When it comes to street foods, you might be accustomed to your local Halal cart, or maybe that hot dog stand on the corner. However, if you are willing to expand your cultural horizons even further, an entirely new world of food will open up for you. Japanese culture boasts some of the most creative and mouthwateringly delicious street foods imaginable. From the sweet to the savory, these are 10 popular Japanese street foods that’ll have you drooling over your keyboard. 

10. Karaage

Vegans and vegetarians aside, it’d be pretty hard to find someone who’ll pass up on a plate of fried chicken. A beloved comfort food in many cultures, fried chicken has been taken in some truly inventive directions, not the least of which being Karaage.

The name itself is attributed to the cooking methods where diced-up bits of meat, in this instance chicken, are marinated and then deep-fried until golden brown. Where Karaage diverges from typical fried chicken is through its marinade which is frequently a blend of soy sauce, sake, ginger, and garlic. This method ensures that, after the frying is complete, the inside of the chicken will not only be juicy and succulent but imbued with extra umami flavor as well. The exterior’s crispiness is usually attributed to the coating which can either be wheat flour or potato starch.

Even though chicken is the most popular option, the preparation can easily be applied to seafood and other types of meat as well. With its excellent combination of crunch and unparalleled taste, Karaage is a favorite of many Japanese citizens, serving as a home-cooked and street vendor staple. 

9. Tako Tamago

Now of course eggs, whether they are fried, scrambled, or poached, are a staple of countless diets worldwide. However, the Tako Tamago takes the concept of a poached egg and takes it to its most visually dazzling and uniquely flavored conclusion. Tako Tamago is a unique little dish, even among other Japanese street foods, boasting a unique combination of elements. 

A Tako Tamago contains a quail egg, an already diminutive egg, that has been put inside a tiny, bite-sized octopus. Its final appearance is quite the feast for the eyes before one even consumes it, with the egg almost serving as the brain of the octopus. However, the dish’s appeal doesn’t stop at its appearance, as the combination of the poached quail egg and the chewy octopus makes for a superb crossbreed of flavors.

Tako Tamago, much like many other Japanese street and vendor foods, is typically served on a skewer, making it a very portable dish despite its odd appearance. The dish is honestly a perfect little microcosm of Japanese street foods, as it boasts not only a dazzling visual gimmick but yummy flavors as well.

8. Korokke

Before properly discussing Korokke, it’s important to understand the Western dish that influenced it, that being the Croquette. Croquettes originated in France and consist of a filling that is tossed in a special sauce, breaded, and then fried till the outside is crispy. This is quite fitting as the name Croquette even derives from the French word croquer which means “to crunch.”

Korokke takes the Croquette and puts a thoroughly Japanese spin on it with fillings like mashed potatoes, ground meat, or a mixture of vegetables. When everything is prepared properly, you’ll be treated to a perfectly balanced dish that boasts both a crispy outside and a creamy interior. This is only enhanced by the wide range of ways the filling can be customized with other ingredients, such as beef, pork, seafood, and even curry. It’s also very common to find Korokke paired with a side of tonkatsu sauce which only serves to heighten its flavor profile. 

Oftentimes the Korokke can find itself sandwiched between two pieces of bread, turning it into a Korokke Pan, adding even more to the dish’s convenient nature. Its utility and delicious flavors have turned Korokke into a staple of Japanese street foods, as well as school lunches and bento boxes. 

7. Okonomiyaki

Everyone loves pancakes, but rest assured, an Okonomiyaki isn’t your run-of-the-mill pancake you’d get at IHOP or Cracker Barrel. As opposed to typical pancakes which are predicated on their sweetness, an Okonomiyaki is more of a savory affair.

Much like Takoyaki, one of the major appeals of Okonomiyaki is just how customizable it is, with its name even translating to “grilled as you like it.” Much like regular pancakes, the batter begins with flour but from there, this is where it truly becomes its own unique creation. This batter is then mixed with shredded cabbage, eggs, and a variety of other add-ons such as meat, seafood, and even cheese. If you’ve ever had an Okonomiyaki, then you know that the final product is an absolute symphony of different textures and flavors.  

Another aspect leading to Okonomiyaki’s widespread success is the interactive element that goes hand-in-hand with it. It’s not uncommon for restaurants to prepare the Okonomiyaki right in front of the customer or even allow them to cook it themselves, very much like Korean barbeque. With all of this in mind, you can easily see how this customizable pancake broke out of Osaka and went worldwide. 

6. Yakitori

A commonality among Japanese foods is that many of them could easily slot right into being casual street food or served at an actual restaurant. A perfect example of this is Yakitori, a very popular skewered chicken dish that’s usually prepared over hot charcoals. 

The dish itself couldn’t be simpler, it’s diced chicken pieces marinated in a soy-based tare sauce, cooked, and then served on a skewer. This simple cooking method results in mouthwateringly tender and smoky meat complete with a delicious caramel-like glaze. However, Yakitori isn’t solely dependent on chicken as one can easily substitute other ingredients like vegetables, beef, or seafood.

Yakitori is a very recreational food and you’ll often see people enjoying it with a cold beer in their other hand. Often the best foods don’t need flashy theatrics or fanciful plating, as sometimes simplicity and good flavor are more than enough. Just imagine walking home on a cold day in Japan and having the aromas of the still-cooking skewers waft toward your nose. Much like many of the street foods on this list, not only has Yakitori exploded outside of Japan but it has transcended its original format as well. Nowadays it’s not uncommon to go to an indoor eating establishment and find it on the menu right alongside more complicated items. 

5. Taiyaki

Japanese culture is rife with sensational sweets and creative confections, many of them having lineages going back hundreds of years. One such treat is Taiyaki, a Japanese pastry with the unique visual distinction of being molded in the shape of a fish. The pastry’s fish name translates to “baked sea bream,” a fish regarded as a symbol of good fortune in Japanese culture.

Originating in Toyko during the Meiji period – a time of great economic, political, and social change – Taiyaki was created by a man named Seijiro Kanbei. The original, and most standard, version of Taiyaki is filled with sweet red bean paste, which is made from azuki beans and serves a popular filling in many Japanese treats. This, like many other Japanese snacks, can be altered or customized with various locations filling their Taiyaki with sweet potato, custard, chocolate, or even savory options like cheese and sausage. 

This is all held together by the batter which, similarly to pancake or waffle batter, is poured into fish-shaped molds and cooked until it’s a savory golden brown. With its lovely flavors and its charming visual charm, Taiyaki has become a prime example of Japanese comfort food.

4. Yakisoba

There are countless Japanese noodle dishes ranging from cheap street food to the most lavish of five-star cuisine. However, Yakisoba seems to hold a very special place in people’s hearts and it isn’t too hard to understand why. 

Yakisoba is made by stir-frying the ingredients, which include ramen noodles, as well as vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and onions. This cooking method is where the dish derives its name, which is a translation of the term “grilled noodles.” Meat is also an optional ingredient as well, with many opting to add in bits of thinly sliced pork, beef, or seafood. What sets the dish apart is the special sauce the stir-fried ingredients are seasoned with, that being a savory-sweet Yakisoba sauce made from Worcestershire. Once everything is cooked to completion, the final product can be topped with bonito flakes, pickled ginger, and mayonnaise.

All this coalesces into a savory dish that, due to the inclusion of meats and seasonings, boasts a strong umami taste. Unami, when translated into English, means means “essence of deliciousness” and is common among meaty and savory Japanese dishes. Due to its portable nature, as well as its mix of textures and flavors, Yakisoba has attained a global fandom, becoming rapidly more widespread across several cultures.

3. Onigiri

One need only look at how often it pops up in the hands of anime characters to understand Onigiri’s immense popularity. For example, in One Piece when Roronoa Zoro is tied up in Axe Hand Morgan’s base, a little girl from the surrounding town brings him homemade Onigiri. When the deadliest swordsman in the East Blue can’t resist their deliciousness, then you know it’s a treat worth getting excited for.

The name translates to “rice ball,” and the dish has served as a pillar of Japanese cuisine for several decades now. The handheld snack starts with rice which receives a little seasoning via some salt or vinegar, as well as a sheet of nori, a crispy piece of seaweed. Once the base is prepared, the Onigiri receives its filling which is where its customizable nature comes into play. Simply put, the sky is the limit with Onigiri, with the fillings ranging from sweet to savory, and ranging in texture as well. This includes pickled plums, grilled salmon, kimchi, cheese, tuna mayo, and teriyaki chicken, each one offering something different to enjoy when packed into the rice.

Due to its diverse fillings, as well as its portable size, Onigiri is a staple of Japanese lunches, aiding with its constantly expanding worldwide appeal. 

2. Dango

Dango’s name stems from the Japanese verb “dango,” which means to knead or form something into a ball. The sweet Japanese treat is a chewy little bite-sized dumpling made from glutinous rice flour and served on a stick in groups of three to five. Typically, the most popular filling for Dango is Anko, also known as red bean paste, a topping/filling in many Japanese desserts.

Due to the rice flour used in its preparation, Dango is typically white in its appearance but people often use things like fruits, herbs, and eggs, to alter its flavor and color. This is most relevant when it comes to Hanami Dango, a type of multicolored dango, which is typically sold and enjoyed during cherry blossom season in Japan. There is also Kuri Dango, a wonderful variant if you are a fan of nuts, with the Dango being covered in a sweet pureed chestnut paste. Additionally, there is Goma Dango, a version that is filled with Anko but is finished with a layer of sesame seeds before being fried to crispy perfection. It’s this combination of simplicity, variation, and inherent tradition that has kept Dango as a beloved Japanese treat for many decades.

1. Takoyaki

Takoyaki is a favorite of many Japanese food connoisseurs, with its popularity extending beyond Osaka, Japan’s borders, and into the United States. Its name, Takoyaki, is a one-for-one translation of what it is, that being grilled/fried octopus, though other ingredients are often added in as well. 

The cooking process begins with the Takoyaki’s batter, which is made from flour, egg, and dashi, the latter being a type of Japanese soup stock. This is mixed with diced octopus, pickled ginger, green onions, and any additional mix-ins the chef or customer desires. These mix-ins can include bits of sausage, cheese, mochi, corn, kimchi, and even other types of seafood like shrimp.

Once the batter and the mix-ins are prepared, it’s then poured into a very special cooking mold, built to create the Takoyaki’s circular shape. If prepared properly, the final product should be a perfectly circular bite-sized ball with a fluffy inside and a crispy outside. Once complete, the Takoyaki balls are often coated in a healthy layer of a special takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed flakes, and bonito flakes. With its combination of delectable textures and its inherently customizable nature, it’s not surprising Takoyaki has taken the culinary world by storm.

Slowly but surely, the US is getting its head around the idea of decriminalizing marijuana. Many states now allow its regulated sale for medical purposes, recreational use, or both. By federal law, it may still be illegal to use, possess, sell, cultivate, or transport in the rest of the country, but we’re a long way away from the whole “Reefer Madness!” panic of years gone by.

So what’s with the change of heart?

Well, there are a few reasons behind it. The big one is that weed has been proven to have some impressive health benefits. But surely, no other illegal drugs can actually be good for us in any way, can they? Well, it turns out that almost all major controlled substances can actually be put to good use in one way or another.

Let’s run down 10 illegal street drugs that have some surprisingly useful medical applications.

10 Cannabis

Pot, weed, marijuana, grass, bud, herb, call it what you will. Humans have been drying out cannabis plants and smoking them for literally thousands of years. Considered one of the safer and least serious drugs around, most people will have tried getting high at least once or twice in their lives. It’s estimated that 3.8 percent of the global population are regular users of the stuff.

Medical marijuana is currently legal in 26 US states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. So you know there must be plenty of health benefits from hitting the odd bong. And there are. It’s all about the cannabinoids. Weed is packed full of them—the main one being THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), an excellent painkiller. The body even produces small amounts of cannabinoids naturally to help reduce pain when needed.^[1]

Another cannabinoid in the ol’ Mary Jane, CBC (cannabichromene) has been proven to help in the treatment of epilepsy. Weed can also reduce inflammation, help battle multiple sclerosis, stop spasms, ease bladder problems, and even prevent chemotherapy nausea.

All in all? It’s a proven useful plant.

9 Cocaine

If you’re anything like us, you probably picture a disco from the 1970s when you think of cocaine. Huge bowls full of 95 percent pure Colombian marching powder clogging up the sinuses of rich playboys and their supermodel girlfriends. But there’s a much misunderstood side to blow, you know.

Not all that long ago, cocaine was hailed as a worldwide wonder drug. It was widely used as a laxative and a cure for motion sickness, hay fever, and even alcoholism. But soon, it proved addictive. So alternatives were found.^[2]

Medicine didn’t abandon cocaine, though. It still gets used by medical professionals today (and not just when they’re at a club). Eye, nose, and throat specialists still regularly employ cocaine—usually in paste form—as an anesthetic in surgeries.

8 MDMA

MDMA in its crystallized form can cure post–traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Naturally, the psychiatrists behind the study with this finding aren’t recommending that traumatized people start gobbling up ecstasy like M&M’S and expecting immediate positive results.

But in clinical environments, the rise in serotonin initiated by “Molly” results in calmer, happier patients who can bond nicely and easily with their therapists. These patients open up more willingly, and treatment becomes so much easier for everyone involved.^[3]

Stress and fear is repressed while on MDMA, so patients can discuss traumatic experiences without a problem. They can get to the root of their issues without having to worry about the further damage caused by remembering—and potentially reliving—their troubling experiences.

7 Crystal Meth

If you have trouble concentrating at work and find yourself daydreaming, fidgeting, and generally being distracted, there’s a chance you might be suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). If you see your doctor about it, there’s a much smaller chance that he’ll tell you to meet him in the parking lot afterward to sell you crystal meth. Although, perhaps he should . . . 

Stimulants like meth, when prescribed and taken in specific dosages (in other words, don’t try self-medicating), can regulate brain chemicals called neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. Both help to control addictive behavior and compulsiveness.

We don’t want to convince you to start breaking bad and cooking meth in your underpants in an RV in the middle of the desert or anything, but meth can also help to combat obesity—as you can see in any “fan” of the drug. Fast weight loss programs will often recommend a drug called Desoxyn (aka dimethylbenzeneethanamine hydrochloride or pure methamphetamine).^[4]

6 Magic Mushrooms

Shrooms are great if you want to spend four hours staring at a wall, watch it bleed into a billion kaleidoscopic colors, and fail to keep up with the plot of any number of episodes of South Park. But they’re also good for a number of slightly more useful other things, too.

The chemical in mushrooms that makes you trip is called psilocybin. Researchers at the University of Arizona are confident of its ability to effectively treat patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).

Mushrooms also help to alleviate the discomfort of severe cluster headaches, so much so that otherwise well-behaved people all across the world are risking jail time by buying and taking shrooms to kill the pain that can wreck their lives. Not only do these mushrooms kill the pain, they cause longer periods between attacks.^[5]

5 Ketamine

Ketamine might be a party drug to some people, but to veterinarians, it’s a horse tranquilizer. So when we tell you that “Special K” can help with your depression, you might not be too shocked. Sure, anything that can knock out half a ton of horse is going to calm you down, right? But ketamine’s ability to fight depression goes beyond that.

A study conducted at Yale University showed that ketamine doesn’t just alleviate the symptoms of being depressed. It can actually heal parts of the brain damaged by years of acute stress, trauma, and depression by fixing disconnected synapses. One dose can get to work in hours and last up to 10 days.^[6] It’s no wonder that horses always look so pleased with themselves.

4 Mescaline

Made famous by Hunter S. Thompson’s road trip book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, mescaline is a phenethylamine found in certain types of cacti. It’s the principal active psychedelic in peyote—the drug of choice of the Navajo tribe and Doors front men alike. And strangely, it might just be the cure for alcoholism.

In many Native American tribes, hallucinogenic drugs like mescaline and DMT have long been associated with addiction. But not in the way you might think. Rather than being drugs to which you get addicted, they help stop addictions to other substances. Scientific research into these drugs has been relatively limited, but the little that has been conducted appears to bear out the idea.^[7]

Alcoholism in Native American communities is an issue. Addiction rates are twice as high as with other American ethnicities. Yet in the Native American Church (aka “Peyotism”), rates of alcoholism are extremely low. Small doses over a course of weeks have been shown to relieve the intense cravings in addicts to drink.

“Psychedelic therapy” is a controversial topic. The evidence may not be perfect, but it’s more than anecdotal.

3 LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide has its uses, too. And we’re not just talking about acid being the only way to make it through a Grateful Dead gig. Studies conducted at Maryland’s Spring Grove State Hospital showed that controlled doses of acid greatly reduced anxieties about death in terminally ill cancer patients.

Of the people monitored, a third felt “dramatically less tense” about their situation. Another third felt generally better about their fate, and the final third felt the same but no worse about their diagnosis.^[8]

2 Heroin

You don’t need us to tell you that heroin is bad. You’ve seen Trainspotting. You might even have read William S. Burroughs’s Junkie. It’s nasty stuff. But as a pain reliever? There’s none better.

The federal government’s blanket ban on horse means that you won’t find it in a US hospital. (At least, you shouldn’t be able to.) But in the UK? It’s given to pregnant women!

Perhaps to save scaring the expectant mom,^[9] it’s called “diamorphine.” But it’s heroin all the same. Injected intravenously, it relieves severe pain and reduces stress. It can also make labor last slightly longer, but it’s relatively risk-free. A one-time shot doesn’t cause addiction and has no ill effect on the body.

1 GHB

What makes so gammahydroxybutyrate (GHB) so controversial is also what makes it so useful. Taken recreationally, it produces a euphoric high and deep feelings of relaxation. It’s this depressant quality, however, that has seen GHB employed in so many date rapes. It was even the murder weapon of choice for the British serial killer Stephen Port, who would shoot his victims full of lethal doses of the stuff.^[10]

Although its reputation is tainted due to its use by violent criminals, this naturally occurring psychoactive is actually one of the most effective substances known to man when it comes to treating insomnia. GHB’s narcoleptic qualities are useful. Very useful. It’s just such a shame that they’re sometimes exploited so cynically and disgustingly.

Steve is a freelance writer who writes news stories, features, articles, reviews, and lists. But *always* forgets to write his mother a birthday card. Follow him on Twitter, or follow him into the pub and buy him a drink.

People like different foods, even foods you might consider weird or unappetizing. You probably like at least one thing someone else thinks is awful. It’s fine that people like different things, the world would suck if we all wanted everything the same. And with that in mind, here are some obscure street food delights from around the world that are far less well known than a hot dog.

10. You Can Dine on Sweet and Sour Genitals in Vietnam

Street food is unique because it has two diametrically opposed reputations. Some people swear the best food you’ll ever eat, the most real and authentic food from any nation, is its street food. Others think it’s off putting garbage. But it’s hard to deny that street food does really lend itself to local flair and customs in ways that most fast food and restaurant food never quite does. 

For people from other nations, street food can be a little tough to swallow sometimes in more ways than one. People often have a certain food xenophobia that makes them more judgmental of “different” foods and that can lead to a lot of the food articles that populated the internet 20 years ago where everything was “can you believe how gross people in this foreign place are?” 

As we said earlier, people like different foods and that’s okay and you should always be open to new things, even if you end up not liking them. At least you tried. And with that in mind, there are parts of Asia like Vietnam where you can find dishes like sweet and sour cow genitals for sale, or pig if you’d rather avoid red meat.. 

It may have inspired a similar dish far to the west in Copenhagen where you can find uterus sandwiches on a high end restaurant menu. 

9. Dorilocos is a Truly Bizarre Mexican Street Food

Do you remember when Taco Bell unleashed the Doritos Locos taco? That was just a taco made with a shell that was a big Dorito chip and it was something some folks really liked. But while Taco Bell seems to have indicated this was an innovation created by the restaurant itself, there is precedent. Tostilocos and eventually Dorilocos are also a well known street food that started in Mexico. They made their way to the US around the same time as Taco Bell came up with their innovation which, to be fair, added a new twist by making a taco shell out of the chips.

Dorilocos, as you’ll find them in Mexico City or Tijuana where they are said to have originated, use a bag of Doritos instead of a taco shell. Vegetables like jicama and carrot are added to the bag along with pickled pig skin, hot sauce, peanuts, Chamoy and gummy bears because we’re really leaning into the loco part of the name. 

The appeal of the food seems to be a mix of youthful nostalgia and also just an overpowering mix of flavors and textures that inexplicably work well together. The result is a weird sounding street food that has broad appeal to those brave enough to take the first taste. 

8. Baked Potatoes Doubled as Hand Warmers in Victorian England

The humble baked potato is generally not a noteworthy dish and certainly not something to write home about. It was popular street food in its heyday, however, and once upon a time potato vendors on the streets of London sold thousands of them. 

In much the way a modern vendor might have a hot dog cart set up on a street, vendors in the 1800s London had cans set up that housed potatoes that had been imported from France. A small fire, coals and hot water to make steam could keep the potatoes warmed up and ready for buyers all day long. There was also salt, pepper and butter available.

Part of the appeal of the baked potato transcended food, however. On a chilly day, a baked potato could serve as a hand warmer for someone walking to or from work. They could eat it later if they wanted, but it was a decent and reliable portable heater for the coldest days of the British winter, too.

7. Ramen Burgers Replace Buns with Ramen Noodles

Everyone and their uncle knows about ramen these days. It got many a student through lean times in college and is also a staple of the bachelor diet for the man who knows how to boil water and little else. But not all ramen is hot water and dry noodles coming together in a steamy marriage of convenience. Some folks have learned to get creative with their ramen, for better or for worse.

Ramen burgers have been around for a few years now and you can find them in restaurants and in food trucks on the streets. The idea is fairly simple, too. The burger part is anything you might expect, but the ramen part is just the bun. You take a normal burger bun and replace it with slabs of dried, crunchy ramen noodles. 

The dish seems to trace its roots to Brooklyn in 2013, but it made a bigger splash in Toronto in 2016 with some crispy-outside-but-soft-inside sesame oil grilled ramen buns to fancy the whole dish up. 

By 2017 they were such a tremendous hit at Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition, a place where new trends in street foods often make their first splash, that people were waiting in line for hours to get them. 

6. Korean Poo Bread Is Shaped Like a Turd

If you were going to make a list of unappetizing things, there’s a good chance that poop would rank near the top of that list, assuming you’re not part dung beetle. Most humans prefer not to eat turds as a rule. That said, we still have a weird fascination with poop as witnessed by generations of hilarious scatological humor up to and including the popularity of the poop emoji.

Korea has given unto the world poop bread, a street food treat which is filled with red bean paste and is sold in the very distinct shape of a cartoon poop. Surprisingly, this isn’t a recent innovation, although the molded shape may be a more modern stylization of it.

The bread is called ttongppang, or ddongbbang, and it can trace its roots to a specific neighborhood in Seoul. It’s meant to be shaped like poop and the filling can even include walnuts because of course it does. In Korean culture, poop is linked with prosperity and therefore lucky. Dreams about poop are portentous of good things, so a poop bread can only be viewed as good despite what your instincts may tell you. 

5. Betamax is Congealed and Grilled Cubes of Blood

If someone asked you about Betamax, what do you think they mean? For most people this either means nothing or, if you’ve been around a few years, it’s the video format that lost out to VHS all those years ago. But, for a more select group of people, it has an entirely different meaning. 

Betamax is a Filipino street food made from blood. To make it you need to drain the blood from a chicken and then let it cool, presumably while you actually do something with the chicken carcass. The blood is allowed to congeal with some seasoning added. 

You can add some heat to help the process of making it more solid. The thickened mix can be cut into Jello-ish cubes and then skewered and grilled. Serve with some seasonings and sauces and there you go. Chunks of blood called Betamax.

Why the name? Because you’re cutting it into cubes which apparently resemble Betamax tapes. And sure, a million other things are also rectangles but nevermind that. 

4. Suodiu is Saucy Pebbles

In the summer of 2023, every media outlet ran with a story out of China showing the latest food trend that is apparently a real thing that is hundreds of years old and not just a prank. The street food fad is called suodiu and involves putting some small, smooth, clean river stones in a wok or on a grill and saucing them with chili sauce and other flavorings. 

Once the dish is ready, however that may be judged, it’s plated in a bowl and diners suck the sauce off the pebbles and set them aside. So the stones are just a vehicle for tasting the sauce which is kind of like when someone just wants to drink barbecue sauce or eat mayo out of the jar but wants to include a middle step to make it seem less shameful. 

3. Indian Vendors Make Omelets with Soda and Cookies

Eggs aren’t much of a street food in the West but fried egg dishes are not uncommon in parts of Asia, especially omelets. But not all omelets are created equal and while onion and bacon may seem run of the mill, omelets made with things like soda and Oreos are another matter.

The offending omelet was witnessed in a viral video in 2022 where an Indian street vendor was filmed making it for a customer. After adding bread, the finished dish was garnished with onion, cilantro and lemon juice because why not?

2. The Douche Burger Was a $666 Hamburger

It’s difficult to innovate a burger because there’s not much left to do. You have a bun, the burger, and toppings and there are only so many ways you can tweak any of those to make something different. 

One avenue a few people have tried is to “elevate” the burger, which often means just adding unnecessarily expensive ingredients and then charging an arm and a leg for it. The burger may not taste good but at least it’ll get a splash of virality when it trends on social media.

The Douche Burger was one such burger, and it hit the scene in 2012, cutting a lot of these other wagyu and gold leaf burgers off at the pass. It also did it the best by acknowledging that it was stupid right in the name.

The Douche Burger, costing a moderate $666, was sold from a food truck in New York. It was a Kobe beef patty wrapped in gold leaf, foie gras, caviar, lobster, truffles, imported aged gruyere cheese (obnoxiously melted with champagne steam), kopi luwak (that’s coffee made from beans harvested from civet poop) bbq sauce and Himalayan rock salt.  The creator acknowledged it probably won’t taste good but it’ll make you feel rich as f***. 

1. Pagpag Is Made From Leftover and Garbage Food

Modern eaters are a lot more conscientious about what they eat than people in the past were. We find fair trade coffee, dolphin friendly tuna and other sustainable items. People choose to be vegan for health, moral and sustainability reasons, and there are restaurants that make a point of having little to no waste in their food production. And then there’s pagpag.

Pagpag is a Tagalog term for dust on your clothes or carpet. But it’s also a colloquial term for leftovers from restaurants that have been thrown out. It is, quite literally, garbage. Pagpag vendors will stake out the trash behind a fast food restaurant and then raid it when the restaurant makes their daily dump. 

They’ll go through it and pick out scraps of meat – maybe someone only ate half a chicken breast, for instance. Or a bone might have scraps around the joints that weren’t chewed clean. That leftover meat is taken home, cleaned, repackaged and sold as a new dish. That dish is pagpag.

The meat could be sold packaged alone, floured and fried with sauce, or pagpag can be a soup or stew made up of those scraps and bones and whatever else was harvested from the trash along with some new seasonings. The food is sold in the poorest neighborhoods in the Philippines and it’s very popular. Some meat collectors can even sell what they collect back to restaurants.

One thing keeping pagpag going strong is inflation. While “normal” food prices keep going up, cheap foods like pagpag become more and more attractive to locals. Food prices in Manila rose remarkably in 2023 but a serving of pagpag can be as little as 40 cents from vendors who sell it from carts. For many residents, though they know pagpag is not something they should be eating,eato the best they can do for themselves or their families.

You’re on vacation, and you want to immerse yourself in the culture. Yes, you can go see the sights. But if you really want to understand the people, what better way than to try some of the local food?

You may find yourself getting taken in by the bustling street stalls and happy local servers. But beware, those bubbling pots and sizzling pans could contain some pretty strange stuff. Here are some of the weirdest foods that you might be served as you’re wandering the streets.

10 Balut
The Philippines

So it’s a hard-boiled egg. What’s weird about that?

Think again because lurking beneath the innocent-looking shell is a tiny duck fetus that’s been boiled alive. Nice. To make it, fertilized duck eggs are incubated for up to 20 days and then cooked to create this gruesome delight.

Eating the balut is an involved process. Crack it open, and you’ll see a tasty broth. It’s here where sensible people stop while the fearless go full throttle for that embryotic goodness.^[1]

Take a trip to the Philippines, and you can casually devour this delicacy with a beer. But let’s be honest. It’s going to take more than that to wash this fowl dish down.

9 Winkles
England

Ah, the great English seaside—sand, sea, ice cream . . . and small edible snails. Those crazy Brits remove the excess sand and salt and boil their tiny snails of the sea before serving them with salt and vinegar.

Not only do they look slimy, but it’s tricky to get these slippery little things out of their shells and definitely far too much effort for the squidgy blob with which you’re rewarded. Many see seafood like winkles, whelks, and cockles as key to the sustainability of the seas, but we’d rather go veggie.^[2]

You’ll mainly get them on the West Coast of England. If you find yourself there, do the sensible thing and ask them to give you fish and chips with your salt and vinegar instead.

8 Mice Wine
China

Having a nice glass of wine is a much better idea . . . if it has baby mice in it. Then again, what’s wrong with a nice Merlot? Why is stealing mice from their parents and fermenting them in rice wine a better idea?^[3] Are we just throwing in all things that rhyme together? Let’s put some lice, dice, and an ancient sacrifice in there while we’re at it.

Anyway, the baby mice are left there for around a year. Then it’s “probably safe” to drink this “health tonic.” The Chinese believe that it can help with asthma, although it apparently tastes like gasoline. We’ll stick with the Merlot, thanks.

7 Casu Marzu
Sardinia

How about a little cheese snack with that wine? You can keep your Parmesan and your Pepper Jack. We want a rare cheese, one that is made using the larvae of flies and is infested with live maggots. Actually, no, we don’t.

But the good people of Sardinia are all over casu marzu, a cheese that takes well-aged to the extreme. The Sardinians take a traditional pecorino and have some local flies lay their eggs in it. The larvae munch through the cheese and then excrete it back into the cheese, apparently making for a unique, soft texture.^[4]

It looks horrendous and tastes worse. As arguably the world’s most dangerous cheese, casu marzu is actually illegal and banned by the European Union. So you might have to practice your Italian if you’re crazy enough to want to track it down on the black market.

6 Isaw
The Philippines

Everyone loves a barbeque, and the Filipinos are no different. Visit Manila, and the streets will be filled with the smell of grilled meats. But what’s on those skewers?

Possibly isaw, which is chicken or pork intestines. But don’t worry. They are cleaned inside and out multiple times, so it’s not like you’re eating an animal’s fecal matter . . . or are you?

Apparently, they are chewy and soft and best consumed piping hot off the grill and smothered in chili sauce—to avoid the acrid aftertaste.^[5]

5 Tuna Eyeballs
Japan

A good food mantra is: “If it appeared on the dinner table in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, don’t eat it.”

But the Japanese appear to have ignored that advice. Enter tuna eyeballs. Gross.

It’s hard to avoid them. Their gaze follows you from stalls and markets, daring you to give them a try. Normally boiled and seasoned with soy sauce and rice wine, they apparently taste like a cross between a hard-boiled egg and squid. Mmm, tasty.

They are packed with omega-3. So if you can get past the fact that you’re eating the chewy, rubbery eyeball of a tuna, your intelligence will soar. It may be a good thing that the Japanese are making the most of every tuna as overfishing is putting these animals at risk of extinction.^[6]

4 Andouillette
France

Andouillette is probably the stinkiest sausage you’ll ever meet. It’s made from pig intestines and smells like it’s been up close and personal with pig excrement on a regular basis. The pig intestines are chopped, crammed into a sausage casing, fried up, and often covered in cream and mustard sauce.^[7]

But no amount of sauce can mask the aroma and the taste of pigs’ butts. So if you’ve had too many glasses of vin rouge (“red wine”) at a French market, beware the innocent-looking sausage. You could get more than you bargained for.

3 Hakarl
Iceland

Talking of stinky, the Icelandic national dish of cured, rotten shark is putrid in the extreme. Made from the Greenland shark, hakarl is poisonous when eaten raw and fairly rank when eaten cured. It’s been fermented in Iceland for centuries and is even mentioned in the Icelandic sagas.

The tissues of the Greenland shark contain large amounts of ammonia-rich urea, a compound also found in that well-known delicacy called urine. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the horror is multiplied by curing the shark and then letting it decompose for a couple of months before hacking off chunks of pungent, decaying, rubbery flesh.^[8]

Some who have eaten hakarl say that it’s the most rancid food on Earth. We’ll take their word for it.

2 Rocky Mountain Oysters
United States

All oysters are strange, but Rocky Mountain oysters are especially weird because they aren’t oysters at all. They are cattle, pig, or sheep testicles that are peeled and coated in flour and then deep-fried for your “pleasure.”

You’re most likely to encounter them in the West where early ranchers needed access to cheap food and basically deep-fried anything they could find. The oyster fry continues to be a common ritual despite animal rights groups opposing the animal castration.

Rocky Mountain oysters are often served with hot sauce.^[9]

1 Mopane Worms
Zimbabwe

Finally, we’re heading to a market in Zimbabwe where you’ll see the locals carrying cups of their favorite snack—the mopane worm. They are big, brightly colored beasts that have been collected from trees and had their guts forced out. Then they are fried.^[10]

Mopane worms are a form of caterpillar that apparently tastes like chicken. We’ll be the judge of that. Well, actually, we probably won’t.

I’m an experienced writer, editor, and copywriter. I regularly write for http://the-mouthful.com/ and various others sites and clients. See my website angelwrites.co.uk for more info.