Weird things people eat around the world

[justin]

Refugees? I didn't know there are/were Thai refugees.

Her family is originally from Thailand (a few generations ago), but her family lived in Cambodia since at least the 1950's or so, however they don't speak cambodian, but a dialect close to Laotian called "Nya" (no idea how to spell it - that's just how they pronounce it).

Her parents and older siblings are refugees from Cambodia, and she was actually born in Thailand somewhere while they were on the run (and still under fire from the Khmer Rouge I am told). "In the jungle" is where her parents tell her she was born - location unknown, probably Thailand. So I guess she is "genetically"/racially Thai, and she was also born there by happenstance.

I just say she is Thai without reciting her family's life history. Most folks think Laos and Cambodia are dishes served on a chinese buffet, however "Thai" is more commonly known as a nationality. Sometimes folks guess the wrong nationality though (Oh, she's Thai, does she speak Taiwanese? ).

I'm just gonna tell my kids they are Chinese. It's less confusing that way.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

CFB,

The item on the site: Giant Water Bugs.

I am wondering... what the heck are the conversation's going on it the consumers' mind?

Mmmmm, Just like mom used to make.

"At least its not those crappy small water bugs!"

Ladelfina...you could have your own "cooks tour" style tv show. I'm fairly sure the wormy cheese episode would trump anything TB has put out.

 

[Sam]

Her family is originally from Thailand (a few generations ago), but her family lived in Cambodia since at least the 1950's or so,

There were a large Vietnamese population in Nam Vang (Phnom Penh) before 1975. When Cambodia was in turmoil (73-75), most of these people escaped and returned to VN, just in time for a second escape from VN when the communists arrived. Some people just get all the luck!

 

[bpp3]

"Thai" is more commonly known as a nationality. Sometimes folks guess the wrong nationality though (Oh, she's Thai, does she speak Taiwanese? ).

"No no no, 'Thai.' You know, as in, formerly, 'Siamese.'"

"Ohhh.... so when were they separated?"

or

"Hey... you're not one of those dudes into bestiality, are you?" [backing away]

 

[bright eyed]

I'm just gonna tell my kids they are Chinese. It's less confusing that way.

you might get a big wack on the head from the in-laws for that one...he he he

people often assume i'm chinese, it's a big peeve of non-chinese asians...oh, you're not chinese, japanese? no? then what are you?...

 

[justin]

you might get a big wack on the head from the in-laws for that one...he he he

people often assume i'm chinese, it's a big peeve of non-chinese asians...oh, you're not chinese, japanese? no? then what are you?...

Nah, the in-laws joke about it, too.

My wife gets that a lot. "So, where are you from?"

Thailand.

"Oh, do you speak Chinese?"

No, I'm from Thailand, it's a country in Southeast Asia to the south of mainland China.

"Oh, so do you speak Chinese? How about your kids or your husband?"

Yes.

I can only hope there are 1.3 billion Chinese folks asking white tourists "so you're from Europe? Do you speak European?"

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ugh. My dad does that. Anyone that looks remotely asian is chinese. I bugged him about it for a while so to soothe me he occasionally suggests they might be japanese.

 

[justin]

Ugh. My dad does that. Anyone that looks remotely asian is chinese. I bugged him about it for a while so to soothe me he occasionally suggests they might be japanese.

Blow his mind. Suggest they might be Korean.

 

[bpp3]

I can only hope there are 1.3 billion Chinese folks asking white tourists "so you're from Europe? Do you speak European?"

China is a big country, and encompasses some Caucasian ethnic groups in the western end of the country. So a white person speaking Mandarin probably wouldn't surprise anybody. If they can tell you are a tourist, they would probably assume you speak English (much to the annoyance of the French, Germans, etc...)

Even if you can't speak Mandarin, if you can get by with writing kanji, that again doesn't seem to surprise anybody.

At least that was the situation in Beijing a few years ago. Things may well have changed since.

 

[Nords]

Many of my local friends are cautious about the racial jokes until they get to know you and how you'd react. I've learned that being "the big haole guy" is not considered any more pejorative than being referred to as a WASP, especially when it comes up in rapid pidgin.

But when my friends of Asian ancestry get together with a frosty beverage or two and start discussing the differences among Japanese, Chinese, & Korean lineages-- yikes, I'm edging toward a handy exit. There are still strong unspoken preferences about who nice Chinese/Japanese/Korean boys & girls can bring home to meet the folks. It's gonna take about 10 more generations for that to sort itself out.

Just like my father-in-law's tendency to refer to island visitors as "the Japs".

I've noticed that when you love eating whatever your friends are cooking, then no one cares what race you're descended from. The spicier the better...

 

[bright eyed]

aaah, way to put it back on topic nords...

food is the uniter or the divider...he he depending on how you react to the cuisine presented!

 

[VoyT]

So, what would I NOT eat? Did you see the Anthony Bourdain segment, I think it was in Ghana, where they killed a wild boar.

I saw that, and I don't think he's done a new "No Reservations" since then ....

There's another show on Travel Network, "Bizarre Foods." Guy named Andrew Zimmer travels around looking for the odd foodstuffs. He's eaten guinea pig among other things.... not I show I want to watch right after dinner.

 

[megacorp-firee]

I saw that, and I don't think he's done a new "No Reservations" since then ....

hmmm interesting observation.... maybe he is still recuperating. But he's da man in my book.

There's another show on Travel Network, "Bizarre Foods." Guy named Andrew Zimmer travels around looking for the odd foodstuffs. He's eaten guinea pig among other things.... not I show I want to watch right after dinner.

Zimmer is a wimp... he couldn't even choke down a piece of durian. ... and I'll bet guinea pig taste like ... ok all together now 'CHICKEN'

 

[bssc]

Ugh. My dad does that. Anyone that looks remotely asian is chinese. I bugged him about it for a while so to soothe me he occasionally suggests they might be japanese.

My wife does that and I am Japanese American. She doesn't distinguish the two. And we won't even discuss people from the Kuril Islands or Okinawa (where an Uncle is from).

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I saw that, and I don't think he's done a new "No Reservations" since then ....

After that episode he did a return trip to moscow to exact revenge from Zamir for that beatdown massage he received in season one, then a season finale in los angeles.

The episode that ended season 2, when he was in lebanon when the fighting broke out...is a must see if you missed it.

And the show is back this summer!

And as if on cue...weird named food on sale!
Spotted Dick $16.87 at Amazon.com free shipping over $25

 

[gtmeouttahere]

Deep End Dining: Balut. The Egg of Darkness. Pinoy-Pinay. Panorama City, CA. What about Balut!!! Gross!!!!

 

[justin]

Deep End Dining: Balut. The Egg of Darkness. Pinoy-Pinay. Panorama City, CA. What about Balut!!! Gross!!!!

That's another family favorite at the in-laws house. Sometimes DW complains when the fetuses are really mature and the bones are too crunchy... Different yolks for different folks I guess...

 

[Sam]

Oh yeah, delicious!

Balut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A balut (Trứng vịt lộn or Hột vịt lộn in Vietnamese, Pong tea khon in Cambodian) is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. They are considered delicacies of Asia and especially the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac and considered a high-protein, hearty snack, baluts are mostly sold by street vendors at night in the regions where they are available. They are often served with beer. The Filipino and Malay word balut(balot) roughly translates to mean "wrapped", though the Malays have never taken the word to mean "duck foetus".

 

[VoyT]

After that episode he did a return trip to moscow to exact revenge from Zamir for that beatdown massage he received in season one, then a season finale in los angeles.

The episode that ended season 2, when he was in lebanon when the fighting broke out...is a must see if you missed it.

Eh? Guess I saw them out of order then ... good to know he didn't have to recuperate from something nasty after that show.
I did see the Lebanon show .. seemed sort of surreal, didn't it?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Very. At the end of the day he's a pretty sharp guy...a smart alec wiseguy but sharp. It was interesting seeing someone who isnt a real news person and not used to what goes on in the middle east get rolled up in it, on film.

Sort of a cooking show turned amateur CNN reel turned blair witch project...

 

[bright eyed]

That's another family favorite at the in-laws house. Sometimes DW complains when the fetuses are really mature and the bones are too crunchy... Different yolks for different folks I guess...

oooh my friend used to try to find one w/ a dvlpd fetus to show me when i was a kid, luckily we never found one...

 

[flipstress]

How and where we ate balut

It's best to eat it with your eyes closed or in the dark.

I didn't eat very many balut's but it was a popular snack in the Philippines. My mom would ask the street peddler for the ones with not very-developed chick fetuses. I would mostly eat the yolk and the white parts as a young child but could eat the whole thing when I was older. I haven't had it now for over 20 years.

People in Manila would sneak in snacks like balut into the movie-house. I believe anything was fair game as far as snacks ("baon") in those dark air-conditioned places. (A/C was a rarety and a luxury then.) We'd be watching a movie in the movie theater and we'd suddenly be hit by the aroma of balut or unripe mango and shrimp paste, siopao (pork/chicken dumplings), tamarind candy, pork rinds and vinegar, dried fish, dried squid, hopia (sweet-bean buns), etc.