Night Market Food Stands

Eating in China is always an adventure. The Chinese do not like to waste an opportunity to eat every part of an animal and that is probably to the advantage of surviving in a country with 1.3 billion persons. When I was in Shanghai for work, my co-workers had me try the most unusual things although nothing compared to what I just tried tonight.

Tonight, Thomas met me at the night market stand, and off we went to check out the stalls. Thomas actually wanted real food, and I wanted to experiment. Mainly, I enjoyed perusing the stalls and in making new friends with the food vendors. They are a lively bunch. I eventually worked up the courage to try the various delicacies all the while haggling down the price of the food I bought. The stalls carried everything from scorpion to sheep penis. I'm not sure I want to reveal just what I tried, but in the spirit of honesty, I will. I started with the bees. Yes, bees. I might be blocking out all the bad memories, but I can't remember what they tasted like. I do remember the bees being crunchy.

Next I tried the centipede. The food vendor told me that it was his favorite. I really don't believe food vendors anymore after that recommendation. Thomas took a series of photos as I tried the centipede and I felt like I was on the reality tv show, Fear Factor, although I had nothing to win at the end except bragging rights. I can't even describe the taste; I wanted to throw up afterwards. I look so happy at the beginning and then the realization of what I have just eaten slowly sinks in.





Then, I joined some Norweigians I met in trying the sheep penis. When in China... It's not a proud moment of mine, but I could not resist the opportunity to try one of the most disgusting things imaginable. It was chewy and I managed to get a bit in my mouth, chew it, and then promptly spit it out. I would have failed Fear Factor.

On I went and tried snake. Out of all the delicacies tonight, snake tasted the best. I wanted to try the silk worms and scorpions, but I had exhausted my taste buds. Maybe another night.