There’s no doubt that poke has become synonymous with Hawaiian cuisine. But poke made with bloodline scrapings and fish eye balls? That’s got to be a new one.
Food show host Andrew Zimmern returns to the islands in a “Bizarre Foods” episode titled “Undiscovered Hawaii.” He’ll be trying that particular poke dish, as well as dried octopus bile sacs and deep fried pork intestines. To be honest, I grew up here and have never tried nor heard of these dishes before. But apparently, there are people who enjoy this stuff or at least have a stomach h3 enough for it.
The bizarre Hawaii dishes come from local eateries. That octopus bile sac I mentioned earlier is actually sold at a hole-in-the-wall shop in Waimanalo called Tersty Treats. I’ve driven by it many times; however, that definitely does not sound like it qualifies as a “treat” to me. Ew!
Andrew has been to the islands for a previous episode of the Travel Channel series. He tried foods that were more traditional than unusual. These included typical luau style foods, like squid luau, poke (minus the eye balls) and kalua pig. The best was Andrew’s reaction to eating spam for the first time. I don’t think he liked it very much.
“Undiscovered Hawaii” will either make your mouth water or leave you in great disgust for island foods, so watch with a careful eye and appetite. It airs on Monday, July 8 at 6 p.m. Hawaii time or 9 p.m. on the mainland.
