An Octopus, A Crab, A Deer and A Bat

Steamed Octopus

Fruit Bat in Coconut Milk and Corn

Stir Fried Octopus

Coconut Crab in Coconut Milk

When it comes to food, I could say that I am pretty much adventurous. I am willing to try anything as long as I could chew and swallow it. For someone who had ameobaiasis some few years back, I still am willing to give my taste buds a different kind of experience.

Here in Saipan, I tried all the kinds of food I was offered. Bread fruit, sashimi, kimchi, soba with hot pepper. I even tried "chewing bettlenut." It's a common practice here. Almost everybody chews bettlenut. In the Philippines, only the old ones do but here in Saipan, men, women, teen-agers chew bettlenut like crazy.

It was during an officemate's birthday party. They were chewing and I asked them to describe how it tastes like. Of course, they just said, "Why don't you try it?" I got a tiny piece of the bettlenut, put some lime on it and wrapped it with the leaf. I put it in my mouth and started to chew. After about 3 seconds, I threw it all up. God! It tastes like poison. I can't describe the taste. All I knew is, I will not try it again and I don't like it.

Last Thursday, when I was in Rota (one of the islands in CNMI), it was another food adventure for me. I ate Octopus, Deer meat, Coconut crab and dyaran!!!!!!! Bat!
Yep, I ate Octopus. It tastes like squid only a bit tougher and more bland. It was steamed and I dipped it in soy sauce with wasabe. Not a very spectacular experience. I like squid better. At least squid is more tender and more tasty. Even the stir-fried version did not taste that good.
Squid pa rin ako. Steamed. Grilled or Adobo.

Deer Meat cooked in coconut milk. In Tagalog, "Ginataang USA" The meat was tasty. It was tender and it's the better version of beef. Health wise, they say it's better than any other meat because deer meat is lean meat. It doesn't have much fat.

Coconut Crab. I ate the "sipit" part. The meat was tougher than the ordinary crab meat. It was cooked with coconut milk too but they removed the "gata" and served it dry. They put the "gata" in a mug and they served it as soup. I just took a sip. It was so tasty, but due to too much coconut milk, I did not dare suffer the laxative effect. I still have a job to finish and I can't afford a bum stomach.

The Bat. It was cooked in coconut milk also. They served it on a bowl with sweet corn on top of it. I could figure out the shape of the bat from the white soup. The bat wings figured out prominently.

"What is it?" I asked, hoping it was not what I thought it was.
"Bat." One of guys answered.
"Bat?" "As in the bat?"
"Yes." They chorused.
"Where did you guys get it?" "From a cave?"
"No!" "That's a different kind. This one is a fruit bat."

I figured, OK, a fruit bat. Therefore, this bat eats fruits only.

It was a big bat. The wing span was about 7 inches. I got the spoon and tried to stir it up. They cooked it without removing the skin so the "balahibo" was still intact. I didn't get to see the head and the body. Just the legs and the wing part.

One of the guys was eating heartily. He got the leg part and ate it like a fried chicken drumstick. He looked at me and said, "Try it."

Well, the adventurer in me accepted the challenge. I took a tiny sliver of the meat. It's a dark meat like beef.

I put the meat in my plate, and I was unconscious of how the locals were looking at me. I turned the tiny meat around, inspected it and put it in my mouth. The smell was so strong that it registered in my tounge. The most apt description for the smell would be the smell of a damp rug which was kept in a locked and unventilated room for a week.

"The male fruit bat smells that way. But the female fruit bat has no smell." The guy volunteered the information.

The meat has the consistency of beef. I chewed and swallowed. I didn't throw up but I didn't get another serving. I just watched the locals while they ate the bat with gusto. Well, here in Rota the bat is a rare delicacy.

While on our way back to the hotel, my companion told me, "Hindi maipinta ang mukha mo kanina habang kinakain mo yung paniki."

I replied, "I was just trying to savor the experience. "

So here I am, sharing the food adventure I had. I wish I had the vocabulary of the late Doreen Fernandez when it comes to describing food. (Unfortunately, I have a limited repertoire of words to describe food.)

But come to think about it, the high sense of adventure I have when it comes to food reflects the way I approach some of the issues life brings me. Sometimes, all you have to do is try it so you could decide if you like it or not. If it's good for you or not. However, this dare-devil attitude goes pfftt when it comes to my swimming. How I wish I have this confidence when it comes to my hydrophobia. Well, I am a work in progress..........