What's for dinner?

When I first came here I promised myself that I would try a little bit of everything. No matter what. And so far, I have. Already I have eaten things that I never thought I would. I have discovered new, delicious things, discovered some not-so-delicious things, and discovered that I am actually braver than I thought when it comes to new food. Today that little promise was tested to the max. So, what's for dinner??

Aunty had just finished lamenting the fact that they had guests coming over for dinner and she had nothing to feed them but sausages when the neighbor walked in with these hideous orange creatures that were all claws and legs and asks if we want them. Aunty practically jumps up and down with excitement, "Oh yum, of course we do!" (Yum? As in, we're going to eat them? Uh oh. Wait, what are these things? Crayfish, I later find out) Unfortunately Aunty and Uncle were just heading out the door for the temple so they dumped the crayfish in a sink full of water (apparently they drown in fresh water) and put a board overtop of them so they couldn't escape. Then they took off and left me all alone with the crayfish. I was definitely a little traumatized as I sat there and watched those hideous monsters die. And I may or may not have screamed a little bit when they started thrashing around. Then I had an awful thought. What was I going to do if they somehow escaped??? I mean these creatures were thrashing around all over the place. There was no way that little board was going to stop them. And there was no way I was going to touch them and put them back in the sink if they did get out. So I pulled out all the big pots and  pans and put them on top of the board. That fixed it.

Eventually the weeping, wailing and gnashing of the teeth stopped and I figured the poor creatures were finally dead. I still could not bring myself to touch them though. So they stayed in the sin. And so did the board and all the pots and pans. Just in case. I went out for a couple hours and I when I came back the house smelled like seafood. Aunty had cooked the crayfish (I am so glad I missed out on that part) and they were sitting so innocently in the dish. I got a picture just before we dug in. 

How did it taste? Well, once Aunty had snapped them in half and extracted all the meat, it honestly looked a lot like chicken. And it kinda tasted like chicken too. Sweet, tender, chickeny with just a twang of seafoodishness. I think I might just eat it again. As long as I don't have too catch it, watch it die, cook it, or cut it in half, I might actually enjoy it. 

I would really like to say that the dinner experience ended there, but sadly, that's not even half of it. You see, the same neighbor who so  kindly brought over the crayfish for us also brought us something else. Paua. My only other experience with paua was the jewelry that is made out of the pretty shell. I had no idea that you could actually eat it. For those who don't know, paua has a hard shell, shiny on the inside, with a big black rubber thing inside that is actually edible. Today's special: Cut in strips and fried with butter. To be frankly honest, it was disgusting. It was like eating an old, moldy boot. It had the consistency of slimy rubber so you couldn't just swallow it and get rid of it, you had to chew it several times first. But yours truly didn't just have one bite. I didn't even have just one piece. Three pieces, 10 bites in total. I am a trooper. And I'm still trying to get the taste out of my mouth.

ps. This was 3 days ago. The sink still smells like crayfish. And I think the paua did something funny to my digestive system.