so i went on a business trip with my father to china, and we had to go to some rather rural inland parts of the country....
one of the more mainstream dishes would be raw horse meat.
in one town, his associates took us out for dinner, and we were served a seven course snake dinner.
it began with a snake soup, that not only had chunks of snake meat, but was presented by having a dead snaked curled in the middle of the bowl with its head sticking up and out, sort of in a snake charmer pose.
then there was fried snake skin. and something similar to steak tartar but out of snake. but to top the whole meal off, everybody took a shot of snake venom that was mixed with grain alcohol. and in china, the guests have to try everything first to make sure its ok and approve it for the rest of the party to eat. everything had to be consumed.
other highlights of that trip included fried cockroach, chicken feet, though that is popular in chinese restaurants here too, and my personal favorite, LIVE shrimp. you are presented with a plate of a species of either shell-less or softshell shrimp, i was too repulsed to pay attention, and our guide helpfully told us to sprinkle the plate with whiskey, and to eat the ones that scampered around in a lively manner; the sluggish ones may be tainted.
other more normal fare that I've come across but might seem strange includes cow tongue, ox tail (a personal favorite), goat meat, and various exotic seafood, like urchin, though that might be the most disgusting thing i've ever ate.
and of course, colorado's native dish, mother fucking cow balls. delicious when fried.
