Is this Appetizing to You?

OK, so I know I'm a little biased due to the fact that I'm vegetarian. But even so, I just don't understand how people can find Peking duck appetizing. It's AN ENTIRE ANIMAL, cooked with its head and BEAK still attached. I don't get it. It freaks me out.

Am I the only one eked out by this?

It appears that some people also find the whole dead-animal-with-its-head still-attached thing disturbing as well, because some grocery stores in Singapore sell heads and bodies separately, which leads to this macabre sight:

There go all my happy memories of feeding the ducks at the park...

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by the appetite for duck heads. After all, this is a country where the fish eyeball is a coveted delicacy!

The Fascinating Feet of Chicken

So, I am of the opinion that chicken feet are pretty freaking gross. I mean, if you put the foot of anything (a cow hoof? some monkey toes? a cat's paw?) on my plate, I think I would turn up my nose pretty fast. And chicken feet don't even look edible - they're so bony and tendon-y and weird. But millions of Chinese people feel differently. In China, Singapore, and other places, chicken feet are an in-demand delicacy. In fact, they're such a revered dish that they're referred to as "phoenix talons" in China. In the U.S., chicken feet are not common fare, so many chicken feet are exported to China, where they can fetch a decent price. According to this Time story, chicken feet (er...I mean phoenix talons) play a significant role in U.S.-Chinese trade relations.

I'm suspicious of food that looks like it could fight back.

I think I'll stick to my vegetarian diet...