#14 - From Erica:
You knew someone would dare you to eat dog while you were in
Reward $20
Status: Completed
At some point in
He picked me up again at 4pm and took me to a local restaurant where the chef/owner has served dog for the last 10 years. I imagine the last time a Westerner ate there was NEVER! Yet there were several tables of Cambodians and it wasn't even the dinner rush. I required a beer for this one, and Phi-lay joined me on that note. As we awaited our food, I took a photo of the chef, and upon showing him, he proudly ran around the place showing people the photo of him holding a giant pot of dog parts. Who are we to judge whether this delicacy is right or wrong?
I asked to try both of the available dog dishes - grilled and a greasier, bone-inclusive stew (complete with kidneys). Phi-lay assured me the food was safe as doctors visit the farms where the dogs are raised. Mint leaves and sliced young banana were accompaniments, along with a tasty curry dipping sauce. After a few bites of the grilled dog meat, which seemed to be in the shape of sausage, and the yuckier stew, I tried to be polite and focused on gobbling up the crunchy and delicious young banana slices which went well with the now dog-flavored dipping sauce.
Phi-lay admitted to not being keen on dog either (he needed a beer with he meal too), though I was glad he joined me. Thankfully, his wife was beginning to prepare a proper dinner back at home, and I was invited!
PS - I love dogs. Especially
Dan says
I asked about dog in Cambodia myself but I couldn't do it, I love dogs too much and I was sure that upon my return my dog would know what I had done and try to exact his revenge on behalf of his canine brother.
Dan says
I asked about dog in Cambodia myself but I couldn't do it, I love dogs too much and I was sure that upon my return my dog would know what I had done and try to exact his revenge on behalf of his canine brother.
Erica says
Woooooo! Good for you! You are a stronger person than I!! :grin: I had a filipina friend tell me that she's eaten dog before and it makes you salivate a lot, but that it wasn't bad. $20 on the way!
Erica says
Woooooo! Good for you! You are a stronger person than I!! :grin: I had a filipina friend tell me that she's eaten dog before and it makes you salivate a lot, but that it wasn't bad. $20 on the way!
Leo says
I've officially lost my dinner appetite.
Leo says
I've officially lost my dinner appetite.
desperation_wetting_accidents says
Yep! I was agreed, I'll keep in touch to your blog.
Barbara says
So just curiously... can you please compare dog meat with another type of meat? I'm curious to know what it tastes like.
Dave says
I can't really say if it tasted like another meat. I was dipping it in a sauce and eating it with mint leaves. And to be honest - after a few bites of each kind, I was good. :)
Dave says
I can't really say if it tasted like another meat. I was dipping it in a sauce and eating it with mint leaves. And to be honest - after a few bites of each kind, I was good. :)
Mc says
what an asshole this guy is for eating dog I hope he got sick and has explosive diarrhea for the next twenty years.
Dave says
Hi Mc, I realize eating dog is a foreign concept to most people outside the few Asian countries where it's not uncommon. I've had a lot of dogs as pets growing up. I've had strong emotional attachments to them. But that doesn't mean I wasn't willing to push my bounds a little.
Part of traveling, for me, is experiencing the same foods eaten by the locals in the countries I visit. In Cambodia, that happens to include insects, fried spiders, and yes, dog in some places.
Anita says
This is your sick justification? I grew up between Saipan and New York and am a world traveler. I have tried many cuisines, but there are boundaries! Would you eat human in an area where that was practiced? Do you push your bounds by raping young boys in countries where the sex trade is not uncommon!?! Have some fucking scruples for gods sake man! Part of being a traveler is spreading awareness of suffering in other countries, educating yourself and others, not adding to the plight of animals and setting a bad example for others!
Dave says
Hi Anita,
I can appreciate you disagree with me, but my point is that we all have different boundaries.
Of course child rape is a terrible thing, illegal, and all mentally well adjusted people would agree it's immoral. You're comparing apples to orange in an effort to paint me out as the bad guy, when it seems all you know of me is this article out of the 1,500 I've written on this blog.
As sad as it may be, the dogs served in this restaurant are meant for consumption, just like the billions of chickens, cows, fish and other animals raised around the world. I have no desire to become a vegetarian, and I'll never eat dog again, but I don't regret the experience.
Anita says
You are a sick motherfucker! How terrible is your pathetic life that you would eat a companion animal? Do you know that dogs have evolved closely to human beings, more closely than any other animal. They are the most in tune with our thoughts and feelings. In these countries they believe stupid things like torturing and beating dogs brings out the flavor? I would love to meet you and show you just how much of a lowlife you are!
Patrick Hearn says
Anita, I understand that you are upset over someone eating a dog, but in the countries he visited, it is a common practice. Do you think an entire ethnic group is morally corrupt because of their culture? You have to understand, the world isn't a little box where people only eat chickens and cows raised exclusively for that purpose. Some parts of the world think Americans are barbaric for eating cows; it's no different from how you feel towards dogs. Also: there is a vast difference between raping children and eating an animal.
To say that they are wrong is to denounce their culture, and when we travel, we are the foreigners, not they. It isn't the traveler's job to tell them the way they live is wrong. We are merely observers trying to get a glimpse into another's life.
On another note, good job, Dave! A friend of mine once ate dog in Korea, and said it was good, but not something he would have done knowingly. I'm not quite sure how I would react, but I hope I would at least give it a try!
Bret @ Green Global Travel says
Wow, Anita! I'm a passionate dog owner myself, but comparing sampling an exotic dish that's very popular in certain parts of the world to raping young boys is crossing the line of rationality and reason a bit, don't ya think? I love dogs, and can't imagine ever eating one personally, but who are you to dictate what other cultures should eat? To some people, the idea of eating a pig or a (sacred) cow is disgusting. Personally, I'm more disgusted by the people in America who treat dogs and cats and other beloved pets like disposable garbage when they're no longer wanted. We just gas them and burn them: At least the Cambodians aren't letting them go to waste!
Jennifer Avventura says
When in Rome my friend, when in Rome. Too each their own, different strokes for different folks. I commend you on trying something new, and way out in left field. Better than sitting on the bandwagon of fear! Kudos.
Matthew Karsten says
Sounds like you're pretty closed minded about cultures different than your own Anita. Sex crimes and cannibalism is hardly anywhere close to eating animals. That's what a dog is. An animal. Maybe you're confused?
I love animals, but I also love eating them. So do billions of other people around the world, and they've been doing it ever since someone invented the spear.
Judging others based on your own personal opinions is both sad and arrogant. What exactly qualifies you to say that you are right and they are wrong? Why do you get to choose which animals the people of the world decide to eat? Do you want to choose how everyone should dress too? What about choosing the proper religion for everyone?
You're certainly free to have an opinion, but slamming other people when they don't hold the same opinion? I'd think you'd know how arrogant that is by now, being such an experienced world-traveler...
Peter Tudders says
No need to travel out of Thailand to eat dog, in Nakhon Phanom and elsewhere in the North East dog is still a delicacy and is widely consumed.
D :) says
No need to travel to Cambodia is right! There's this dirty chinese shack in Sherman Oaks, CA...pretty sure they serve dog.
Nomadic Chick says
Oh dear, I had this debate recently about my desire to run with the bulls. A well meaning Spanish traveler tried to drill into me the way they treat the bulls and I wholeheartedly agreed that it does sound horrid. Running with the bulls has been around since the 16th century though (it's not going away), and in terms of boundaries, mine in this case is about gender boundaries, so that may not be the best reason to do it, but it's my reason nonetheless..
So, Anita, comparing apples and oranges isn't going to illustrate your point. I have no idea if you are a vegetarian, you haven't stated it here, but I am.. and I love animals, but as visitors to another country we have no right or authority to criticize how a culture eats animals.
I learned that the hard way in India. Not suitable for dinner reading, but I saw dead puppies on piles of garbage. That made me angry, very angry, but I had to swallow it and move on, because I was exposed to more and more.
In certain countries, whether it's culture or economics, animals are either viewed as pets or food, simple as that. In poorer areas of the Philippines, rats are eaten. They can't go to Carl Jr's and buy a faceless steak sandwich like you can. And I highly suggest you read Fast Food Nation and educate yourself, because some of the North American farming practices to get beef on your table are pretty damn horrifying.
Also, consider the other alternative for these animals.. Many, many countries don't give a crap about spaying or neutering animals, so again, I've seen dogs that should have been euthanized long ago. I'd rather see a dog eaten, then dying and suffering on the street (I seen it and it made me cry).
Other than that, props to Dave for doing it. People urged me to try balut in the Philippines, good thing I pulled out my vegetarian card. :)