10 unusual foods from around the world

Who doesn’t love trying new and exotic foods when traveling? Maybe some spicy curries in India, a selection of savory tapas in Spain, or some authentic…Pig’s Blood Cake? Check out this list of 10 unusual foods from around the world and see if your perspective on trying international cuisine doesn’t change.

Fried Tarantulas, Cambodia

According to Victoria Brewood at Bootsnall, you can find this delicacy in the streets of Sukon, Cambodia, fried whole with their legs, fangs, and all. Apparently, they taste great pan-fried with a pinch of garlic and salt and have a crispy outside and a gooey inside.

Pig’s Blood Cake, Taiwan

This unique dish is prepared with sticky rice and hot pig’s blood. When the mixture becomes solid it is coated with peanut powder and cilantro then formed into a flat cake and sliced. This meal is usually dipped in various sauces such as chili sauce, hot sauce, or soy sauce.Haggis, Scotland

This Scottish dish contains the internal organs of a sheep, including the liver, heart, and lungs. Mix this with some chopped onions, raw beef or mutton’s fat, salt, and spices. Once this is ready, you stuff it into a sheep intestine as sausage and simmer inside the animal’s stomach. Dinner will be ready in 3 hours!

Drunken Shrimp, China

When hearing the name of this dish, I had kind of hoped it was a cute play on words of some kind. In reality, the name should be taken very literally, as these are shrimp that are actually stunned with strong liquor and then consumed alive. Not shockingly, there have been some problems with this meal of uncooked seafood as there is the health risk of Paragonimiasis, a food-borne parasitic infection.

Live Octopus, Korea

I can’t help but think of Fear Factor as I write this entry. Sannakji, as it is known, is an octopus that is prepared and cut while still alive. It is served while still squirming, and should be chewed well as the suction of the tentacles can stick to the inside of your mouth and throat.

Silkworms, China

This insect is cultivated and bred in factories and sold in local markets for cooking. While you can prepare them anyway you like, popular silkworm dishes include Crispy Silkworms and Silkworm Kebabs.

Bear Claw Stew, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

Soup made from the claws of bears is a delicacy in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and is literally sold for hundreds of dollars. The bear meat in the stew is actually believed to be a health and sexual-performance booster. According to nerdygaga.com as well as factsanddetails.com, environmentalists are protesting the practice of making bear claw stew, as bears are being tortured in front of diners before being cooked, as it is said to make the meat taste better.

Casu Marzu, Italy

This decomposing cheese made from sheep’s milk is, according to Alka Sharma of Environmental Graffiti, full of squirming white worms. Casu Marzu is made when the cheese fly lays its eggs, which is usually about 500 at one time, and the maggots that hatch eat their way through the cheese. Because the digestive system of the maggots breaks down the fat of the cheese, it gives it a very soft texture. The key to eating this unusual food is that it must be eaten while the maggots are still alive and wriggling, unless you want a bowl full of dead maggots (this, apparently, is considered unfit for consumption).

Ying Yang Fish, China

This fish is unlike most seafood delicacies, as it is half dead, half alive. While the top half of the fish is uncooked and moving, the bottom half is deep fried and covered in sweet and sour sauce.

Corn Fungus, Latin America

Also known as Corn Smut, this food, which looks very similar to grey brain matter, is a “pathogenic plant fungus that causes plant disease on maize (corn)” and is often used as filling for quesadillas. According to Martha Mendoza on MSNBC.com, Corn Smut is actually good for you, as it contains protein, minerals, and other nutritional values.

Photo of the day – Picnic in Taiwan

In the mood for a picnic in Taiwan? Flickr user Pamcy.com sure is. She snapped this image of a small picnic in the north of Taiwan late last month. The views are striking even with the lingering haze across the horizon. The grass looks comfortable, too. Is it time for a nap?

Got an image of a fun summer activity you’re dying to share with a wider audience? Go ahead and upload it to the Gadling Group pool on Flickr. If we dig it we might choose it as a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the day – street art in Taiwan


There’s a lot happening in this photo: some street art, an intriguing flavor of popsicle, cool sneakers, flammable substances near a lit cigarette, the Asian art of effortless squatting. Overall it’s a very interesting street scene, captured by Flickr user marisoleta in Taipei, Taiwan. Looking at more of her photos, it seems like a fun destination, full of temples, tall buildings, and weird foods we all love to photograph on our travels. It’s always great when a travel photo makes us want to learn more about a place.

Have you taken any good street scenes to get us curious about a destination? Upload ’em to the Gadling Flickr pool and we may use it for a future photo of the day.

Food blogger jailed over scathing ‘salty noodle’ review

A food blogger in Taiwan has been jailed after writing a critical restaurant review. The blogger, surnamed Liu, will be in the slammer for 30 days after writing that a restaurant’s beef noodles were too salty, among other things.

But that’s not all: Liu will also be on probation for two years and must compensate the disparaged restaurant nearly $7,000 (NT$200,000).

Lui’s scathing review went up in July 2008 after she had tried dried noodles and side dishes from the restaurant. In her online review, Liu wrote that the food was too salty, the restaurant was unsanitary and had cockroaches, and that the owner was a “bully.” The owner learned about the post from a regular customer and then filed charges, accusing her of defamation.

After the court found that Liu only tried one dish at the restaurant and found the criticism about cockroaches to be a narration of facts (even though Liu still maintains she saw them), it was ruled that Liu’s criticism of the restaurant exceeded reasonable bounds and she was sentenced to jail time.

Food bloggers, be careful what you write and be sure to take pictures of what you eat and see!

[Photo (not of the actual restaurant) by Prince Roy, Flickr]

Where Would You Travel for a Meal?

Just what motivates us to travel? What exactly inspires us to get on a plane and, thousands of miles later, blurry eyed and sleep deprived, to step into a place that was hitherto unknown to us? I’d be willing to guess that for an increasingly large amount of leisure travelers, “food” might be near the top of the list.

Last week, hundreds of hungry people attended the Lucky Rice Festival in New York City, an annual weeklong feast of all things Asian and eating. During the “Grand Feast,” where a couple dozen chefs served up Asian-inspired snacks and curious cocktails (a martini spiked with a whole baby squid, anyone?) in a large Mandarin Oriental hotel ballroom overlooking Central Park, I put my hypothesis to the test. I asked some of the chefs at the festival – many of whom are New York City’s most esteemed toques – to answer one simple question:

Where would you travel for a meal?


“Malaysia. I’m fascinated with the growth and interest in Southeast Asian food. Thre are so many undiscovered foods there that we in America have not even discovered yet. I’d also eat my way through the spice route.”
-Todd English
Celebrity chef, owner of umpteen restaurants

“I would say Morocco. I’m fascinated with spices. I’d like to have a local, say, in Marakesh, take me to the food and spice market and from there we’d construct an entire meal out of what we buy.”

Angelo Sosa
Top Chef alum (season seven)
Executive Chef, Social Eatz

“Thailand. I’d just travel around the country and eat everything I saw. I did that when I was in France and it was great. I’d try to find new stuff, food that hasn’t really come here yet, food that’s unknown to us.”

Eric Hara
Executive Chef at 9 Restaurant and Pier 9

“Vietnam. I’ve always wanted to go there. The country’s culinary history is amazing. There’s a long story behind every dish there. From a chef’s perspective, Vietnam would be great.”

Brandon Kida
Chef de Cuisine, Asiate

“I would go to Portland, Oregon. I was just there, actually, and now I already want to go back. The food and restaurants there are incredible. The people are willing to do interesting and creative things with food there. They’re doing their own coffee, their own distilling. There’s just a lot going on in Portland.”

Brad Farmerie
Executive Chef, Public

“Well, India for sure. But I’d also go to San Francisco. It’s such a great food city. I’d go there and focus eating California cuisine.”

Hemant Mathur
Executive Chef, Tulsi

“Apart from just staying here in New York City, I’d go to Bangkok. Specifically, I’d go to David Thompson’s new restaurant. It’s called Nahm, which means ‘water’ in Thai, in the Metropolitan Hotel. I trained under him and I haven’t eaten at any of his restaurants since he left Australia. After that, there would be a thousand more restaurants I’d eat at.”

Ty Bellingham
Executive Chef, Kittichai

“Kerala, India. The food there is extremely fresh. If you want an oyster, for example, there’s a guy who will jump into the water right then and get one for you. It’s a such a great place. There’s no judgment there. And they have a 99 percent literacy rate.”

Jehangir Mehta
Executive Chef, Graffiti and Mehtaphor

“Paris. Just to see Jean Francios Piege. I ate at his previous restaurant, which was in Hotel de Crillon, and it was one of those meals where it makes you stop and think about what food is all about. He has a new restaurant called Hotel Thoumieux.”

Tien Ho
Executive Chef, Ma Peche

“Definitely Tokyo. I love Japanese food. I would get recommendations from friends. I love sushi and would go to the fish market to eat there.”

Damien Hergott
Pastry Chef, Bosie Tea Room

“Taipei. There’s a great night market there and the best Japanese food outside of Japan. The best Chinese fusion. Plus, the food scene is really diverse.”

Ching-He Huang
Chef & TV Personality, UK Food Channel

“elBulli. If I could get one of the last seatings there before it closed. The last time I was in Spain, I ate at almost every important restaurant, but I didn’t get to eat at elBulli.”

Dale Talde
Top Chef alum (season 4)
Creative Director, Buddakan