Howdy, group(s). I was in a philipine restaurant today
(Kainan Sa Kanto, Stanton, CA, USA, to be precise)
and I ate some weird (but delicious) food, including:

- A dish that appeared to be a mix of some kind of sliced
vegetables mixed with scrambled eggs.

- A dish that appeared to be roast chunks of beef in a
savory sauce, with weird tan spheres with rubbery
texture and meaty flavor.

I was very curious as to what the weird vegetable and the
weird tan spheres were, so I took a sample of both home,
and did some digital photography.

Here's a photo of the weird vegetable:
http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/Weird-Vegetable.jpg

I sliced the tan sphere in two and photographed both the
inside and outside. On close inspection, it appears to be
some sort of egg, though of what type, I have no clue:

Weird egg, exterior:
http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/We...g-Exterior.jpg

Weird egg, interior:
http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/We...g-Interior.jpg

Anyone here recognize that vegetable or that egg? If so,
what are they?

--
Curious,
Robbie Hatley
lonewolf at well dot com
www dot well dot com slant tilde lonewolf slant

On 10/24/2009 1:05 AM Robbie Hatley ignored two million years of human evolution to write:

> Here's a photo of the weird vegetable:
> http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/Weird-Vegetable.jpg

Looks a bit like eggplant, but the green ones are usually spherical.

What was the flavor like?

> I sliced the tan sphere in two and photographed both the
> inside and outside. On close inspection, it appears to be
> some sort of egg, though of what type, I have no clue:
>
> Weird egg, exterior:
> http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/We...g-Exterior.jpg
>
> Weird egg, interior:
> http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/We...g-Interior.jpg

The egg was boiled in water with either tea or soy sauce, then
shelled and cut, and the yolk was removed and it was stuffed with
what looks like bamboo shoot.

And what's with the use of "weird?" It's food, just not something
you're used to. Millions of people eat foods like those regularly.
Are they "weird" too?

"Dgs" wrote:

> > Here's a photo of the weird vegetable:
> > http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/Weird-Vegetable.jpg
>
> Looks a bit like eggplant, but the green ones are usually spherical.

This thing was pale green inside and out, with a convoluted
exterior. Eggplant is dark-purple (usually almost black) and
smooth on the outside, and spongy and white on the inside.

> What was the flavor like?

Bitter. Tasted sort of like rubber shoe soles and lye soap.
Not exactly my favorite vegetable, whatever it is. I'd like
to know what it is, so I can avoid it.

> > I sliced the tan sphere in two and photographed both the
> > inside and outside. On close inspection, it appears to be
> > some sort of egg, though of what type, I have no clue:
> >
> > Weird egg, exterior:
> > http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/We...g-Exterior.jpg
> >
> > Weird egg, interior:
> > http://www.well.com/user/lonewolf/We...g-Interior.jpg
>
> The egg was boiled in water with either tea or soy sauce,

Ah. Yes, that would explain the weird color of the outside
of the white. I suspect these eggs (there were several of
them in each serving of this dish, mixed with veggies, meat
chunks, and sauce) were first hard-boiled in water, then
shelled, then cooked in some sauce to impart color and
flavor.

> then shelled and cut,

It was shelled, but not cut. I sliced it open after I got
home with the sample for the purpose of photographing both
the inside and the outside.

> and the yolk was removed and it was stuffed with
> what looks like bamboo shoot.

No, the yolk was intact. The yolk had a chalky texture and
a sulphurous, hard-cooked-yolk flavor. The white had a
typical egg-white texture with a hint of soy-sauce flavor.
Quite tasty, actually.

The main thing I'm curious about is, what kind of egg
might this be? Definitely not chicken, far too small for
that. The size is about 1/2" by 3/4". Robin egg?
Quail egg? Pheasant egg? I'm just guessing. What kind
of eggs (other than chicken) are used in Phillipine cooking?

> And what's with the use of "weird?" It's food, just not
> something you're used to. Millions of people eat foods
> like those regularly. Are they "weird" too?

"Weird" just means "not something you're used to" as you
phrase it. So yes, foods, people, music, or whatever,
are "weird" to people not used-to them. It is not a
disparaging word in any way. Personally I like weird
things, and find them much more interesting than non-weird
things. Just remember, the opposite of "weird" is "boring".
I prefer weird. :-)

--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
lonewolf at well dot com
www dot well dot com slant tilde lonewolf slant

I'm from the Philippines and that GREEN WRINKLY THING is called ampalaya or "Bitter Gourd" in English.

The SPHERICAL TANNED EGG is actually a Chinese thing called "Century Egg", it's sort of like a pickled or salted egg. The egg is a chicken egg.

hehehe... hope to have put your curiosity to rest.

wish the pictures are still up on the server so I could take a look as well...

=)



Kind regards,
Joe