I’m an adventurous eater. If there’s something new on the menu I’ll often be the one to try it.
Sometimes I’m crowing with delight when the dish arrives and again when I taste it. Other times I faced with severe order envy when everyone else’s plates look so much finer than mine.
1. Stinky tofu
“You’ve got to try it,” said my travelling companions. “It’s an acquired taste, but delicious.” Nup – not delicious at all. Stinky tofu is just that, plain stinky. You’ll find it at the street stalls in Taipei, Taiwan and no doubt plenty of other places. Taiwan is full of great food, why waste your time on this dreadful stuff?
2. Bird’s nest soup
Again, my companions told me that is an honour to be served this soup in Vietnam and I would insult my hosts if I didn’t eat it. It was very gamey, but okay until a little bird’s face popped up in the soup. Game over.
3. Liver and kidneys
I once struggled down steak and kidney pie because my mother-in-law made it and I was newly married. Never again.
4. Worms
They are a high source of protein but I’d rather be a vegetarian. Public Restaurant in Brisbane had a ‘can of worms’ on their menu for a while but it’s gone now (see the top photo). The most flavour in this dish came from the delicious salad; the worms were just crunchy really. I’m not going to be an early bird again, besides Public has a great menu full of excellent food.
5. Duck’s tongues
You know that old saying, 'I’ll try anything once', well I did but I’m not bothered to try them again. Even Urbane’s Alejandro Cancino, one of Brisbane’s best chefs, can’t make duck’s tongues taste good enough for me to go again. Sorry Alejandro, I love the rest of your food, promise.
According to Wotif.com, I’m not alone in my willingness to try something new. They conducted a survey and 53 percent of respondents revealed they had experienced an unusual local delicacy on holiday. Their top ten weird local delicacies include deep-fried tarantulas, chocolate-dipped bugs and dried caterpillars.
“Aussies have tried everything from fermented shark, monkey brains, stink bugs, to guinea pigs and even famous one-thousand-year-old eggs,” Wotif.com spokesperson, Kirsty La Bruniy said.
“However, it’s the French delicacy of escargot that was the most sampled local delicacy tasted by Aussies.
“Reptile and amphibian recipes also appeal, with frog legs, crocodile and snake being the second, third and fourth most commonly eaten foreign foods by travellers.
“Bear Grylls would be impressed with the number of creepy crawlies Australians are prepared to eat with crickets, witchetty grubs, bugs and grasshoppers all making it in the top ten list.
“It’s not all scaly and slimy, though with the Scottish traditional pudding made from sheep’s stomach, known as Haggis, as well as chicken feet also on the menu for travellers. Paris, Thailand and China were the top destinations for trying local delicacies."
Wotif’s top ten weirdest local delicacies
1. Snails2. Frog legs
3. Crocodile
4. Snake
5. Haggis
6. Crickets
7. Chicken feet
8. Witchetty grubs
9. Bugs
10. Grasshoppers
Personally, I don’t think eating crocodile, snails, frogs legs or chicken feet is very weird, but I am a food writer so it comes with the territory.
What foods do you think are weird to eat?