Even for those of us who aren’t self-professed gastronomes, many of travel’s most vivid memories are made at mealtime — we remember so well that skin-melting madras curry in Southern India or that al dente spaghetti in squid ink in Venice. So while there’s nothing inherently wrong with grabbing yet another sandwich at an international chain, sometimes solidifying the travel experience means picking the two-pound, 8,000-calorie cheeseburger or spicy silkworm larvae instead.

You can sink your teeth into these tasty dishes and a wealth of other outlandish offerings at the restaurants we’ve selected as the world’s weirdest. “Weird” is, of course, a matter of taste — as one man’s sheep’s penis is another’s Korean hot pot served in a toilet. Regardless, there’s no denying that travelers won’t soon forget eating at a restaurant devoted to a single ingredient (apples) or one that employs tiny monkey waiters. Read on to learn about nine of the world’s most unusual restaurants — happy perusing, and bon appetit!

Kayabukiya Tavern: Utsunomiya, Japan
At first glance, there’s nothing particularly striking about Kayabukiya Tavern, a seemingly run-of-the-jungle Japanese sake house. Food is of the Asian comfort variety — barbecue chicken, fried dumplings and rice dishes, all washed down with a no-frills selection of beer and sake. “What’s so odd about this place?” you wonder — until a tiny, fleet-footed monkey server politely hands you a customary pre-meal hot towel.

In lieu of human servers, who are costly and sometimes prove impossible to train, the owner’s pair of macaque monkeys efficiently work the gig. Dressed in open shirts and short pants, they scamper about, delivering bottles of beer and collecting tips of edamame (steamed soy beans) for their efforts. Animal rights regulations dictate that the simians can only work a total of two hours a day (the monkeys are fighting this rule), so make sure you call ahead to avoid homo sapiens servers. Read the rest of this entry »

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