What I Ate Today

I was recently looking at various food television shows and stumbled upon the US series Bizarre Foods. The show is a travel documentary showcasing various unusual foods. It’s been going for three seasons now, but I don’t think it’s made it to the UK yet.

At first I have to admit to being fairly skeptical of the angle the show would take because of the impression the majority of americans give as their outlook to foreign cultures. I half expected it to be a ‘look at those freaks‘ style and highlighting anything slightly more adventurous than steak or pizza. I was wrong in the first case. The host, Andrew Zimmern seems to have a real passion for travel and food and believes the best way to get to know a culture is to taste it – something I certainly agree with. I was very wrong with what they’d class as bizarre too. I like the principle of meat thrift and I tend to try some unusual foods, most of the things he shows are way beyond me though.

So far I’ve only watched the first few episodes of the first season. He’s travelled across Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. In Japan he tried Frog Sashimi (with Beating Heart), Lizard Sake (with Lizard in the glass) and Turtle. In Thailand he tried Birds Nest Soup, Frog on a Stick and Bat. Don’t be put off though, he does also try some other less outrageous things like Kobe Beef, Durian and Yam with Cheese-Flavour Ice Cream.

I’m not aware of it being shown in the UK, but you can see some clips on YouTube. Here are some short videos they have from Season 3: