Last weekend I went with some of my lab mates to Qingdao ("cheeng-dow"), a coastal town which was a German concession in the early 1900s. Its history has provided it with some seemingly misplaced architecture. Because it's on the Yellow Sea, the area is famed for seafood. I obligingly agreed to feast on the fruits of the ocean.
Declaration of bias: I grew up with very little seafood in my diet. Besides the halibut that my brother sent to us from Alaska and the occasional salmon bakes at my grandpa's house, I usually stuck to tuna sandwiches. Sometimes
toasted tuna sandwiches.
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| yes! I can definitely handle fishy dumpings. |
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| and steamed whole fish? oh yeah, I have that down pat. |
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baked clams? well I've usually done clams in chowder form,
but I suppose I can try these, even if they look like little alien fetuses. |
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| and oysters. never tried them, but some people swear by them. |
Despite my mind-over-matter attitude, little could prepare me for the next two dishes.
SEA URCHIN!
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| thankfully, the chef mixed the meat (?) into scrambled eggs. though lab mate says raw is better. I'll take his word. |
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I love being so culturally adventurous.
good for me |
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| proof. |
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oh no, my friend- those innocuous pink tubes are not penne pasta.
Look to the next photo to see the live organism. |
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| the wriggle. they writhe. they went into my belly. |
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| clean plate club! |
