1. Balut in Philippines

This complicated looking egg is a sad one. It is a fertilised baby duck, eaten in its shell before time. I cringed and pushed a piece into my mouth, then having to pull a sad feather out.

Image credit: bubblews

2. Fried tarantula in Cambodia

We were chilling at a roadside coffee shop when a man walked in with a live tarantula in his hand. He opened his bag and—crispy, fried tarantula. O spiders. Crispy, savoury. It almost tasted like soft shell crab. Almost.

Image credit: synergyimages

3. Raw horse meat in Japan

This was 10 years ago, when I was young and heartless. The meat was good, I recall. We were at a fancy restaurant and a local insisted we have to try a platter. It tasted like good wagyu. Now, I’m guilty, guilty as a girl can be.

Image credit: daisuki-japan

4. Coffee luwak in Indonesia

Coffee berries are eaten by the Asian palm civets, then excreted into precious expensive coffee. Essentially, I was sipping on civet poop. I’m disappointed to say the coffee’s ain’t great and bland. But well, I did it! I drank poop.

Image credit: Nordic coffee culture

5. Grasshoppers in Thailand

Okay, I’d admit this one. I nibbled only a portion of it. It didn’t taste too terrible though! The insects were grilled thoroughly and heavily spiced. I could eat it again should there be a life-death situation.