Jaunted

Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Restaurants / → All Tags

Food That's Good to the Last Eyeball

That's more like it! After we scolded Andrew for going soft in Australia last week, this episode he got back to the truly bizarre with a food trek through Singapore.

We usually think of the tiny city-state as being more modern than exotic, but between its Chinese and Indian populations, there are sure still some crazy eats here, and we can at least say this for Singapore eaters: they finish their meals. As in, they eat every animal down to the last bizarre morsel.

Andrew slurped some soup made from the throwaway parts of pigs at People's Park, bit into steamed shark heads at Tin Jin Hi Seafood Restaurant, devoured fish eyeballs at Banana Leaf Apollo, and even sampled some deer penis at Lee's Restaurant (it soothes a bad back, apparently – who knew?)

Travel Channel's got the info for all the bizarre eateries Andrew visited, so you can be sure where to check out (or avoid) when next in Singapore.

Related Stories:
· Singapore Travel Guide [Bizarre Foods]
· 'Bizarre Foods' Aren't Far From Home, Especially Roadkill [Jaunted]
· The Real Outback Steakhouse [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Andrew Zimmern / Australia / Sydney / → All Tags

'Bizarre Foods' in Eastern Australia Cuts a Slice of Tiger Pie

Is it just us, or did Andrew Zimmern kind of take this week off? Sure there was a new episode of Bizarre Foods, but it was decidedly un-bizarre; we'd eat all of it no problem.

Andrew was in Eastern Australia this week in what seemed like a less-intense mode after a rough time in the Outback. What we mean is, he went to the Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach and ate Vegemite; is this "Bizarre Foods" or "Bridget's Sexiest Beaches"?

We will concede that he did find some bugs to eat, but even those were in a stir fry—not exactly the slimy and hardcore chewing we expect of Andrew. In all fairness, he does a great job as a not-so-crazy travel host, since he actually got us pretty excited about hitting up Oz for some tiger pie and Wagyu steak.

We're hoping to get our usual dose of gross eating next week when Zimmern heads to Singapore. Just promise us one thing, Z: no more steaks!

Related Stories:
· Eastern Australia Travel Guide [Bizarre Foods]
· The Real Outback Stekhouse [Jaunted]
· Bridget's 'Sexiest Beaches' Is Not Exactly Blowing Our Minds [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Appalachia / Television Travel / → All Tags

'Bizarre Foods' Aren't Far From Home, Especially Roadkill

Forget the wilds of Africa, the far extents of the Outback, and the weirder side of Asia. This week, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern went where it's really, truly bizarre—America—or, as Sarah Palin might say, "the real America" of Appalachia.

Brave Andrew sampled the trashy (chicken-fried squirrel), the classy (squirrel au vin), and the scary (squirrel brains). Along the way, he managed to fit in some less kitschy, freshly killed treats like brook trout, venison stew and mushroom coffee—the next foodie trend?

For the record, we should state that most people in West Virginia don't regularly chow down on roadkill. In fact, when we checked out the menu at Ember, the Snowshoe Mountain eatery where Andrew tried all that squirrel, we didn't see one furry critter on the regular menu. It was all the usual down-home trendy options like "lamb chop 3-way" and plum-roasted duck. What gives? Nonetheless, we will be having some of that lamb chop, thank you very much.

Related Stories:
· Appalachia Travel Guide [Travel Channel]
· West Virginia travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Drinking Dirt Soup and Banana Beer in Tanzania [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Outback travel / → All Tags

The Real Outback Steakhouse

We're a little peeved with the Outback Steakhouse right not, because Andrew Zimmern visited the Aussie Outback on the latest episode of Bizarre Foods, and there was not a bloomin' onion in sight. WTF?

In fact, we didn't even see any steaks at all on his journeys with Aboriginal people in the Outback, although we're not actually that surprised. He did find plenty of great eats, from the legs of poisonous toads, to the hearts of wallabies and even the dirt from termite mounds (apparently, they're great for digestion and taste fresher near the top – who knew?).

If you've still got an appetite, we actually thought the Mindil Beach Sunset Market looked pretty cool and is definitely going on any potential Aussie itinerary. After green ants and termite mounds, how bad can fried emu taste?

Related Stories:
· Outback Travel Guide [Travel Channel]
· Outback travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Drinking Dirt Soup and Banana Beer in Tanzania [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Spas / BBQ / → All Tags

Sweat It Out in a Sauna While You BBQ Your Meats

This week's Bizarre Foods saw host Andrew Zimmern visiting the weirder side of Seoul, South Korea, where the emphasis was on undercooked foods – and by undercooked, we mean still moving.

We're fans of fried octopus, but not when it's cooked just to the point that the tentacles are still squirming around as you pick them up with chopsticks. And no, we're not so comforted by the knowledge that dipping them in sesame oil helps stop the suckers from gripping onto the inside of your mouth. Ack! Once you mention a food item "gripping onto the inside of your mouth," we've pretty much lost our appetite.

The same goes for mudfish, which sound pretty unappetizing already, and don't get any more so when we see they're tossed into the soup still flipping around. We like to eat after the food has lost all chance of jumping out of the bowl.

But one place we were taken with was Zimmern's stop at a charcoal BBQ/sauna. Yes, you can work up an appetite while relaxing inside a steam room, and then order up a tableful of BBQ meats – all barely cooked of course. Now that's more like it. How long before a BBQ/sauna opens in New York?

Related Stories:
· South Korea Travel Guide [Travel Channel]
· Lounging In The Jjimjilbang Is As Cool As It Sounds [Jaunted]
· Drinking Dirt Soup and Banana Beer in Tanzania [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]

Bizarre Foods / Food Travel / Beer Travel / Banana Beer / → All Tags

Drinking Dirt Soup and Banana Beer in Tanzania

Bizarre Foods, everyone's favorite will-it-or-won't-it-make-us-puke show, is back for another season on the Travel Channel, and the first episode found host Andrew Zimmern hanging out with the Masai people in Tanzania.

We were down with the wildlife shots in the Garden of Eden and the scenery around the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, but Andrew's meals of blood soup, dirt soup, and gooey, gelatinous okra soup had us inching towards the "will" side of the puke question.

That is until he hit the last segment and we found out about banana beer. Who knew this was even possible? And we've just been letting our bananas sit there in the fruit bowl and go bad all these years! Andrew doesn't drink, so we didn't get a heads-up on what it tastes like, but we're intrigued. Which got us wondering whether there are any Tanzanian restaurants stateside.

We've been googling and so far have come up empty – just this one place in Toronto, but no banana beer on the menu. Anyone? Is it possible to try banana beer this side of Dar es Salaam? Let us know.

Related Stories:
· Tanzania Travel Guide [Travel Channel]
· Tanzania Travel [Jaunted]
· Beer travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Travel Channel]