Everyone who walks into a restaurant is expecting to find normal cuisine that people usually eat, but what if you were to walk into a restaurant and see a reptile or an insect listed on the menu? If you are not used to such cuisine you will probably walk out of that restaurant instantly, and it is true, there are restaurants in the world that serve nasty creatures that are terrifying, including the crawling insects that you wouldn't dare to eat if you are used to eating normal food. All the entries that I have included on this list are served in restaurants, and people who are curious about eating some of the unusual food that I have listed here are the ones who are the main customers in these restaurants. However, this list is almost similar to the list written by Simon about "10 animals that people eat alive" but the entries that I have listed here are not eaten alive, and they are very rare and different.
10. Whale/Dolphin Meat
A fish is some of the most delicious food that you will usually find in any restaurant's menu, and although a whale may also be a fish, people do not eat it. A whale meat, often called Kurija, is known to be sold in Japanese fish markets and served in some restaurants, but it is illegal in other regions, including America. One of California's sushi-restaurants were investigated to have been serving whale meat and it was charged with violating federal laws against selling marine mammals. In Japan, Dolphin/Whale meat is legal and it is still sold and served in the local sushi restaurants.
9. Turtle
Turtles have been served in restaurants for the past centuries, but still, it is a very rare animal that is known as a cuisine by most people. Usually a turtle is used to make soup in some restaurants in America, including the Commanders Palace restaurant in New Orleans, The Big Easy Creole Kitchen in Denver, Acadia in Washington, and a few other restaurants around the world.
8. Crickets and Grasshoppers
Insects are the most annoying creepy crawlies that most people don't even want to see in their homes, but in some restaurants these crawlies are served as food. The EU investigated the nutritional benefits of eating insects, and in some countries it has not yet been declared that insects can be served as food to people. In Archipelago, a central restaurant in London, they serve the love-bug salad, which consists of locusts and crickets that are pan-fried with chilli and garlic and served with rocket leaves and spinach.
7. An Alligator
An alligator is some of the most dangerous reptiles, and if you didn't know that it can be cooked and eaten, well... now you know. In some menus of restaurants that serve alligator meat, you may find smoked Louisiana alligator ribs, stir-fried alligator meat and curry, and other different cooked alligator meat. The restaurants that serve these dishes of an alligator meat are the Frontier in Chicago and the Marcela's Creole Cookery in Seattle, including the Pattaya Thai Cuisine in Philadelphia.
6. Scorpions
Considered as an insect cuisine in some Chinese restaurants, a scorpion is served to people in a very few restaurants in China. A restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo, also serve this type of insect, and I am really talking about giant scorpions, not the little ones that you can normally find crawling somewhere in your Garden, your basement or anywhere else under a rock in your yard. The scorpions are fried and served to customers in a restaurant, which are called "sasori no kaarage" – the name that is used to describe these crawlies on the menu.
5. Lion Meat
Lions are usually known as wildlife animals that nobody can think of eating. Its meat can be bought from operations in the U.S. that are affiliated with butchering and breeding lions and sell them for meat, but it is a very rare meat that you can find served in any restaurants. A restaurant known for selling exotic meats – Arizona restaurant, included lion meat on their menu. But it was not long till the restaurant's owner, Bryan Mazon, started receiving threats against serving the big cat to the public. African lions are legally permitted to be raised in farms and sold for meat – according to the World Wildlife fund laws, and the restaurant's owner did say he purchased the meat from a California farm.
4. Camel Meat
A Camel is commonly used for transportation in African deserts, especially in Egypt and mosr Arab regions, but the animal is also served on the dish by a very few Arabic restaurants. The Bin Eid Traditional restaurant is also one of the few Deira eateries that serve camel meat. Another eatery in Saudi Arabia, is serving specialties such as "camel burgers". Although these burgers are very rare, camel liver have long been on the menu of a number of upmarket restaurants in the Gulf Arab state. Various nutrition experts said the meat is no danger to the health of the people in the Arab region where the meat is served, and it is also said that the meat it is low in fat.
3. Rats
In Bihar, a rat is not an unwanted or ignored reptile as we would normally react to it when we see one. In fact, in many restaurants across Bihar, rats are served along with various delicacies. The Bihar Government was said to have made proposals for rat farming to popularize consumption of protein-rich rat meat.
2. Monkey meat
Monkey are the only animals in the world that looks almost just like humans, but it has already found its way to the restaurant dishes served to humans. Yes, this one sounds very unbelievable and when you begin to imagine a monkey being slaughtered for its flesh to be eaten, as a normal person who does not eat it, you can be disgusted. Serving monkey meat in restaurants is extremely illegal in regions under most governments in the world. In china, two restaurants were shut down when it was found that it served infant monkey meats and other wildlife. In 2007, CNN and other various news publications reported that immigrants from West Africa were going against US laws about eating monkey meat as part of their cultural heritage.
1. Dog Meat
China is where the discoveries of dog meat served in restaurants are likely to be made. There are markets in China that sells dogs and cats for slaughter and human consumption. The form of disgust with Chinese food served in restaurants had long came into the spotlight and many animal rights campaigners are yet still trying to stop dog meat trades in China. At first, this was thought to be a myth by a lot of people back in the years, but as modern news reporters dig deeper, these discoveries where put into the spotlight. If you are looking for weird food, China is the place to visit – from cicadas, worms, scorpions and so on, there's enough weird food that can make you sick for a week if you're disgusted by them.
