Hi, Rhyme & Ribbons Readers! I’m Robert and I’m super-excited to be taking over Amanda’s blog today. As we all know, Amanda is an amazing cook. But I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m not. I try to mimic Amana’s recipes, I really do, but they never turn out quite the same. For that reason, I didn’t think sharing a recipe of my own would be of much interest to you guys (unless it was to get a laugh from feeble attempts in the kitchen!).
So what to write about? Well, I’m a travel blogger, Amanda’s a food blogger, so I thought I’d combine the two and share with you some of the weird and wonderful foods I’ve come across during my travels! These are all foods – if you can even call some of them that – that I’ve tried personally. Some of them I still can’t believe I actually touched, let alone ate, others I’d absolutely love the chance to try again. So, let’s have three of each, starting with a weird.
Weird #1 – Tarantulas in China
I know, gross right! I stumbled upon these on a street called Wangfujing, in Beijing. It’s a famous street full of all sorts of street foods (including scorpions, snakes and centipedes) but these were by far the weirdest. I’m actually terrified of spiders and wasn’t sure I could bring myself to try these, but I forced myself. Guess what… they tasted as bad as they look, sort of burnt and crunchy with the occasional prickly hair. Never again.
(Tarantulas as a snack? Robert is much more brave than I am….)
Wonderful #1 – Milkshakes in LA
The ingredients for the perfect milkshake are extremely good ice cream mixed with just the right amount of milk, and a classic American setting. The award-laden Fosselman’s in LA has both. The double-chocolate malt is indescribably good.
Weird #2 – Casu Marzu in Italy
Casu Marzu literally means rotten cheese, and this stuff is so bad that it was illegal until just a few years ago. The cheese is left outside so that cheese flies can lay their eggs inside it, then the larvae break down the fats and ferment it. A bit like eating that Brie from the back of your fridge that’s covered in blue and green fluff.
Wonderful #2 – Macaroons in Paris
In 1930 grandson of the original M Ladurée invented the double-decker macaroon – two shells of the meringue-like pastry held together by creamy ganache filling. Ladurée has produced the definitive macaroons ever since. In recent years the company has opened shops around the world, but the original is by far the best.
Weird #3 – Snake Wine in China
And we’re back to China. This popular beverage is believed to have important restorative properties in countries such as China and Vietnam. It can either be made by steeping a snake in rice wine, or by mixing snake bodily fluids, such as blood, with the alcohol. Although this isn’t one of the worst tasting on my list, the feeling of drinking snake blood is definitely one of the weirdest!
Wonderful #3 – Custard Tarts in Lisbon
Creamy, flaky custard tarts – served warm with cinnamon – are one of Portugal’s great culinary gifts to the world. The original pasteis café in the Belém district of Lisbon, next to the monastery where the dessert was invented, is still the best. S it down with a plateful, and a strong coffee, and you’ll understand why more than 10,000 tarts are baked here every day.
So there you have it, 3 of the weirdest foods I’ve ever tried, and 3 of the most wonderful. How about you guys, what weird and/or wonderful foods have you discovered on your travels? I’d love to hear about them. Particularly if you’ve had anything wonderful in London!
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I told you Robert was talented photographer but I didn’t mention his penchant for trying just about anything did I? Swing by his blog and say hello!
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I told you Robert was talented photographer but I didn’t mention his penchant for trying just about anything did I? Swing by his blog and say hello!
