Growing up with my parents meant I ate everything. We were watching Fear Factor once (remember that show?) where the contestants were struggling to eat balut. My parents asked, “So what’s the challenge?” I’m a much tamer eater now, but at dinner the other night, I tried three new things to be adventurous.

Adventurous Dish #1: The first dish, pictured above, was a skewer of beef tongue.
Would-I-Make-It-Again-For-Dinner Rating: It was nicely seasoned, but the texture made me feel like I was eating… someone’s tongue. It gave me the heebie jeebies!

Adventurous Dish #2: Uni, roe and crab rice bowl.
Would-I-Make-It-Again-For-Dinner Rating: Once I stopped thinking about how much the sea urchin looked like a piece of a brain (which is much creepier than seeing a whole brain—like where did the rest of the brain go? Is it hiding somewhere in the bowl?) it tasted not bad. It didn’t make me want to run out and get extra like this does, but I’m okay with that.

Adventurous Dish #3: Takowasa (raw octopus marinated in wasabi)
Would-I-Make-It-Again-For-Dinner Rating: Our Japanese friend loves this dish. It was like eating wasabi-flavored corn nuts, if corn nuts were soft and chewy with an al dente bite. I could see this being a fun alternative to bean dip for a party.

Would you try these? Are there things you would never eat? Or would you try anything at least once? What’s the craziest thing you last ate? 


And a few more pictures from dinner, if you’d like to see…