of roos, wombats and glowing babies

an aussie mate once told me, you aren't really aussie til you've eaten a kangaroo. on a whim, i decided to try a roo steak. not that it's going to make me any more aussie than i already ain't.



being a self-declared animal-lover, i am strongly opposed to issues such as animal testing, or keeping a panda alive solely for its bile (which some believe to have viagra-like powers), or awful stuff like that. what i advocate, however, is a healthy dose of curiosity for foods of varied cultures. being one who's guilty of shying away from smelly tofu while in taipei, and glaring daggers at food stall owners in kunming, who breed dogs for meat, i am aware that i'm shooting my own foot here.

though not proud of the fact i'm slightly hypocritical (and perhaps because i managed to find Roo Steak written in chalk as the top item on the list of Specials at a cafe on brunswick street), i succumbed.

and it was surprisingly good.

it's got a texture like beef, but without that beefy taste. and roo steaks have to be done medium-rare, as they get really tough when they're overdone. this cafe/restaurant has apparently received many compliments for their roo steaks. i had to remind myself (and justify to the self-righteous friend who was with me) that, since the roo was already dead, it would be a waste to have allowed it to perish for nothing. the right thing to do would be to consume it - respectfully of course, and to remember the circle of life.

incidentally, i was reading that wombats make a very bad meal. they're mostly grizzle, muscle, bones and wiry fur. so wiry, in fact, that they are made into doormats. or ropes. the way to approach a wombat in the wild would be to sing to it, taking 1 step towards it every minute or so. this allows for the wombat to constantly hear the direction of your approach. walk too quickly, and the wombat starts running away. you can always tell when a wombat has been around: by its cube-shaped shit. but i digress.

the circle of life.

"fewer cows need to be bred for meat if people will eat less beef" was my self-righteous friend's frosty retort. my friend is an aspiring vegan, or a vegan in-the-making, for whom mortal delights such as char siew still pose as a stumbling block. she casts me a very dirty look and walks on.



a few blocks down, and something else freaked the both of us out completely.

a giant glowing baby.

what will they think of next?!