The Omnivore's 100

The Omnivore's Hundred is going round the food blogs these days (HT: Chocolate and Zucchini). It is a list that covers "a lot of ground in terms of quality, cuisine and culture." Something stuff on the list I would probably never touch, but still it is good to learn it is out there.

I'll bold the ones I've eaten and make comments while going through the list. I am doing it with MM at the same time and get his inputs as well.

I only have had 33 out of the 100. But there are 16 items on the list (painted in red) I probably will not try anyway (bunch of alcohol included).


1. Venison (not yet, but I heard it was good so I don't mind trying it. )
2. Nettle tea (I didn't know what it was)
3. Huevos rancheros (MM and I both love Mexican food, but we don't have it for breakfast, and we don't eat eggs often).
4. Steak tartare (Never heard about it, a bit too meaty for my taste anyway).
5. Crocodile (Certainly popular in Australia but I haven't had enough courage to try any).
6. Black pudding (Never heard about it, but sounds horrible from MM's description)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (popular in China, we even had it once in Australia)
9. Borscht (never heard of it, and I have hard time to feed beet root to MM whatever I do...)
10. Baba ghanoush (I even made it myself. )
11. Calamari
12. Pho (Never heard of it; not a big fan of Vietnamese food anyway--they tend to be too sweet for me)
13. PB&J sandwich (Peanut butter & banana sandwich is my favoriate, but with Jam?)
14. Aloo gobi (Many times but I didn't know what it is called).
15. Hot dog from a street cart (they say one got to do that in NYC but I had a pretzel from a street cart instead. It was a bit too big and MM helped. It was in Central Park.)
16. Epoisses (Never heard of it, but I am curious now--it is supposed to be the smellest cheese)
17. Black truffle (Will try it someday, when I am rich perhaps:)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (back in the States tried a couple of drops of berry wine)
19. Steamed pork buns (Hard to avoid it when you grow up in China)
20. Pistachio ice cream (Ben & Jerry has that flavor!)
21. Heirloom tomatoes (My friends back in the State grow their own)
22. Fresh wild berries (had heaps and heaps of them when I was five years old, visiting Luoyan, He Nan Province in China, where my father served in the Army back then)
23. Foie gras (happy to give it a try)
24. Rice and beans (Mexican staple food--MM and I eat it often)
25. Brawn, or head cheese (Never heard of it, I sincerely thought it was another type of stinky cheese. Turns out it is meat?)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (Haven't come across it yet. But we both love spicy food so it is only a matter of time we try the hottest pepper)
27. Dulce de leche (never heard about it. Some sort of caramel pudding thingy)
28. Oysters (Not a big fan, tried a couple of raw ones in Seattle)
29. Baklava (Had it once or twice when dining in Turkish restaurants back in the States with MM. Didn't know what it was called until now. Too sweet for me.)
30. Bagna cauda (Neither MM and I heard about it. Doesn't sound so attractive though: a mixture of garlic, anchovies, walnut or olive oil, butter,red wine vinagar and sometimes cream)
31. Wasabi peas (Japanese snack. I like it)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (Clam chowder yes though not my favoriate. I am sure even I had the option of having it in a sourdough bowl I will turn around. I like the cripy part of the bread and it is hard to do that with a bread bowl...)
33. Salted lassi (Mango lassi, for sure. But salt ones? Um)
34. Sauerkraut (Love it, we have something similar in China!)
35. Root beer float (Both MM and I hate root beer--it tastes like mouth wash!)
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I have zero desire for both Cognac and cigar, and the chance of me having the combination? zero.)
37. Clotted cream tea (had it more than once at work but didn't know its name!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (somebody fed that to me at a party I thought it was only jelly ;)
39. Gumbo (I knew what it was but never had a chance of having it)
40. Oxtail (MM had it when he was rather small)
41. Curried goat (we both love curries, but goat? lamb is more likely)
42. Whole insects (some Chinese do eat deep-fried scorpion and locusts but I don't look forward to it)
43. Phaal (we both love Indian food and spicy food, but this most spicy Indian food hasn't reached our meal table)
44. Goat’s milk (certainly Goat yogurt)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (I don't drink so it is a bottle worth $10 and another worth $100 doesn't make a difference)
46. Fugu (Chinese eat it too, not only Japanese. I love delicious food but I love my life more).
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (only when my stepfather cooks it)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (MM definitely had it)
50. Sea urchin (I don't mind trying if somebody tells me where to bite :)
51. Prickly pear (Popular in Israel according to MM so I'll have my chance)
52. Umeboshi (My favorite snack but nobody told me its Japanese name before!)
53. Abalone (A delicacy in China but I have never had it)
54. Paneer (Had it a couple of times at my Indian friend's in the States)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I probably cannot finish half of it)
56. Spaetzle (Oh dear, I haven't learned all the French names for pasta yet!)
57. Dirty gin martini ("What the hell that is?" asked MM)
58. Beer above 8% ABV (even if I did have it I probably wouldn't know)
59. Poutine (Ouch, ouch, ouch)
60. Carob chips (Didn't even know what carob is before. MM had carob chocalate in Isarel but not chips)
61. S’mores (Haven't done enough camping I guess)
62. Sweetbreads (Um...)
63. Kaolin (No desire to try it)
64. Currywurst (A bit more appetizing then Kaolin, still no desire to try)
65. Durian (I smell it often in Asian store but haven't tried it yet. MM often said "I cannot smell anything." Faint. )
66. Frogs’ legs (Once upon a time it was popular in China. I was surpirsed to see it in US supermarkets)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (Um.)
69. Fried plantain (plantain tasted like raw banana)
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (Ouch)
71. Gazpacho (cold bread soup? doesn't sound too appealing)
72. Caviar and blini (I love seafood but fish egg is another story. In China people say one will lose the ability to count if she eats fisheggs)
73. Louche absinthe (no more drinks, please!)
74. Gjetost, or brunost (finally, something I can look forward to giving it a try)
75. Roadkill (Once upon a time I tried a piece of moose kebab in a Conservationists' conference, and I was told that was from a roadkill).
76. Baijiu (I only had drops growing up with my grandparents. My grandpa drinks a small amount/50ml everyday for dinner. MM will be having his share when he goes to China with me this time :)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (I baked apple pie myself--no dessert from a box!)
78. Snail (doesn't mind trying)
79. Lapsang souchong (MM's favorite tea. I just had a sip myself)
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum (not my favorite Thai food, but OK)
82. Eggs Benedict (we both had it with smoke salmon)
83. Pocky (I didn't realize what it was called. Once upon a time I brought Pocky and free raspberry to a friend's)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. (Will try black truffle there so that we can kill two birds with one stone :)
85. Kobe beef (Do they also serve that in a three-Michelin-star restaurant?)
86. Hare (Rabbits for sure but hare?)
87. Goulash (beef stew with red peppers in, certainly. But not sure how Hungarian it was)
88. Flowers (in Salad!)
89. Horse (in my part of China people eat donkey meat but horse? Rumor says it is too dry to chew)
90. Criollo chocolate (will save that as a dessert in that three-Michelin-star restaurant :)
91. Spam (Something like that was popular in China--it more feels like cat food when I think about it now)
92. Soft shell crab (The first year in the States I lived 20 meters from the Sea and we even caught crabs ourselves :)
93. Rose harissa (didn't know what it was but happy to give it a try. Not sure how much Rose stands out with garlic and pepper)
94. Catfish (MM and I have basa all the time and I didn't know it was catfish fillet. Shame.)
95. Mole poblano (I didn't know what it was but am curious how spiced chocolate sauce tastes as part of main course)
96. Bagel and lox (didn't know lox = smoked salmon, MM just taught me this Yiddish word)
97. Lobster Thermidor (Just got the main course in that three-star restaurant! :)
98. Polenta (we eat it all the time in MM house, especially when making pizza)
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (happy to try something not so bitter :)
100. Snake (ouch, ouch, ouch! The last thing I want to try or even get within 20km with!)