Intrepid Blogging: Mmmm Emu Claw

If at all possible, I try to avoid visiting vendors around lunch or dinner. There's one vendor in particular (I'm in constant amazement that he isn't the size of a zeppelin) who can often be found hosting 2 or 3 lunches at the same time at the same restaurant with various clients.

It was unavoidable yesterday. Vendors love to treat guests to any number of "delicious delicacies" that generally also come with relatively large bills (which is sometimes literal in the monetary and aviary sense of the word) - and when it comes to those with western palates, this often goes somewhat underappreciated. One strategy for "beneficiaries", lest the options become too exotic is to blame food allergies (particularly for some clients and squeamish employees). With this particular vendor I think I've pretty much had an entire safari cross my plate and regretted my commitment (lest I offend) to try everything at least once. I think I've gotten quite good at ensuring the gagging stays on the inside.

The great thing in this culture (which may also be one of the worst things) is that I'm not out of place with my blackberry obsession since people will happily interrupt conversations midway with loud cell phone conversations. I snapped a few pics discreetly in an attempt not to offend:

Emu claw/leg as it first appeared (to give you some perspective, the claw was just a bit smaller than double the size of my fist).


Emu claw post-dissection (by my employee) - who apparently thought it really was delicious (you can't quite see the cleaned off bones in the background: