Eddie Lin is coming out with a new book called “Extreme Cuisine” (Lonely Planet publishing). In his blog ( http://www.deependdining.com/2009/10/get-copy-of-my-book-extreme-cuisine-for.html ) he asks people to comment on the types of food they won’t ever eat. For me, it’s been about eating animals I consider ‘friends and family’, i.e. dogs, horses, etc.
I’ve done my share of traveling the world and have eaten some weird stuff over the years. Probably the most surprising was Wisos.
What is Wisos, you ask?
I was in Vietnam a few years back on a month-long tour of the country. I spent a few days in the mountain range in central vietnam, specifically doing a 4-day motorcycle route through the mountains along the Ho Chi Minh trail.
One of my goals was to sample the local food, and especially to find some Weasel Coffe, a type of coffee that makes it through the digestive tract of a local weasel. My local guide promised that we’ll find some to buy at one of the bigger towns we’ll get to, but meanwhile we’ll sample Vietnamese cuisine along the way.
Somewhere along day two or three, he promised me some special local food – Wisos. I couldn’t figure out what Wisos was, nor did my book about Vietnam talk about it, so I resolved to wait and see. And so after a bone jarring ride through a gravel road (still on a motorcycle), we stopped at a local restaurant where the guide ordered for both of us.
When my plate arrived, I examined it carefully but couldn’t see anything that didn’t look like minced beef with some spices. It tasted somewhat gamy but I still couldn’t figure out what it is so I asked again.
“Wisos, wisos!” said my guide. “Wisos, like the animal from the coffee.”
Apparently Weasels are good for more than eating coffee. They’re also good for eating.
What of the coffee – you ask? I bought some later on and brought it back to the states where I held a little weasel coffee tasting party. About half the people tried it. A later google search found that the brand I bought was actually chemically treated (with man-made chemicals, not weasel-made ones) so I guess I still haven’t quite sampled weasel coffee…
Filed under: Travel Food
