My Best Crazy Travel Story: The Time I Ate Dog in China

I was backpacking around China in 1997 after having been an English teacher there. I was in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton), which is across the bay from Hong Kong and famous for the weird food they eat. Insects, dogs, cats, etc. I walked around a market that was
selling all those things for food – I’m not sure I’d have believed it if I hadn’t seen for myself.

Well, I figured “When in Rome, do as the Romans do…” So I wanted to try some dog. You can probably guess that I am not overly bothered by the whole “pets-as-food” thing. Anyway, I was pretty clueless about touring around, and had no luck finding a place that might serve dog.

So there I was in the hostel, lamenting my inability to get the “real” Guangzhou experience,when in walks a very well-dressed, very attractive Asian woman. The kind you do not ever see staying in a 16-bed communal hostel. She promptly announced (in English) that 1. she
was a reporter for a Hong Kong TV station, 2. she was doing a story on the weird food they eat in Guangzhou, 3. she was going out that night to find a place and see if it would be good for
filming, 4. she had an expense account from her station that was paying for everything, and 5. did anyone want to go with her? Basically I was handed an all-expense-paid ticket for the exact
travel experience I wanted.

Six of the other travelers, myself, and the reporter all took a cab to some restaurant she’d found. On the way there, the cab driver told us to be careful, because dog was very delicious but expensive and if we weren’t careful we could spend too much money. He said he liked to eat it
while watching football. What did it taste like? Not good, actually. Very stringy and gristly. There was hardly any meat to speak of. I don’t know what breed it was, but I guess dogs are not really made for consumption. I did think it tasted kind of like the spare ribs at a Chinese restaurant – I wouldn’t be surprised if they use the same spices. But I wouldn’t eat it again.

After that, we went to some club that was playing the entire Bob Marley box set over the loud system, and drank and had a good time until closing. I thought I saw a girl there from my
college whom I had heard was in China, but I wasn’t sure. Anyway, a very weird, fun, and wild evening. Although dog lovers probably think I’m going to hell.

P.S. There was another dish called “Tiger and Dragon”, which is a mix of snake and cat meat, but alas, I didn’t get to try that one.

By, DC correspondent