NationStates Jolt Archive

No, not fish head soup, or anything like that. I'm talking about something you ordered, thinking it would be great, and then you were horrified and filled with revulsion. Some local specialty that was bad no matter how you sliced it.

I'll start:

The traditional English breakfast, as sold to tourists. Oh, the eggs and tomato were nothing out of the ordinary - but these "Oxford" sausages in a strangely clear brown gravy - one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten in my life.


After eating a few bites, I had to repair to the men's room, and throw up my breakfast.

I went to france and got some good ol' american onion rings, except they weren't onions, they were squid tentacles....

I went to france and got some good ol' american onion rings, except they weren't onion, they were squid tentacles....

Mmmm, squid rings and tentacles. You should have eaten them with lemon juice, they're yummy.

When I was in China I saw what looked like chicken or pork and I thought it may have been good. So I ate it only to find out once it was already in my mouth from the people I was with that was in fact intestine. Tasted like shit surprising I know since shit passes through said intestines on a regular basis. Intestines=bad

Weiswurst, in Germany.

It tasted like flavorless mush.

I've never eaten any revolting food in foreign countries, but my buddy Scat (that's not his real name, just a nickname and it has nothing to do with feces) was in a restaurant in Vietnam and saw Buffalo chicken tendon on the menu. He thought it was a typo and it was supposed to read Buffalo chicken tenders, but it actually was fried tendons in hot sauce. He chewed one for some time, finally gave up and spit it out.

Weiswurst, in Germany.

It tasted like flavorless mush.

Has to be cooked in broth, and then served with mustard, or yes, it's tasteless.

Greek blood sausage. I've tasted it before, but when I ordered in Cyprus one year, it was so overwhelmingly garlicy that I almost vomited on the spot.

Has to be cooked in broth, and then served with mustard, or yes, it's tasteless.

Yeah, that probably would have helped. I wasn't revolted by the fact that it was made out of brains, I was revolted by the fact it tasted like moistened paper stuffed in a tube.

Hamburgers in the Philippines.. not good. Filipino spaghetti is bearable if I've had a nice big insulin shot (not that I'm diabetic, but it couldn't hurt), but burgers there just aren't up to snuff.. you can only take the whole beef + sugar thing so far..

Most of the food I've gotten in Mexico has been great, even in Tijuana.. surprisingly few complaints there..

Yeah, that probably would have helped. I wasn't revolted by the fact that it was made out of brains, I was revolted by the fact it tasted like moistened paper stuffed in a tube.

You're in Ohio? That means if you go to southern Ohio, you should be able to get sliced brains dipped in batter, deep fried, and thrown on a sandwich bun.

Yeah, that probably would have helped. I wasn't revolted by the fact that it was made out of brains, I was revolted by the fact it tasted like moistened paper stuffed in a tube.

If it was was offered to youw without the mustard sauce, they were probably mocking the silly tourist.

I ordered a roast-chicken dish at a szechaun restaurant here in the US. it had these innocent looking shrivelly peppers, so I popped one into my mouth. Imagine smoking a joint of mustard gas...

The traditional English breakfast, as sold to tourists. Oh, the eggs and tomato were nothing out of the ordinary - but these "Oxford" sausages in a strangely clear brown gravy - one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten in my life.

it took me ages to shift those, we had to sell them to tourists so all our unwanted meat product could be exported without annoying meat export laws :)

Hamburgers in the Philippines.. not good. Filipino spaghetti is bearable if I've had a nice big insulin shot (not that I'm diabetic, but it couldn't hurt), but burgers there just aren't up to snuff.. you can only take the whole beef + sugar thing so far..

Most of the food I've gotten in Mexico has been great, even in Tijuana.. surprisingly few complaints there..
But how about the banana ketchup on those fries?

My contribution is 'pepperoni pizza' in India. We were in Delhi and ordered one after a diet of yellow dahl and chick peas. I was looking forward to those thinly sliced sausages mixed in with the cheese and sauce, but what we got was a little different. The menu should have read 'pepper on a' pizza because what we got was ground pepper on cheese and sauce. Not revolting, but not great, either.

If it was was offered to youw without the mustard sauce, they were probably mocking the silly tourist.

But I wasn't putting off the tourist vibe. The only talking I was doing was in German, and it was in good German at that! Hell, I even look the part of a local in Muenchen!

it took me ages to shift those, we had to sell them to tourists so all our unwanted meat product could be exported without annoying meat export laws :)

That's what SPAM is for.

You're in Ohio? That means if you go to southern Ohio, you should be able to get sliced brains dipped in batter, deep fried, and thrown on a sandwich bun.
Interesting...

*ponders*

Interesting...

*ponders*

Portsmouth is a rough place, but I think he means animal brains...

In the US: French toast. Seriously, what's with the sugar first thing in the morning? Mercy.

In the US: French toast. Seriously, what's with the sugar first thing in the morning? Mercy.

There's nothing quite like having a piece of smelly fish for breakfast, is there? The breakfast at a hotel in Israel had enough smelly stuff that I was happy with a croissant and some butter.

I had a vile, pale, flavorless, boiled sausage in germany that I couldnt eat.

Also I ordered a gin martini at a hotel in Florence once and was served a big glass of vermouth with a touch of gin. Couldnt drink it.

I had a vile, pale, flavorless, boiled sausage in germany that I couldnt eat.

Also I ordered a gin martini at a hotel in Florence once and was served a big glass of vermouth with a touch of gin. Couldnt drink it.

Was it the damnable Weiswurst I've been talking about, because so far your description of it fits.

That's what SPAM is for.

yea but thats americanm and calling it SBAM doesnt quite cut it :)

I had a vile, pale, flavorless, boiled sausage in germany that I couldnt eat.

sounds like weisswurst.

Interesting...

*ponders*

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3969530/

I've had the cow brain sandwiches in southern Ohio.

I've never been to other countries, but all of the stuff you're describing sounds terrible.

In the US: French toast. Seriously, what's with the sugar first thing in the morning? Mercy.There's never a bad time for sugar. :)

Was it the damnable Weiswurst I've been talking about, because so far your description of it fits.

May well have been, I ordered an assortment of things at that meal and enjoyed the rest, but that particular sausage was inedible, in my opinion.

Some weird shit in Romania. Was in the canteen of the orphanage I was volunteering in.

Two of the people with us were sick on the way back to our rooms.


On the other hand, we had this amazing sort of....steamed mince, vegetables stewy thing. Didn't have it in the orphanage though, had it in the apartment of one of the guys we met the year before who had moved into his own place. That was properly nice.

Some weird shit in Romania. Was in the canteen of the orphanage I was volunteering in.

Two of the people with us were sick on the way back to our rooms.

On the other hand, we had this amazing sort of....steamed mince, vegetables stewy thing. Didn't have it in the orphanage though, had it in the apartment of one of the guys we met the year before who had moved into his own place. That was properly nice.

Be careful of sausage in Romania. Some is made with dog meat, which can carry trichinosis.

We ate mostly our own stuff, that was the one day we ate with the orphans....bad idea....

I'll start:

The traditional English breakfast, as sold to tourists. Oh, the eggs and tomato were nothing out of the ordinary - but these "Oxford" sausages in a strangely clear brown gravy - one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten in my life.


After eating a few bites, I had to repair to the men's room, and throw up my breakfast.
Sausages really can vary greatly, and the only decent English breakfast is one homemade usually (preferably by my dad...).

Sausages really can vary greatly, and the only decent English breakfast is one homemade usually (preferably by my dad...).

I disagree with that, there used to be a cafe right outside my halls that made the best fry-ups ever, and the were only about £2 a pop as well.

I disagree with that, there used to be a cafe right outside my halls that made the best fry-ups ever, and the were only about £2 a pop as well.
I did say "usually", so you can agree, while still maintaining that this cafe rocked *nods* :p

I have never personally had bad food in my limited experiences in overseas travel. I was however happy to discover that the food I had in Mexico (it was a week-long trip to a camp there with my school) was WAY better then it looked.

As for bad food, I do know that my parents went to Southeast Asia on their honeymoon, and still talk about how you want to avoid the food in Burma at all costs.

squid in Greece... nasty :-S

bloody (literally) raw steak in France... chips swimming in blood... ewww...

No, not fish head soup, or anything like that. I'm talking about something you ordered, thinking it would be great, and then you were horrified and filled with revulsion. Some local specialty that was bad no matter how you sliced it.Nachos in the US when I was younger.

I'm a very picky eater and know how to avoid food I don't want to eat, so the scenario you describe never really happens.

I was touring Europe and spent one day in Salzburg, Austria. Everyone I went with told me to get weiner schnitzel for lunch and how good it is. So I did. Not really revolting, just not up to the expectations everyone told me to have. It was kinda good I guess.

I've eaten many things abroad,many I wouldnt choose to eat again.
A few:
-any sausage outside of US
-and meal consisting of gizzards or organ meats
-dried cured fish.
-blood-cake,sausages or black puddings
-butter tea
-spam is still spam in Hawaii or anywhere in asia. I dont like it.
-cuy (if you dont know, dont ask)
I also dont like the practice of putting a slab of butter on a ham sandwich.

stuffed frogs.....No. nope.

In a survival situation, I can eat barks and grubs and crickets. I wont when the good fresh stuff I like is available.

-any sausage outside of USOoh, so wrong! Spanish sausage is glorious.
-and meal consisting of gizzards or organ meats
Offal is unfairly maligned, I feel. Liver and kidneys are delicious when cooked properly.
-blood-cake,sausages or black puddings
I agreed until I had Scottish black pudding.
-butter tea
I'm not even going to try that! Yak butter, I presume?
I also dont like the practice of putting a slab of butter on a ham sandwich.
Butter is bad full stop. Why take a perfectly tasty jam or marmalade, or piece of meat or cheese and then corrupt it with fat? Yeuch.

I went to france and got some good ol' american onion rings, except they weren't onions, they were squid tentacles....

Isn't that just... calamari?

Marmite on toast, that cack could gag a maggot and make a buzzard puke. God only knows what it is made from

Feating in Japan is... interesting. So far I have been fed live sea snails, squit guts, raw horse, various things I REALLY didn't want to know what I was eating, and offered (but wouldn't eat) crikets for breakfast (regional speciality).

In terms of the most foul thing I have had to ingest here, natto takes the cake. I have never run into anything as bad as natto.

Though Japanese pizza comes close.

some weird salade (cold) with warm duck liver or something... and in every restaurant it had a different name and there were only french menu's o_O (it was in france)

my sister got food posioning from a fillet o fish burger in the swiss

Feating in Japan is... interesting. So far I have been fed live sea snails, squit guts, raw horse, various things I REALLY didn't want to know what I was eating, and offered (but wouldn't eat) crikets for breakfast (regional speciality).

In terms of the most foul thing I have had to ingest here, natto takes the cake. I have never run into anything as bad as natto.

Though Japanese pizza comes close.

I quit being very adventurous after going to an Andersens, I think, bakery in Hiroshima, ordering what looked like a jelly doughnut, and getting a mouthful of lukewarm meat filling. Ick.

The red bean paste that they hide in other pasty is just as disgusting.

Marmite on toast, that cack could gag a maggot and make a buzzard puke. God only knows what it is made from

Marmite is the stuff of gods! When I was in the Royal Navy we practically lived on the stuff. Try it with roast potatoes its great

No, not fish head soup, or anything like that. I'm talking about something you ordered, thinking it would be great, and then you were horrified and filled with revulsion. Some local specialty that was bad no matter how you sliced it.

I'll start:

The traditional English breakfast, as sold to tourists. Oh, the eggs and tomato were nothing out of the ordinary - but these "Oxford" sausages in a strangely clear brown gravy - one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten in my life.


After eating a few bites, I had to repair to the men's room, and throw up my breakfast.

I'm english and I've never heard of "Oxford" sausages or the idea of a traditional english breakfast being served with gravy.

No, not fish head soup, or anything like that. I'm talking about something you ordered, thinking it would be great, and then you were horrified and filled with revulsion. Some local specialty that was bad no matter how you sliced it.

When I was first living here in Japan as a student back in '88, I walked into a bakery and was delighted to find jelly doughnuts. :) I was then horrified to make the discover that many gaijin have - the infamous "curry doughnut". GAG!

Once you know what theyb are and are expecting them, they're alright. But to have the expectation of a nice sweet sticky jelly doughnut blown to hades by a cold thick spicy "curry" sauce... :(

When I was first living here in Japan as a student back in '88, I walked into a bakery and was delighted to find jelly doughnuts. :) I was then horrified to make the discover that many gaijin have - the infamous "curry doughnut". GAG!

Once you know what theyb are and are expecting them, they're alright. But to have the expectation of a nice sweet sticky jelly doughnut blown to hades by a cold thick spicy "curry" sauce... :(
Ah yes, the jelly doughnut trick. I fell for that on my first time to Japan, way back in 1983.

I have had the misfortune of eating natto here in the states, I can vouch for its ghastliness.

The Japanese, I am told, eat it every day for breakfast. Perhaps this is punishment for their actions in the second world war?

I have had the misfortune of eating natto here in the states, I can vouch for its ghastliness.

The Japanese, I am told, eat it every day for breakfast. Perhaps this is punishment for their actions in the second world war?

The country's culturally split into eastern and western halves (more accurately northeastern and southwestern), and natto's one of the "foodstuffs" (and I use the term broaaaadly) that's divided (along with miso and soy sauce). Generally, people in western Japan don't eat it.

However, I'd say natto doesn't qualify for the OP:

No, not fish head soup, or anything like that. I'm talking about something you ordered, thinking it would be great, and then you were horrified and filled with revulsion. Some local specialty that was bad no matter how you sliced it.

Anyone who'd order natto thinking it'd be great needs their head examined.

not that it was particularly food but...

Canadian drinks suck -in every way, shape or form-. Yes all juices, cokes, teas, well no the coffee was good (hooray for Tim Hortons) but other than that it all sucked, so bad.

I'm english and I've never heard of "Oxford" sausages or the idea of a traditional english breakfast being served with gravy.

It probably wasnt gravy.:eek:

Spealing of Engerlish breakfasts the one think that I was served there that they dont serve here in breakfasts was beans on toast. Beans on toast gets a big thumbs up from Not bad. For those who havent had it, it is the moral equivalent of Van de Camp's pork and beans (minus that one piece of pork fat in each can of pork and beans) somewhat heated and served on an open face piece of lightly toasted bread.

I'm going to address a few:

English breakfast gravy??? No such thing. I can tell you from a VAST experience (being british) that gravy on an english breakfast is not right. Probably an attempt to match american cuisine (we know about your white gravies and are utterly confused by them).

American Foods that are gross/good: Bull Testicles... that's about it.

Bad American Food: You guys are wayyy to heavy into the dairy and the cheese.

Butter Tea: A Tibetan thing.. I hate butter, offered it, brought it to my lips and then detected the odour (ever smelled a jar of purified butter) I threw up quite emphatically on the spot.

Asian Stuff: A ate these little minnows. (they could be full-grown i dunno.) Whole, and if they were cooked I couldn't tell, as well as (in Canada too) a Cantonese thing where they skin a live snake, boil it for like fifteen seconds and serve whole (sans skin). Pretty sick.

Haggis: Just don't eat it. Sheep stomach and stomach fluids with entrails and oatmeal. I dunno, the scotch are odd.

Kidneys: I agree, they're tasty. You can really taste the iron.

London Foods (traditional): [they're all exactly what the names indicate] eel pie=steer cleer. trotters=(boiled or fried pigs feet) tasty and simultaneously gag inducing.

Tongue... remarkably uninteresting.

Boiled octopus tentacle. Rubbery, wouldn't recommend to a human.

Emu... strangly beef-like.

OHHH. Anyone who lives in the US may have eaten in a Roy Rogers. Now that is some seriously sick shit.

(and yea your onion rings were calamari. it's common, the olive garden has them. one of the few ways to cook squid without grossing us whiteys out.)

and FINALLY: Yea we tend to have watered-down fountain drinks and soda(pop) in canada. But, we do do good hot drinks (see tim hortons). And our beer is lightyears above american. It has alcohol, which is fairly crucial to beer. And the good stuff (Steamwhistle, Creemore, Robbie Simpson, Microbreweries etc.) Is on par with euro beers.

Thats my 2 cents.

Any thing with Berbere Sauce such as Wat Har Bo (chicken wings boiled twice then coated with berbere and baked), I dont mind hot :D but da*'n

When I went to the Czech Republic...well, it was odd. None of the meat I ate there was particularly bad...but every meat dish...EVERY meat dish...was always drowned in gravy. Once my Pork Chop came in a bowl, filled with gravy. I had to fish for my damn meat.

The gravy also varied, and again, it was never particularly bad (or good for that matter), but it was simply always there.

I'm not sure what the fixation is with the gravy in the Czech Republic, but I can assure you that it get's VERY old after ten days. I'd like to taste the creature I'm eating...thanks.

The country's culturally split into eastern and western halves (more accurately northeastern and southwestern), and natto's one of the "foodstuffs" (and I use the term broaaaadly) that's divided (along with miso and soy sauce). Generally, people in western Japan don't eat it.

However, I'd say natto doesn't qualify for the OP:



Anyone who'd order natto thinking it'd be great needs their head examined.

In my case its reputation did indeed preceed it, but I know of at least two japanese resturants that have natto items on their sushi menus, so it is possible some shmuck made a mistake before.

When I was in France a few years back, I saw some dude eating Steak Tartare. I just about puked all over my foie gras.

The only foreign country I've ever been to (several times) is Mexico, and the food was always great (which I used to be deathly afraid of due to horror stories I'd heard; then I went and actually tried it...). Right outside the orphanage where I'd stay/work with my church group, there was a lady who sold tacos and such, as well as a couple general stores (the "town" was basically a four way stop with a couple of such stores on opposite corners, otherwise out in the middle of no where on the highway to Calexico), plus the orphanage staff/owners would make a big dinner the night before we would leave. The best was going into Ensenada and walking around the stores, shops, food stands, and fish markets right there on the bay. The only bad part is the inevitable gaggle of spoiled Americans in the group who just have to eat at the McDonalds because they wouldn't know good, fresh, and tasty food if you tied it to a rocket and shot it up their nose ... :mad: :headbang: :gundge: :mad: :headbang: :gundge: :mad: :headbang: :gundge:

...

Oh, and Coca-Cola made with actual cane sugar and not this high fructose syrup monstrosity. :D

I went to Gambia once and found most of the food unidentifiable and inedible. All the meaty bits were either neck, gizzards or connective tissues.

I also went to stay with a friend in the states (Tacoma) and was introduced to biscuits and gravy - keep them - they are the vilest thing I have ever seen (must say though, the Americans do great steaks)

I'll start:

The traditional English breakfast, as sold to tourists. Oh, the eggs and tomato were nothing out of the ordinary - but these "Oxford" sausages in a strangely clear brown gravy - one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten in my life.


After eating a few bites, I had to repair to the men's room, and throw up my breakfast.

Sausages in gravy! How unusual! :rolleyes:

I once had a ham-burrr-gerrr from this place called MacK-Doon-alds. It had all this green stuff in and left a foul taste of american imperialism and ignorance in my mouth.

:rolleyes:
Hooray! Time we gave people the oppertunity for some pointlessly thick-headed nationalism and prejudice! I love this forum!

I reckon squid (calamari) & octopus are good, but they do have to be cooked correctly.

I had chicken's feet at a Chinese restaurant here. They actually tasted quite nice, but the look of them & their scaly texture put me off.

I have had natto (fermented soy beans) before, so I knew to avoid it in Japan. It truly is the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten. It stinks, it has a revolting, slimy texture & the taste is foul. It has the trifecta of inedibility.

I had andouillette (pork intestines) sausage in France. I ordered it understanding it was a pork sausage, but not realising it was offal (my French isn't perfect ;) ). I actually quite liked it, but the smell just about made my girlfriend vomit.

But I wasn't putting off the tourist vibe. The only talking I was doing was in German, and it was in good German at that! Hell, I even look the part of a local in Muenchen!

See, there's your problem... only tourists look like locals in Munich. And unless you were talking the local accent (not the dialect, that would have marked you as a tourist, too!) they would have known. On the other hand, if you were talking perfect German, they might have mistaken you for somebody from Northern Germany... and that's worse than any other foreign tourist to them.;)

Weiswurst, in Germany.

It tasted like flavorless mush.

Should I unveil it's mainly grease and brains?

In Salzburg, I once had cold water melon soup...it was absolutely disgusting.

I also ate snails in Prague, although those were quite nice. A bit chewy but the taste was covered by garlic butter they were smothered in.

I went to Gambia once and found most of the food unidentifiable and inedible. All the meaty bits were either neck, gizzards or connective tissues.

I also went to stay with a friend in the states (Tacoma) and was introduced to biscuits and gravy - keep them - they are the vilest thing I have ever seen (must say though, the Americans do great steaks)

I think we've found common ground.

What passes for gravy in the UK is disgusting to an American used to "biscuits and gravy" in the US. And vice versa - Lord knows how each is really made.

I quit being very adventurous after going to an Andersens, I think, bakery in Hiroshima, ordering what looked like a jelly doughnut, and getting a mouthful of lukewarm meat filling. Ick.
Yup, been there, done that. First trip to the local conbini and getting what I thought was a simple bun...

Evil things they do to poor defenceless bread here in Japan.

The red bean paste that they hide in other pasty is just as disgusting.
Actually, I LOVE anko, really. I think it's great.

And then there's this revolting stuff called "congee"...

rather like lukewarm snot in a bowl...

The traditional English breakfast, as sold to tourists. Oh, the eggs and tomato were nothing out of the ordinary - but these "Oxford" sausages in a strangely clear brown gravy - one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten in my life.
It wasn't black pudding you were given, was it?

I wouldn't eat that if my life depended on it. I have no desire whatsoever to eat fried pigs blood.

It wasn't black pudding you were given, was it?

I wouldn't eat that if my life depended on it. I have no desire whatsoever to eat fried pigs blood.

No, I've had black pudding as well... yeeeech

No, I've had black pudding as well... yeeeech

My God......I'm agreeing with DK on stuff now!! (no one mention the war:) )

i've eaten a variety of wild foods, but never anything capable of leading a revolt.

i did hear a song once. about a sentient chilli.

mostly in the land that surrounds me though. i've only briefly visited any other. and what i ate there was pretty thoroughly tame and domesticated.

=^^=
.../\...

There was that goat stew in the Caribbean once ... my lady and our friends were revolted by breadfruit but I liked it, nothing to write home about but hardly disgusting. I was offered and tried fried brains a long, long time ago, I think I earned points for the attempt (pleasing her grandparents was worth the attempt).