Extreme Eating Edit
Consider A Side Of Beak With That Rice

The Chinese don’t believe in wasting any part of an animal when it comes to their cuisine. Nose to tail eating is common practice. In grocery stores, poultry is sold with heads still attached, beak and all. No appetite for the whole animal? No problem. Individual chicken heads and pig noses are saran-wrapped and ready for consumption in the deli department.

Feet are a delicacy too, whether they stem from piglets or birds of a feather. Those who have gone for traditional Dim Sum know that chicken feet are a common menu item. 

In fine Chinese restaurants, don’t be surprised to find deer placenta or even uterus on the menu. No organ goes wasted in Asia; coolers are packed with hearts, livers, intestines and tripe, the lovely, rippled lining of beef stomach.

Flora and fauna from the sea that might not be considered edible in the west are consumed eagerly in the east, ranging from the not so odd seaweed varieties to the more peculiar shark fins and sea cucumbers.

Keep an open mind when travelling, but remember, the saying is, “when in Rome,” not “when in China,” so think twice or make sure you have a cast-iron stomach before you “do as the Chinese do.”