The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia as inflation has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people, according to Reuters.
A kilogramme of rat meat increased to around 5,000 riel (USD1.28) from 1,200 riel last year. It’s still cheaper than other meat though… beef for example costs about 20,000 riel a kilogramme.
Some communities in Asian and South American countries have long history of eating rats or other rodents, but food shortages and inflations have pushed others to try rat meat in recent years.
Earlier this month, a state government in eastern India encouraged its people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.
Sometimes it’s hard to relate to poverty around the world. Here we are, using high tech gadgets and surfing the web while at other corners on earth people are eating rats because they can’t afford other meat… and it’s far from being the worse scenario yet. It’s kinda sad actually.
Pig innards congee (猪杂粥) is a common delicacy in Canton-based Chinese community, i.e. Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and some parts of Malaysia and Singapore etc.
Pig innard congee, takeout from a shop in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur
The pig innards congee in Hong Kong is a bit different from those we have in Malaysia. The pork innards (liver, kidney, intestine, lungs, stomach etc.) in Hong Kong are normally cooked fresh with the congee, whereas in Malaysia the innards are pre-cooked and seasoned before adding into the congee.
Both style has its pros and cons… but the essence of the congee is with the rice porridge itself. The smoothness and thickness of the congee is often more dictating than the pork innards. The one I had in the photo for example was a bit too watery.
Chinese and some other Asians are quite accustomed to this dish, but westerners might take this as one of those bizarre food adventure.
A sushi wedding cake, some hot chillies, a few bulls running, a knighted penguin and a crime fighting turtle…
Sushi wedding cake
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Day 2 of Beijing Olympics; some random news and information…
First gold medals
Katerina Emmons from Czech
The Chinese didn’t get the first gold medal of the 2008 Olympic Games as hoped… the honour belongs to Kateřina Emmons of Czech Republic in the women’s 10m air rifle event.
The Chinese’s disappointment didn’t stand long as weightlifter Chen Xiexia captured the first gold for the country in the women’s 48kg class weightlifting event moments later.
LEGO Sport City
An exhibition is currently running at Grand Century Place in Hong Kong with the major Beijing Olympics venues being recreated in LEGO.
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A group of Korean animal rights activists held a demonstration at a large dog meat market in Seongnam-si (near Seoul) last weekend to protest against dog eating.
Koreans protest against dog eating (Image from
Chosun)
Dog meat is a common food in Korea; Koreans have been eating dog meat for thousand of years. One of the popular dishes is Bosintang (literally ‘invigorating soup’), a traditional Korean soup with dog meat as its primary ingredient which is very popular during summer season.
It’s estimated that over a million of dogs are slaughtered every year in Korea to meet market demand. The younger Korean generations however are beginning to ditch this tradition.
A Japanese firm is introducing a fizzy (or fishy?) eel-drink this summer.
Japanese love eating eels, I can understand that… as I love their Unagi dish too. But an eel-drink? That’s like… Eerrrwwwwww??
Japanese Tobacco Inc is mass producing the canned drink called Unagi Nobori (surging eel) just ahead of Japan’s annual eel-eating season.
The fizzy, yellow-coloured drink contains extracts from the head and bones of the fish and loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, D and E. [via Mainichi]
The drink is said to be tasting like boiled eel, and cost 140 yen (~USD1.30) per bottle.
It reminds me of the cucumber drink which Pepsi introduced last summer… but in terms of bizarreness, the eel drink triumph by miles.
