Incoherent Rantings

I have discovered an amazing new food that I feel the need to share with everyone. I have no pictures, but I found another blog with some pictures. Just so it's clear, the second picture is half chewed. You've probably read the other blog by now, but let me wax slightly more eloquent than the person in that link.

First, the setup. I was in Berkeley to take care of some paperwork for law school applications, and was able to meet up with some Japanese friends while there. They were having a Christmas/finals-are-over party of sorts, and so I went, and there was much food and alcohol to be had. Although I didn't actually have that much alcohol, driving being necessary later, but I digress. I am typing this at work, so any words that should be in Japanese (which doesn't seem to show up properly anyway) will simply be italicized. There is what one may call a tradition in Japan, called the batsu game. This is a generic term for any game where the point is not so much to win as it is to not lose, due to the batsu, or roughly, penalty/punishment.

There was a gift exchange, and a latecomer brought in these Genghis Khan Caramels ostensibly as a gift when in fact they were far more suited to be a punishment. Let me explain. They had the consistency of a normal fairly cheap caramel square, and the first bite is relatively normal. Within a few seconds, however, the taste of meat starts to come out, and almost without fail, your face will start to take on a worried puzzled look. A few more bites, and the taste of the caramel and meat takes on a distinctly onion flavor, and it spreads throughout your mouth, coating your tongue in meaty oniony slightly sweet death. It should be clear by now that part of the punishment for losing was that you could not spit the vile concoction out, neither could you drink anything or eat anything until you were done.

Excuse my hyperbole, but if you eat three, the third one will taste like what I imagine rancid meat coated in rotting onions would taste like. Make no mistake, this is easily the nastiest "food" I have had the misfortune of eating, and I would be hard pressed to choose between this or even a shot of Spiritus, a Polish vodka weighing in at 96% alcohol by volume.

You may also note that this is likely the most exciting thing to happen to me in about a month, and cements my opinion that an exciting life is not necessarily a good thing. It does make for good stories, though.

posted by Eric @ 11:07 AM