March 11th - Edible Oddities

Here is a list of some of the interesting things I've encountered on the dinner table while in China. I have eaten all of these things, and I live to tell the tale. And no, I haven't eaten any dogs or cats over here. At least I don't think so.


Silk Worms – Yes, they are actual worms. They serve them roasted, baked or boiled, and they idea is to pierce the hard exoskeleton and suck out all of the creamy innards. I've been told that eating 3 silk worms will give you the same amount of protein as eating one egg. Not my favourite food by any stretch, but if I was starving, I could eat them.

Bone Marrow – Inside every hambone lies the thick, salty fluid that drives dogs wild – bone marrow. When a waitress hands you plastic gloves and a drinking straw, you know that you are in for a treat. The idea is to eat away all the meat, and then poke your straw into the canal inside this hambone, then you suck, suck, suck your meal away.

Congee – There's really nothing shocking about rice soup, I just find it a bit strange, and I am not a huge fan of it. To start with, the texture throws my appetite off a bit. Imagine a big bowl of warm, chunky snot is set down in front of you. Wanna bite? Or rather, a slurp? The flavour, or rather lack thereof, is quite bland, and just tastes like watery rice. I don’t see what the big deal is about it, and why it’s such a popular food, especially at breakfast. I'll take my rice solid, please.

Hot Milk – You can't just drink regular milk here in China. It's either sweetened to the point that it's now considered a soft drink, or it's boiled to remove any bacteria. I ordered a milkshake at one restaurant, and they served me a hot glass of purple milk. It was disgusting. I couldn't drink it. This isn't just for cow's milk, but soy milk as well. There's something about hot milk that just turns my stomach.

Hot water – At a restaurant, if you ask for a glass of water, it's not ice water. They bring you a cup of boiling water. I don't know if people generally like the feeling of scalding their lips, or if it's just a precautionary measure to kill any bacteria. Either way, I miss good ol' tap water that you can actually drink.

Pig's Head – There is one day of the year when everyone HAS to eat pig's head. I think it's some sort of ritual, like a dragon once ate a pig's head or something, so it's good luck. Last night I was lucky enough to eat some, and it was pretty darn rubbery. It tasted like pork alright, but a little more weathered. But, I suppose if I had to eat one animal's face, it would be a pig's. Considering all the hot dogs I ate as a kid, I feel like I've already eaten about 15,000 snouts, ears and eyeballs anyway, so what's one more?

Chicken Feet – Another rubbery treat, chicken's feet are considered a delicacy here in China. You can even buy them at corner stores in little plastic wrappers, all ready to be heated up in the microwave “nuke & puke” style. I've eaten a few of these, and aside from their texture, they just taste like chicken. Oh wait, they are chicken.

Duck's tongue – When I ate peking duck, a special piece of meat was given to me on a tiny little plate. It was pretty long, but tasted really nice & it was tender as hell. I've also had goose tongues, but I didn't like them as much. They were cooked in some sort of sauce that I didn't appreciate. I think it was called saliva.

Duck's brain – I always thought salmon was brain food? But I guess, what better brain food than brain itself? Brains are a rare delicacy here in China, and are served in special ceremonial dishes. What are they called again? Oh, right. HEADS!

Chicken necks – When you buy a frozen turkey or chicken at the supermarket, you often find a frozen bag of organs and a crooked neck rammed inside the carcass. When I was a kid, my mom used to cook the neck and feed it to our cats. They loved it! Over here in china, the neck of the chicken is chopped up into little pieces and served just like the rest of the chicken. I didn't even realize it was the neck, until I looked closely and saw that I was sucking on vertebrae.

This is just my Top 10 for now. I know there are far stranger things out there, and I don't dare mention the black market trade of tiger's penises and all that spiritual stuff. I don't think I was given the full tour of Chinese cuisine, just because I have friends over here who care about my health. I have heard stories about white people being served dog food over here as a joke, and then being sick for a week. Hopefully that doesn't happen to me in my last week over here in China. All in all, I have enjoyed the majority of the food, maybe aside from the silk worms and chicken feet. One thing’s for sure though, when I was eating a chicken's foot, nobody got mad at me for biting my nails.