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Spain, a prized gourmet dish is paella, eaten throughout Spain by rich and poor alike. "Normally this dish is just saffron rice with bits of fish and condiments. In Valencia, however, "A hundred people will gather," said Ruegg, a food expert with Switzerland's most famous food multinational, "and a huge round plate of this traditional meal is served with slices of rat meat to give it that extra flavor. "

In the Bordeaux wine cellars rats were prized by French barrel-makers, who according to Larousse Gastronomique, grilled the rat over fires fueled by broken wine barrels.

In contrast to the Chinese, Indian Brahmin priests in a Rajasthan temple set out food and drink for rats. The rat is the preferred vehicle of one of the most important deities, Ganesh.

During the winter, Hong Kong tastes turn to exotic game meat. "I enjoy the cold in Hong Kong in winter because it means tucking into warming snake, civet cat, deer or musk ox dishes," writes food columnist Margaret Chan in the Singapore Sunday times. Game meats are eaten in winter because they are the 'yang' or "heating" foods rather than 'yin' or "cooling" foods. Yang foods are thought to keep you warm in the cold weather.

In the cold winters European tastes turn to deer, wild boar and duck, while North American tastes turn to moose, bear and pheasant. Even domestic pets are not spared. In the hills of northern Thailand, dogs are fattened up side by side with pigs until they are ready to eat.

Occidental travelers may find Chinese home cooking unusual. "I was a little bewildered", said, Lester, an American student in Taiwan, "when I was invited to my Chinese friend's house and his mother offered me crispy chicken feet for an appetizer. But I had to eat them or insult my friend. You know what? They weren't bad at all."

The Taiwanese and Cantonese are also fond of turkey feet, which along with turkey feet are found in their salads. Unlike Americans who tend to fancy the white meat, the people of Taiwan love the innards and the dark meat. Often the skin will be deep fried separately and served along with the main meal.

While abroad"...the lucky (Chinese) traveler may come across a dish of Cantonese chicken claws, succulent sea-slug or marinated snake..." says The Economist, "in a Chinese restaurant in Burkina Faso, an African wilderness that was once the Upper Volta." A little touch of home will make the Chinese traveler feel more comfortable.

Roast suckling pig is a delicacy in many parts of the world, including Rome.

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