Taking a look at this list, you'd probably never, ever want to eat any of these foods. However, if you read between the eyes lines, most of them are popular in their respective regions for pretty good reasons.
1. Tuna eyes
If you can get over the whole
your-dinner-is-staring-you-right-in-the-face thing, then supposedly
these eyes are among the finest tasting in the world, with their "fatty,
jelly-like tissues." In Japan, the dish is served fried with garlic and
soya sauce, and honestly, at that point, you can eat basically
anything.
2. Balut
One of the most popular dishes in the Philippines, balut is either
duck or chicken eggs, but always half-fertilized. As unappealing as
half-developed ducklings are, balut is high in protein and also, an
aphrodisiac. It's up to you to decide if that's all worth it, but if
it's any consolation, the people who've tried balut say it tastes much
better than it looks.
3. Ox penis
While in Western nations ox penis is dried and sold as dog treats,
in the Far East it is a common snack and noted to taste—quite
inexplicably—as seafood left a bit too long in the pan. Ox penis can be
consumed raw, but it's generally cooked by steaming or deep-frying. So
if you've got a taste for overcooked squid, then ox penis is definitely
the dish for you!
4. Rocky Mountain oysters
These look like some delicious calamari, right? Well, close. Kind
of. Actually, no, "prairie oysters" are made up of buffalo or bull
testicles. First they're flattened and then deep-fried and immediately
served. In the areas where they're common—wherever farming and ranching
is prevalent—there are often even festivals commemorating them, like the
"World's Largest Rocky Mountain Oyster Feed" in June, in Eagle, Idaho.
5. Durian
Most popular in Southeast Asia, the durian is supposedly the "King
of Fruits." It's worth trying not because it's necessarily going to be
great—most people either love it or hate it—but because it's rare and
its "aroma" can be detected from thousands of miles away. And that's
not a good thing in this case. But hey, you can't turn down something that's the bloody
king, right?
6. Fried bat
Most common in Thailand, fried bat is also particularly popular in
Laos and throughout Southeast Asia. Though often served with Thai
dipping sauce, the bats are crisp and crunchy, and many people "just rip
into the bat and eat it." Naturally, it tastes pretty much just like
chicken.
7. Fried tarantulas
In Cambodia, fried spiders are a popular snack, found most
everywhere by women peddling them around on large trays. You can eat
them with or without the legs, and even buy them by the "sack," which,
naturally, contains the heart and eggs as well. But it's all fried,
right? Can't be that bad.
8. Raw herring
Although raw herring isn't, strictly speaking, "raw," most people
outside of the Netherlands would consider it so. Once caught, the
herring is frozen, then laid in salt for a couple days in order to ripen
it up. Generally, herring ends up having a smooth texture with a very
salty taste. It's also famous for being a hangover cure, so next time
you throw a party, make sure to keep a jar of 'em stocked for the
morning after.
9. Horseshoe crab
Baked horseshoe crab is mostly popular in China, Hong Kong, and
Vietnam, but at certain shops in Alaska and Cape Cod (and surely
others), you can find it as well. The female horseshoe crab is regarded
in the East as a delicacy because of the high-protein meat and eggs. The
eggs, though similar in appearance to salmon roe, are actually harder
and much saltier—not to mention that the whole thing looks eerily
similar to the alien in
Alien.
10. Kopi luwak
Kopi luwak is one of the world's most expensive and exclusive types
of coffee. Produced predominantly in Indonesia, "civet coffee" is made
from the beans of coffee berries consumed by the Asian Palm Civet.
Meaning, yes, they pass through the civet's digestive track before
making it into a £50 ($79) cup of coffee. The coffee itself is renowned
for its intense, pleasing aroma and flavor as well as a distinct lack of
bitterness; so if you can get past that whole
this-was-pooped-out-of-an-animal thing, it's worth trying.