Sure, we appreciate the odd Instagram post of a mighty Sunday roast you’ve discovered at an edgy pub. But it’s never going to grab our attention as much as a snap of a rattlesnake sausage, is it?
After Time Out found that 31% of city dwellers across 18 cities admit to Instagramming their food, they rounded up some of the weirder dishes they’ve found around the globe so you can try them for yourselves – and, yes, then show off about it afterwards.
You just might want to consider putting a nice filter on some of these delicacies…
1. Tapioca marshmallows at London’s Chicama
What’s so weird about marshmallows, you ask? Well, these are made from cooked-down tapioca, which comes from the root of the cassave plant and tastes kinda… cheesy.
Yep, while they sound Flump-like, the treats actually have a delicious crispy cheesiness (from parmesan) and are served with a vibrant red chilli sauce.
2. Raindrop cake at New York’s Smogasborg
Forget water for just plain old drinking, in New York it’s being used as inspiration for a mesmerising, jelly-like dessert. And you gotta admit, Mizu shingen mochi does look remarkably like a giant raindrop.
Darren Wong’s version of the Japanese dish is solidified with a vegetable gelatine and served over brown sugar syrup for that sweet edge, as well as roasted soy flour. We admit it doesn’t sound as tasty as big ol’ slab of, say, cheesecake but when a dessert looks this cool, we’ll always give it a try.
3. Go fishing at Tokyo’s Zauo
While we’re totally for making going out for dinner an experience, Zauo is really taking it far – you’re given a fishing rod and bait and sit around a moat filled with fish inside the restaurant. Whatever you catch, you eat.
And we’re not talking battered fish and chips, either…scorpion fish might end up on your plate, and you can only season with salt and lemon. It sure doesn’t sound like an easy breezy way to dine – you might be waiting a while to catch anything – but it makes for a great travel anecdote, hey?
4. Pig tails at Lisbon’s Pigmeu
If you like pork, this is your sorta place. If not – well, you might struggle.
The chefs at Pigmeu use the whole animal in their cooking and the dish using pig tails, called rabinhos de porco molho agridoce, is served with a sweet and sour sauce.
There’s also a salad containing pig ears or you could try pezinhos à coentrada (pig’s trotters with coriander). It’s sure gonna put anyone Instagramming a simple bacon sarnie to shame…
5. Rattlesnake sausage at Los Angeles’s Wurstküche
Over in LA, and there’s an exotic grilled sausage restaurant which certainly looks like they know a thing or two about a hot dog.
You could be a bit, well, boring and go for Wurstküche’s traditional Polish-style kielbasa. But if you’re feeling a bit ballsy, they also do one made with rabbit and rattlesnake – we bet that will get you a few likes on social media.
6. Marie Antoinette’s head at Miami’s Barton G
Candyfloss is one of those foods that is just meant to be photographed – damn, it’s just so colourful and fluffy. And at Barton G, it’s being used to its full potential as a powdered pompadour wig that’s part of a cake homage to Marie Antoinette.
Among other uniquely-presented dishes here are popcorn shrimp served in a real popcorn box and – boy do we love how weird this one is – coconut-cream overflowing from a bathtub that’s decorated with tiny rubber ducks.
7. Jibarito sandwich at Chicago’s El Nuevo Borinquen
Honestly, we feel a bit overwhelmed at what’s going on in this jibarito sandwich… yep, there’s your standard steak and salad and latherings of sauce inside – but then the bread? That’s actually plantain.
The banana-like food makes for a juicy alternative and now we need to go to Chicago please.
8. Stinky tofu at Hong Kong’s street food markets
You’d think they might have foregone a name like “stinky tofu”, even if the method behind this dish is soaking the tofu and leaving it to rot in a brine of milk, vegetables and meat for months. Mmmmm…
But, if you can withstand the smell, the end result sounds pretty appetising. The cubes are deep fried so they’re crispy on the outside, with a creamy texture on the inside, and a sweet and spicy sauce on top. Hong Kong, we’ve got to hand it to you; we’ve never wanted to eat something so disgusting-sounding this much before.
9. Blood sausage ‘sundae’ at Seoul’s Dongwonjip
Look, we thought exactly the same as you – how on earth is this called a “sundae”?! But head over to Seoul any time soon, and you could try this apparent hangover cure, which is actually blood sausage stuffed with noodles and definitely not any sort of ice cream-based dish.
With ingredients including pig’s head and small intestines, we’re pretty sure our alcohol-filled stomachs would be churning still… but if you like things like haggis, maybe you’ll be okay at keeping it down and even enjoy it. Maybe.
10. Creepy-crawlies at Paris’s Le Festin Nu
Come on, surely in a list of weird and wonderful foods, you were expecting insects of some description to come up somewhere… and these Parisian delights are made with locusts and mealworms. You’ve probably heard before how the critters are meant to be really good for you, but we get you might still need a bit of Dutch courage to wolf ‘em down – so how about having one of Le Festin Nu’s beers on the side?
If you still need convincing, just know that the crispy shell of the insects taste like a little piece of salty croissant, according to those in the know – and later on, you might taste hints of peanut.
Course, you could always post a pic of your mate eating it on Insta and pretend you joined in… we won’t tell if you do.
