as a young first generation canadian born asian, i admit none of these things are very very odd to me, having the benefit of consistent exposure from the early onset of childhood and integration of traditional asian culture with that of canadian culture. ....save for the maggot cheese and corn fungus of which are vomit inducing to say the least.
personally... the stench of durian is something i've been long accustomed to, that aside, it is quite good. although i've been losing my taste for it, having the inclination for other very specific things. (i'm a pretty picky eater) i've had bird's nest soup before from my parents... even upon discovering its origins. its 'health benefits' granted, had been elaborated on... and although its not proven (being more inclined towards science myself), some of the ancient traditional medicinal herbs do work, miraculously, such as the bird's nest. my beloved aunt is quite a good storyteller, and doesn't exaggerate on too much -it was given to me as such, no negotiations or contradiction to your elders: its expensive and composed of the saliva of birds, its good for you, so eat it.
balut -something very common in phillipino culture. my friend spoke of how she heard of its properties granting temporary intellectual abilities and how she had it regularly as a snack whilst still living in the phillipines prior to exams. i found that a bit disgusting at the time but shortly after, had a recollection of my parents or some other explaining a similar circumstance. interesting...
live octopus, common in korea... -as a child, i liked seafood. therefore, i ate octopus. cooked. i no longer enjoy seafood and least of all, octopus. but it was pretty good before my food discrimation stage :]
duck blood -my friend had it for breakfast recently... (say maybe 3 days ago) well, or blood pudding? something congealed in that sense.
snail caviar -my mother had a whole lot ordered at some point. two binfuls i must say? i never set foot inside my kitchen for the slightest purpose for that entire week. ;[
personally...
the stench of durian is something i've been long accustomed to, that aside, it is quite good. although i've been losing my taste for it, having the inclination for other very specific things. (i'm a pretty picky eater)
i've had bird's nest soup before from my parents... even upon discovering its origins. its 'health benefits' granted, had been elaborated on... and although its not proven (being more inclined towards science myself), some of the ancient traditional medicinal herbs do work, miraculously, such as the bird's nest. my beloved aunt is quite a good storyteller, and doesn't exaggerate on too much -it was given to me as such, no negotiations or contradiction to your elders: its expensive and composed of the saliva of birds, its good for you, so eat it.
balut -something very common in phillipino culture. my friend spoke of how she heard of its properties granting temporary intellectual abilities and how she had it regularly as a snack whilst still living in the phillipines prior to exams. i found that a bit disgusting at the time but shortly after, had a recollection of my parents or some other explaining a similar circumstance. interesting...
live octopus, common in korea... -as a child, i liked seafood. therefore, i ate octopus. cooked. i no longer enjoy seafood and least of all, octopus. but it was pretty good before my food discrimation stage :]
duck blood -my friend had it for breakfast recently... (say maybe 3 days ago) well, or blood pudding? something congealed in that sense.
snail caviar -my mother had a whole lot ordered at some point. two binfuls i must say? i never set foot inside my kitchen for the slightest purpose for that entire week. ;[
that's it for my half asian experience :]