Cantonese Food

Summary
  • Exotic foods lovers should visit Canton, which is also known as Guangdong. Guangdong cooks will serve anything from snake, dog, rat, to monkey's brain.
  • Monkey's brain can be eaten in two ways, either alive or cooked.
  • For more light hearted eaters, Canton is also best known for their dim sum. Dim sum can be translated as "little heart."
Yum, what to eat?

(A side note, the Cantonese people are also known as Guangdong.)

There is a saying that "Cantonese will eat anything with wings, except an airplane, anything with legs, except a table." This saying let's you know that you are in for a treat because the Cantonese are known for their exotic foods.

Cantonese cooking widely uses almost anything you can think of such as rat, snake (also python), snake egg, and insect. Bizarre is the name of the game. Cantonese cooks are exceptionally well known for their use of fresh meat and their unique cooking methods.

One of the feasts that is known in Canton is "Monkey's Brain." Personally, I never tried it before. However, there are two methods to enjoy this feast.

First, the most infamous way to eat monkey's brain is eat it when the monkey is alive. The method involves putting the monkey inside a cage and having its head come out from a hole on top of the cage. For starters, you may need to clean the monkey by shaving the hair off its head.

After that, you can use a hammer to break the monkey's head. And voila, the brain is there for you to enjoy. Many people do not like to cook; they just eat as is with some wine.

The second way to eat monkey's brain is have the cook do the killing for you. What they do is take out the brain, boil it, and spice it with some wine. Then the cook will bring it out for your enjoyment.

Yummy
"Dim Sum" a little heart...

Now, before you say "I will never step foot in this town," I should say that the Cantonese are not only known for their exotic foods, but they are known for their dim sum as well. Dim sum is a type of dumpling, which can be boiled, steamed, or deep fried.

The good thing about dim sum is people can stuff anything that they want in there. Whether it's stuffed with meat, nuts, seeds, or spices, it always comes out delicious.

The word "Dim Sum" also carries a meaning of "little heart." So, if you want to try monkey's brain but do not have the heart to do so, you may consider stuffing the brain inside the dumpling.

Even though you may eat the monkey's brain, you can still say that you care enough for the monkey to put it in your "heart." Just kidding. I know it's horrible.

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