The other night we went to Tokkuri Tei, one of my favorite izakayas (Japanese taverns) on Kapahulu Avenue.
I hadn’t been to its new location at the Hee Hing Plaza, and I already knew exactly what I was going to order.
And that list didn’t include the really weird natto ice cream dessert I saw on the menu.
Get this: it’s natto with vanilla ice cream topped with corn flakes, a Jack Daniels caramel sauce and strips of shiso.
Seriously.
But don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it. It actually wasn’t that bad. Somehow — somehow — these strange flavors worked, even with the natto and strips of shiso.
This has to be, just based on ingredients alone, the strangest thing I’ve ever eaten — and tolerated.
What’s the weirdest dish you’ve had — and actually liked?
The weirdest was pickled jellyfish. It was exceptionally chewy and the flavor was pretty good. Had it in a restaurant in Chongqing.
I actually tried this a few years ago and it was TOLERABLE. I wouldn’t say I actually liked it
I have had cold jelly fish salad… I think it was at Beijing Restaurant @ the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. No real flavor of it’s own, but it was very chewy.
Cold jellyfish salad — maybe that’s what I had. (See above post.) It was definitely chewy. I don’t think I’d order it again… You?
Hello Cat, I have eaten fugu and fried grass hopper or crickets in Japan. Both where guud and I would eat it again.
I also ate BBQ rocky mountain oysters on the Big Island. That was pretty guud.
You had fugu??? Did you have to sign a liability waiver or anything???
CAT: The weirdest fuud I ate was sweetbreads in France. Like most French cooking, everything was in the sauce.
Oh, sweetbreads. That’s such false advertising, no?
Hey Cat … mmmm … vanilla ice cream … I think maybe anything on vanilla ice cream wouldn’t be so bad … but I think the dessert you had would’ve been even better drizzled with chocolate sauce …
… I’m not adventurous with food … so no strange food combos …
… but I have tried some unusual foods like some of the others mentioned … the crickets, the buffalo meat, the frog legs … yum … ok, not … well, not bad … but not something I’m anxious to try again …
Nothing? None? I think crickets are weird! And I’ve never had frog legs. It’s not something I’d ever want to try, either. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps!
Probably the strangest food i’ve had was muskrat, opossum, and nutria all had the same kind of gamy flavor. Not so strange but exotic would be Gator and Rattlesnake.
Those are strange meats, for sure! There’s a website — http://www.exoticmeatsandmore.com — where you can order all these unusual meats. It’s crazy!
Mochi crunch (arare) on vanilla ice cream. Sounds weird, but the sweet/salty, cruchy/creamy really works. Promise!
That actually sounds pretty good!
umm…horse sushi, probably, for me. I’m pretty open to eating anything (and liking it). the jellyfish that DJ and Pam mentioned? standard and ono. AD’s sweetbreads? my go to if it’s on the menu.
often, it’s the normally discarded cuts of meat that are the most flavorful, and it’s often the most unusual combinations that sing. I’m willing to try anything once and it usually turns into more than once.
Horse sushi??? That’s not high on my list of must-eats! How was it?
My mother-in-law’s Cantonese minced pork dish. It looks like grey barf and smells like pickles, but it grew on me!