If the idea of deep-frying creepy crawlies or eating
something that could kill you strikes you as crazy, you might want to avoid
trying the local delicacies in the following countries…
Indonesia: Kopi Luwak
The discerning luwak (a distant cousin of the mongoose) is
quite the coffee connoisseur. If you’re searching for the perfect cuppa, look
no further. ‘The secret if this delicious blend,’ gushes the Indonesian Tourism
Board, ‘lies in the bean selection. The luwak will eat only the choicest, most
perfectly matured beans, which it then excretes, partially digested, a few
hours later.’ After that, plantation workers gather them up, roast them, and
ship them off for $600 a pound. The coveted coffee is apparently ‘incredibly
full-bodied’.
China: Bird’s nest soup
You’re thinking twigs and leaves, right? But this expensive,
gelatinous soup is mostly made up of bird saliva. Known as the ‘caviar of the
East’, it is believed to alleviate asthma, aid digestion, and it’s supposedly
an aphrodisiac. (Is dry-heaving sexy now?)
Sardinia: Casu marzu
Some cheese improve with age. The Sardinians, however, take
it a step further – deliberately infesting sheep’s milk pecorino with cheese
flies, which then lay eggs in the cheese. During their digestion process, the
maggots release an enzyme that causes the pecorino fat to putrefy. The result?
Sticky, gluey maggoty deliciousness. Well, maybe not ‘deliciousness’ as such –
it is said to cause a strong burn in the mouth. Make sure you shield your eyes
as you dig in, though, because the maggots tend to jump at you (up to 15cm in
the air) when you try to get at the cheese. Don’t poke it either – that will
cause it to leak an odorous liquid called ‘lagrima’ (Sardinian for ‘tears’).
Also, it’s illegal, since the maggots can tear holes in the intestine (causing
vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding), so you’ll have to buy it on the black market.
Cambodia: Fried tarantula
Itsy bitsy spiders don’t climb up water spouts in Cambodia –
they are gathered up in the forest, deep-fried and sold as a snack.
Proceed with caution
If you like playing Russian roulette with your lunch, these
treats are for you:
Japan: Fugu
Best enjoy this meal – it might be your last. Just one of
these toxic puffer fish contains enough tetrodotoxin (10 times more deadly than
cyanide) to kill 30 people. Chefs have to undergo three years of
fugu-preparation training to get a licence – one bad cut means almost certain
death for the unlucky diner, as it can cause paralysis or asphyxiation. It
hasn’t stopped the Japanese though – they consume about 10000 tons of it each
year.
