Foods I didn't eat in China.

I am extremely lucky that I have a day job I love. One that gives me the opportunity to travel to some really amazing places. I am going to Australia for a month, for work, in just a few days. I am sure I will be able to squeeze in some food-and-fun related activities, and given good internet connections, I hope to put up  pictures every few days, so do stop by to see the adventures (or sign up for my blog feed, delivered conveniently to your favorite blog reader - just click up there on the left).

Unlike the British Guy, I am not a picky eater. I don't know if I ever was, although I do remember going through a phase where no one food item on my plate could be in contact with any other food on the plate. I also remember my parents pointing out that it all got mixed up in my stomach, and being distinctly unimpressed.

I got over that, and now I'll try almost anything once.

There are foods I just don't like (hello, beet greens!), but I like to think I give them a fighting chance.

There are, however, some things that I simply refuse to try. Bugs top that list. I have inadvertently eaten bugs, and while I know that they weren't bad-tasting (I had already unknowingly eaten some, you see), I just couldn't overcome my psychological problem with the concept of eating bugs.

I bet you didn't know that deep-fried bamboo grubs look a whole lot like crispy ramen noodles, did you?

Except, of course, that the grubs have eye stalks and the ramen noodles don't.

But then, you have to be really close to see those eye stalks. Like, putting it into your mouth close.

I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that most of my extreme eating experiences have occurred in China.

They seem to like portable food, especially as street food. The Donghuamen night market in Beijing has a bewildering array of choices, and on the surface resembles the Iowa State Fair in that most of them are on a stick. Unlike the Iowa State Fair, where choices include porkchops, deep fried oreos, deep fried twinkies, and cotton candy, the Beijing market offers up deep fried silk worm, snake, lizard, baby birds, scorpions, and many-legged bugs.

These are the foods I did not eat in China.

Comments

[Rowena (Apron and Sneakers)]

I'm with you. I don't think I will ever try those. I did try once the mopany worm in South Africa. It was in a train restaurant serving all kinds of animal meat including elephants, gazelles, crocodiles, etc. I did it once but I won't do it again. :-)

[Jammy Chicken]

Hi Rowena. One of these days, given the right bug, I think I really ought to try, but I haven't met that bug yet... Visiting Oz at the moment, and kangaroo is on my list of new things to taste!