The Chinese are known for their readiness to eat anything. Why else would they say that they will “eat anything with legs that's not a table and anything that flies that's not an airplane”? It's a saying that I've heard many times from various Chinese people I've met. I actually had a chance to prove this to myself when I visited Zhejiang this year with my colleague Sara.

We didn't really set out looking for strange food. We were quite well looked after and the standard of the food that we were served was really high. I've said it before and I'll say it again, some of the best food that I've eaten in my whole life were from Zhejiang.

So, no, we didn't traipse off to some night market purposely looking for strange Chinese food. I've seen various Western food shows about Chinese cuisine that emphasize exotic street food, you know, insects like grasshoppers and scorpions on sticks. Some locals I've asked said that those types of food were mostly for tourists anyway and not something they'd necessarily eat themselves. I've also been told, though, that Cantonese cuisine might have more exotic ingredients on the menu than in the rest of China. Note to self: next time, go to Hongkong or Guangdong to investigate this.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to mention that I'm originally from the Philippines, which has its share of weird food (duck balut, anyone?). Some of the food that I mention in this article are things that I don't necessarily consider strange and have eaten countless times. I'm trying to approach this from a Western viewpoint, though, so I'm including anything that has made my colleagues or Western friends cringe or pull a “but-that's-so-disgusting-how-could-you-eat-that” face when I mention eating them.

Duck tongue. I've never eaten duck tongue before and I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant to try this. It was served fried and everyone at the table made a point of saying that it was a delicacy. As guests of honor, we were, of course, served first. Duck tongue was really quite enjoyable, if a bit irritating to eat, because it was quite long. Sara also has a bone to pick with, well, the bony structure of the duck tongue. But, once you get past the thought that you're eating something that came out of a duck's mouth (or bill), I think you'll enjoy this.

Mmmm... duck tongue... (Image: Radio86)I was also a bit surprised to find that duck tongue was quite freely available in Carrefour and Tesco. They were packed in foil bags in the snacks section, pretty near where you'll look for potato chips. Just reheat and serve.

Chicken feet. This is a popular street food not only in China but in other parts of Asia, so it was something I had eaten before. As with most strange food, I think once you get past the mental barrier of “but-it-looks-yucky,” you're halfway home. I remember Sara pointing out during a teahouse lunch that the problem with chicken feet was just that it looked like, hmmm, fingers. It didn't help that the dish we were served that day featured chicken feet in all its pale glory.

Like duck tongue, there's not much meat in chicken feet. Since it's mostly skin and tendons, it has a texture that's quite different from your usual chicken fillet. Remember to spit out the small bones and forget trying to find a graceful way of eating chicken feet. Just grab one and start gnawing.

In restaurants, chicken feet is sometimes listed on the menu as “Phoenix talons,” which sounds a lot nicer, of course.

Offal. Offal, or the internal organs of animals, has been a staple of peasant cooking for centuries. In developed countries like the United Kingdom, it's even making a comeback, thanks partly to the efforts of celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay. In China and most parts of Asia, offal has never been taken off the dinner table.

The important thing to keep in mind is that offal needs to be properly cleaned before it is cooked and served, otherwise, you'll have both health and taste issues. In Wenzhou, we were served a clear soup made from tripe. It was a simple soup really, with only some finely chopped spring onions thrown in with the spices. But it was good!

Fermented tofu is also (in)famously known as "stinky tofu." (Image: Radio86)We were also served soup that had cubes of blood (I think it was duck's but I'm not sure) in it. Sara also remembers a particular soup flavored with rehydrated dried pork skin as the only dish she didn't really like. Something about the seemingly gigantic pores in the skin where the fur comes out of seems to have turned her off.

Fermented tofu. Although I'm a big fan of tofu, I wasn't quite sure how I'd react to being served fermented tofu. I've just heard too many stories about people actually throwing up because of the smell, hence, its (in)famous name “stinky tofu.” We were served stinky tofu at a very special restaurant in Hangzhou that served dishes based on Traditional Chinese Medicine principles. The dish was billed as “anti-fatigue tofu” and you know, it was quite tasty. The texture was a cross between silken and regular tofu.

Of course, the stink issue has to be addressed... it did stink, think really bad morning breath. That being said, this is something I'll be more than happy to try again. I'm not sure I can get it through customs without the K-9 unit going berserk though.

This list of the strange and weird is by no means complete, since I wrote only about things that were served to us in restaurants when we visited Zhejiang. I'm sure there are readers out there who've had far wilder food experiences than Sara and I did. Tell us what's the most exotic thing you've eaten during your visit to China and we'll compile readers' submissions in a feature article.

In the meantime, happy eating!