You have to give it to the Chinese nation – not only are they re-writing the world’s history books at their own leisure thanks to their booming economy, but the average Chinese person can apparently also stomach some truly non-apetising food stuffs.
I discovered as much on a recent visit to the Foton LCV plant and the Cummins engine plant near Beijing. There is that old saying that “local is lekker”, so in the spirit of this adage the group of intrepid South African travellers went in search of some traditional Chinese meals. Like scorpions, seahorsers, sea stars, cockroaches, birds, spiders, snakes, bats and lizards – all on sticks!
The scorpions are still alive when they are skewered and put on display… if you fancy a bite, the friendly Chinese cook will dip the scorpion into a pot of boiling oil, and soon present the crisp and hot meal to you.
The group went to the traditional market with the full intention of taking a bite of at least one weird dish – but frankly, the smell that hung in the air as spiders and snakes were fried in month-old oil saw all those intentions fly out the window!
Who of you would be willing to try this? Eat anything interesting lately? Let us know!
.
