warning - exotic meat consumption ahead. not for the squeamish.

i feel like i need to put a disclaimer on this post because i think some people might be grossed out and/or offended by the details of what will follow. so the people i work with love food. they especially love asian food and trying new kinds of food. i guess my bosses have been talking about going to this vietnamese restaurant for awhile. well we eat vietnamese food all the time so why was this place so special? the myth is that is serves exotic meats like snake and kangaroo along with the more traditional chicken and fish dishes. an article mentioned this restaurant recently in an article about where you can eat goat, and the spark of interest burned anew. so we called and had them fax over a menu (which i think they thought was odd)and my co-workers were delighted to find that they had kangaroo, venison, rabbit, snake, snails, squab, fox (apparently now illegal though, much to my co-workers' disappointment) and other strange creatures up for grabs. a plan was hatched and we went out last night to sample some of life's finer delicacies. i was a little apprehensive because the idea of eating a snake kind of grossed me out but i figured that i would suck it up and just eat it. the wait staff was very happy we were so enthusiastic though and thankfully, no one (meaning me) freaked out about the meat or anything like that. we ended up having alligator and venison grilled at the table with some butter and then wrapped in rice paper rolls with vermicelli and veggies, kangaroo stir fried with onions and bell peppers in a wine reduction sauce and snake porridge. we also ordered chicken with lemongrass just in case, but that's pretty boring. everything was really good. the restaurant really knows how to marinate meats and make it tasty. i liked the deer a lot. the alligator was good but it was in such small pieces, that it was sort of annoying to eat. the kangaroo tasted sorta like steak and was dark. and the snake didn't taste much like anything at all, but it's a white meat, which surprised me. we were quite impressed actually and are already planning the next outing, where we will try the famous baked catfish, some goat and who knows what else. ok - here are some pictures:


raw deer meat ready for the grilling


i was the lucky one to grill the deer and alligator last night


more grilled deer and gator


'roo with wine sauce


snake porridge with mung bean - kinda sweet

and to top it off they served us vietnamese jello for dessert (yummy). here are the details if anyone else wants to go (and i think you should. the food it very tasty and you can totally get "normal" meat there, too). it's called phong dinh and it's at 2643 N. San Gabriel Blvd., Rosemead; (626) 307-8868. Lunch and dinner 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m. Beer and wine. Lot parking. Dinner for two, food only, $15.95–$35 (more with exotic meats).

i think that's enough for one post. i am driving back up north for the lunar new year celebration with the parents. i am not really looking forward to the drive but a few days off sounds pretty cool. finishing up the green kid's sweater. one more sleeve to go!