The Weirdest Thing I Ever Ate

Before I moved to Endicott, I lived in the Silicon Valley in California--tech mecca of the universe. My boss, a very nice man, was Chinese. One day, he took all of us out to lunch. It was dim sum day at his favorite Chinese restaurant. On Dim Sum day, people with carts of various foods just keep coming around the restaurant and the host at your table takes whatever he wants and shares it with the people at the table. Barbecue pork, lo mein, roast duck. Life was good. Then came the jellyfish.

OK, in the Asian culture it is extremely rude to snub food, so with that in mind I shoved some jellyfish into my mouth. OMG! OMG! OMG! Take a look at the picture above. If you were going to eat a jellyfish, which part do you suppose you would be munching? I'll tell you--the tentacles. Imagine very thick spaghetti noodles with the consistency of a rubber band. I chewed and chewed and chewed and the tentacles didn't get any smaller. I just kept feeling it and tasting it in my mouth--it wouldn't go away. Meanwhile, my Chinese colleague across the table from me was devouring bite after bite of this, his favorite delicacy. I thought I was going to die. I finally just swallowed it. I'm pretty sure I had a fever afterward. I know I was sweating. It's ok though. We chased the jellyfish with chicken feet.