I'm not quite sure...

[ina]

...what to think of this:

MEMBERS ONLY
A Visit to Beijing's Exclusive Penis Restaurant

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zei ... 88,00.html


I mean, I know that it is a waste not to eat every edible part of an animal that's been killed - but honestly, I sometimes find it a bit difficult to get my head around the eating habits of the Chinese!

"A visit to the Guolizhuang Restaurant in Beijing is not for the faint-hearted. Here the menu consists almost entirely of penis and testicle dishes -- deer, snakes, yaks, horses, seals and ducks.

The platters have names like "The Essence of the Golden Buddha," "Phoenix Rising," "Jasmine Flowers with 1,000 Layers" and "Look for the Treasure in the Desert Sand." Are such flowery names meant to prevent guests from prematurely running off? After all, the "jasmine flowers" are made of layers of thinly sliced donkey penis, and the "treasure in the desert" is actually sheep gonads on a bed of curry. "

[Millymollymandy]

Oh dear I feel sick now! Especially reading that last line.

Though they are fractionally more appealing to me than eyeballs.

[Annpan]

Didn't they used to call it 'sweet bread'?

I'd rather eat that than the eyes too... but a members only restaurant makes it look pervy

[ina]

Must admit, sheeps' testicles (adults', not the tiny ones we take off the lambs!) look like rather decent meat; pale, like what veal used to be like, I suppose. But penis? Nibbling a dog's penis off the bone???

[glenniedragon]

yeuch membersonly indeed....

kind thoughts
Deb

[MKG]

Pile of softies, that's what you lot are!!!! And a lot of you eat bloody haggis!!!! Now there's an off-putting foodstuff if ever I saw one (yes, I have tasted it and wished I hadn't bothered - it was the one thing about my 2-year Scotland stint that I didn't like).

C'mon, Gaels. Toughen up!.

[johnhcrf]

I beg to disagree, MKG. Haggis is a taste of Burn's Scotland. I love it as long as it is unpackaged!


John.

[MKG]

Ooooh - an opportunity. OK - I've always told everyone who didn't like Black Pudding that they had simply missed out on the good stuff. Could the same be true for my experience with haggis? Would this be the time to begin a thread for challenging recipes - including, possibly, Rillettes of Yak's Penis?

[Shirley]

Like black pudding, there are good and bad haggis recipes. I love it, but have had some that were pretty rubbish. Don't judge by just one haggis :D Each butcher has his own recipe, and each butcher proclaims to have the best one.

[ina]

And there are even massive differences in the veggie haggis...

But I still can't get over the red cherry on top of the penis bone.

[johnhcrf]

Black pudding, haggis beautiful. Penis based food eughhh!

John.

[Millymollymandy]

I felt sick before and I hadn't even read the article.

This bit makes me laugh:

The second course, called "Henry's whip," is much more delicate and sweet. It's sheep's penis on a stick, covered in a sheath of mayonnaise and sweet cheese. It's called "Henry" because it's prepared in a Western style, Lucy says.

Excuse me? Where in the 'west' do they eat things covered with mayonnaise and sweet (whatever that is) cheese? That's sounds pretty disgusting too!

[ina]

Yeah, I thought that, too.

I'm all for using every bit of the animal that can be used; I think what I find so revolting is this making something special of it - serving just penis based food, charging a fortune for it, and pretending it's anything better than a good old roast!

And, of course, decorating it with a red cherry.

[Thomzo]

Oh for goodness sake. Why can't they just shove 'em in sausages like we do in this country?

[ina]

Oh for goodness sake. Why can't they just shove 'em in sausages like we do in this country?

Not enough profit in it, I suppose...