Les petites bêtes a/k/a unusual food

One thing about travel that is both fascinating and challenging are the foods. When my parents traveled to China for my dad's work at Boeing, they would say the food was fabulous - so long as you didn't ask what was in it!

I took a few photos of some foods you all might find interesting.

These are tiny little, lightly-pickled octopi. I've eaten octopus before in sushi, etc., so I wasn't squeamish about trying these. The most disconcerting thing about them are that the heads are attached.






Here is a picture of Pierre eating what he calls, "les petites bêtes" (little beasts).



These are something you won't find in the U.S. They are "boudin noir" (black sausage). It is blood sausage.(fn.1) Black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled.





I didn't try this - it was something Jacqueline picked up special for Pierre and wasn't a dish that all the family ate. I believe the reason it cannot be sold in the U.S. is because blood and spinal/brain products cannot be sold out of fear of mad-cow disease, etc. I'm not positive about that though.


This next picture is someting much more palatable. It is "marron glace," which is an ice cream made from chestnuts. It is very good!






We'll end this post with something cute: hearts and flowers shaped sugar "cubes." I can't wait until these hit the U.S. market.



fn. 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding