Some of the finer restaurants that still stubbornly serve the "treat" provide the diner with a pair of goggles to protect the eyes. Yes, it is served in some fine restaurants. And yes, the maggots are served alive--once they die the cheese quickly becomes more toxic.
The cheese is so acidic it burns the mouth--the result of the rotting cheese having been drenched with hundreds of maggots' digestive juices.
The wriggling larvae are not digested by the body, but survive the human digestive tract long enough to breed. The aggressive and hungry hatching maggots attempt to eat through the intestinal walls causing intense pain, violent vomiting, bloody stools and even death.
Some--but not all--people prefer to brush off the crawling maggots before enjoying the delicacy.
Those that are rushed to hospitals usually pull through.
Usually.
3. Sannakji (Live baby octopus)
Octopus is ubiquitous across Asia. An especially treasured dish is baby octopus. Considered a delicacy, many Japanese and Koreans will serve baby octopus as a special treat to honored guests who come to dinner.
In Korea, "sannakji" is baby octopi served live.
At the dining table the chef wields a large cleaver honed to a razor edge and tenderly chops the living tentacles into bite-sized pieces. The violently squirming appendages are then carefully seasoned with a light sprinkling of fragrant sesame oil and presented to hungry diners immediately.
Ever have a parent tell you not to play with your food when you were a child? With this dish you have to fight with your food.
The tentacles fight back you as you try to eat them. Pieces will crawl up your chopsticks, wrap themselves stubbornly around them, and try to escape from your mouth. They'll grab onto your nose, lips, teeth, gums, tongue--even the roof of your mouth--in a desperate attempt not to go down your throat.
All of that is considered part of the enjoyable experience.
When you finally get the rubbery, writhing, squirming bits down your throat, make sure you've chewed them sufficiently; if you haven't they might stubbornly lodge themselves there and then you have a problem.
A significant number of people nearly choke to death on this living dish virtually every day. Some find they've taken too big a "bite" and the tentacles exact revenge by clogging up the diner's throat and cutting off the air supply.
Incidents have occurred where heroic waitstaff ram long chopsticks down gagging, bug-eyed patrons' throats trying to free up the air passage before their customer dies right at the table.
The cheese is so acidic it burns the mouth--the result of the rotting cheese having been drenched with hundreds of maggots' digestive juices.
The wriggling larvae are not digested by the body, but survive the human digestive tract long enough to breed. The aggressive and hungry hatching maggots attempt to eat through the intestinal walls causing intense pain, violent vomiting, bloody stools and even death.
Some--but not all--people prefer to brush off the crawling maggots before enjoying the delicacy.
Usually.
3. Sannakji (Live baby octopus)
Octopus is ubiquitous across Asia. An especially treasured dish is baby octopus. Considered a delicacy, many Japanese and Koreans will serve baby octopus as a special treat to honored guests who come to dinner.
In Korea, "sannakji" is baby octopi served live.
At the dining table the chef wields a large cleaver honed to a razor edge and tenderly chops the living tentacles into bite-sized pieces. The violently squirming appendages are then carefully seasoned with a light sprinkling of fragrant sesame oil and presented to hungry diners immediately.
Ever have a parent tell you not to play with your food when you were a child? With this dish you have to fight with your food.
The tentacles fight back you as you try to eat them. Pieces will crawl up your chopsticks, wrap themselves stubbornly around them, and try to escape from your mouth. They'll grab onto your nose, lips, teeth, gums, tongue--even the roof of your mouth--in a desperate attempt not to go down your throat.
All of that is considered part of the enjoyable experience.
When you finally get the rubbery, writhing, squirming bits down your throat, make sure you've chewed them sufficiently; if you haven't they might stubbornly lodge themselves there and then you have a problem.
A significant number of people nearly choke to death on this living dish virtually every day. Some find they've taken too big a "bite" and the tentacles exact revenge by clogging up the diner's throat and cutting off the air supply.
Incidents have occurred where heroic waitstaff ram long chopsticks down gagging, bug-eyed patrons' throats trying to free up the air passage before their customer dies right at the table.
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