggested rather than have all six to myself that we have one each and I’m so glad he did. Imagine not-quite-set jelly made of seawater and that is pretty much it. Truly revolting but glad I tried it… just the once!
I’d love to hear your stories of the worst / best / most unusual thing you’ve eaten while traveling so please do leave a comment.
The bar over the sea at Hotel Espadon
I had wichety grub pate in Australia once – don’t think I could’ve eaten then in grub form though and the wine tasting I’d been on before probably helped. I’m a bit of a wuss generally though, so gave the deep fried spiders and rat on a stick in Cambodia a miss!
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I’m not sure if I could manage a life wichety grub but pate form sounds great (well edible at least!) Deep fried spiders I’d probably try but rat on a stick not so sure! Was it a whole rat?!?
Kathryn Burrington recently posted..Mela, one of the best Indian Restaurants in London
I’ve had sea urchin sushi – on my yuck list too but like you i can’t resist trying something once – treated it like cod liver medicine when i was a child. The worst thing i’ve eaten is sea cucumber…mainly because i thought it was cucumber from the sea…not basically a big worm….found out what i was eating half way through when i commented it was my first time eating cooked cucumber and how odd it was!
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He he! never seen sea cucumber on the menu! Sometimes these things just have to be done (even if an inner voice is screaming.. No!)
Kathryn Burrington recently posted..Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas Market
Tarantula cooked in garlic from a roadside stall in Cambodia is probably up there as the strangest food I’ve had whilst travelling! Although I may have had stranger things without realising it…I always worry when someone tells me they have served me “chicken”!
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Yes, I know just what you mean. I remember a meal on a train in Egypt where the only thing I recognised was some cauliflower. No idea what anything else was on the plate but it was very nice!
Kathryn Burrington recently posted..Mela, one of the best Indian Restaurants in London
Hiya Kathryn. While I haven’t eaten anything that unusual (being vegetarian means you usually don’t eat the weird things – like bugs), I did make a list of my best meals had on my trip from Melbourne through Asia and Europe to London. It’s here if you’d like to read it: http://hop-skip-and-jump.blogspot.com/2011/10/good-bad-and-ugly-my-meals-around-world.html
Raw meat balls! I think I’ll pass on that one, thank you
live anemone, japan. NO THANK YOU.
Have to agree with you on that one! Sounds dreadful ..and LIVE. That’ll be ‘No, Thank you’ from me too! Thanks for the feed back.