Lunch break

I read on the paper about a funny top-ten "horror" list for food... as sure as there is something missing, like the brain of a live monkey in China, where to my knowledge they eat all kinds of bugs, snakes, turtles, rodents, jellyfish... or Thailand, where it seems they enjoy a similar taste for food as their Chinese neighbors, especially when it comes down to crispy tasty bugs...

or the taste of fruit-bat soup, served somewhere in Asia and South America, and even in Palau, is so rich in flavour :))... actually, I should pay a visit to beautiful Palau, as Shih Yun suggested some time ago, but I guess I'm digressing now...


or even the Australian aboriginals, who also banquet on all sorts of insects, most famously the honey ant...


in any case, I thought this list was YAK enough to be mentioned :)... and as you can see, the top 4 belong to my beloved Asia, maybe this is also why all the others "delicacies" you can find there were omitted, to give a chance to the rest of the world to make the list too!!

So if you thought that Fear Factor's second stunt was for strong stomachs, now you might think otherwise...

One, Fugu: Japan: The infamous pufferfish, highly poisonous unless cooked with extreme care. Some professional chefs prepare the fish so that there is a minute amount of poison in the meat, giving a prickling feeling and numbness on the tongue and the lips. Every year about 20 customers are victim of bad cooking (!!). (I'm throwing a party soon... anybody wanna join??)


Two, Cobra blood: Indonesia: The blood and heart of the cobra mixed with Arak, a middle-eastern liqueur, and served as a shot. (And you thought that there was no perfect combination in this world...)


Three, Fried tarantula: Cambodia: Best plucked straight from its burrow and pan-fried in sugar and garlic - they apparently are crispy on the outside but runny on the inside. (I can't wait to read that the tarantula is on the extinct animal list!)


Four, Durian: Vietnam: Fruit of the Malvaceae trees, with a skin covered in sharp thorns and an unpleasant odour, but has a custard taste. (It really smells like decomposing meat, believe me, but one good thing is that your farts go unnoticed!!)

Five, Lamb fries: Lancashire, UK: Lamb testicles that have been peeled, bread-crumbed and fried. (I'll pass, I'm already full, thank you!)


Six, Mashonzha: South Africa: Found in mopani trees, these are worms that look similar to caterpillars and can be eaten alive, or fried. (Nothing better than some poo-looking low carb snack in the afternoon, right??)


Seven, Iguana meat: El Salvador: The meat of the iguana is said to taste like chicken but is much tougher. (My car tyres are made of Iguana meat... yes, it is tough...)


Eight, Poi: Hawaii: Made from the poisonous taro root, poi is mashed and cooked into a strong-tasting, edible paste. (People cook this generally for mothers in law there...)


Nine, Huhu: New Zealand: Fried larvae from the Hubu beetle. (these New Zealanders... they have a chance to drive a beetle, to listen to Beetles' music... but no, they've got to eat them! And this thing, makes even cockroaches look cute...)


Ten, Boruga: Columbia: A Columbian rodent, highly prized for its meat and not easy to catch. (what a shame!)



Any suggestions for what should have made the top-ten list???? I'm sure there is so much to discover, so many "hidden culinary treasures" out there...
(sorry, the canteen at work doesn't count...)


... and what's wrong with a freshly wood-oven baked pizza anyway??