I have traveled quite a bit - one of the great things is local food. But twice I have been unable to eat what was ordered.
Singapore in 1996, nice restaurant on a business dinner. I asked what the local specialty is - whatever it is, I want it. A carefully decorated bowl appeared with what appeared to be the stuff I'd played with in a swamp in the woods when I was eight. I figured well that's interesting but it's probably something made to appear like fancy swamp goo but can't really be... this was on fine tableware and linen, not an old Mason jar carried home on my Schwinn. I looked more closely and it seemed too realistic. So I asked. It was a bowl of tadpole eggs.
Beijing in 1992 was very different than Beijing today. An ocean of bicycles and almost zero foreigners. We were setting up for a large conference, stage crew asked what we wanted to eat - assuming everyone from the US wanted sandwiches. I said hell no, gimme what the locals eat! A few minutes later styrofoam containers appeared with sandwiches for the others, and mine was... a sparrow on a bed of rice. But not like roasted quail or a miniature marinated chicken. I mean exactly the way a sparrow looks when it bounces off a window - intact with all its feathers and still warm. I thought ok they're messing with me, looked around and the local stage crew was eagerly chomping into theirs - exactly same as mine. I couldn't eat it.
I like to respect and experience local culture but learned to be more careful when ordering food.
Sorry Julia, I didn't take pictures.
