Tonight I had my first ‘China’ meal.  Pigeon.  When I first looked at it, I thought it might be quail or a small chicken.  Nope, pigeon.

When eating with others, I want to be a good sport and try new things, but anyone that knows me, knows that my stomach is in charge.  I mean that quite literally.  If I could liken it to any character, it would have to be Oscar the Grouch.  It’s always grumpy and moody and the first to tell you when something is wrong.  You get the idea.

I have learned to be very careful when eating out, particularly in foreign establishments – to the point of not eating much just to keep Oscar the Grouch quiet.   However, like my dad said, I might just have a Chinese stomach so I looked at that small bird, cooked with it’s little wings still intact, and I just tore right into it.  And yep, you guessed it.  It tasted a lot like chicken.  It wasn’t half bad and I started feeling pretty good about myself.  Here I am in China, eating at a Cantonese restaurant, and trying new things.  Feeling good.  And then I looked closer at the plate.

Staring directly at me was the head of the pigeon – right there on the plate.  My friend then bumped the plate as she was reaching for some tea, the head tipped over, and I saw the brain stem (I think) and suddenly, I was one with my stomach.  When she reached over and actually ate the head of the pigeon (she is Chinese) I put my piece of pigeon down and went back to my safe rice.  She offered me some chicken feet, but I politely declined.  Wouldn’t wanna get Oscar going.

Below are some photos of Shekou – enjoy!

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