Beijing - In this restaurant, patrons are served from below the belt. Beijing's Guolizhuang restaurant specializes in an unusual and delicate fare - animal penises. In China, eating the male member of various animal species has a long tradition. "This is not simply food, but a culture of its own," says waitress He Chunmei. For four years, she has been working at Guolizhuang, which roughly translates as "strength in the pot."
The house's speciality are the sexual organs of male donkeys, stags or even snakes, according to taste served with spicy sauces or cooked in nourishing soups.
"Eating it increases a man's strength in bed," He says, praising the effect of her dishes.
But women would also do well in overcoming their initial shyness towards the unusual delicacy. In particular eating stag penis smoothes the skin and makes women overall more beautiful, the waitress says.
For a cold starter, the 22-year-old recommends a serving of maggots from the southern Chinese province Yunnan. Guests can then choose between different platters as a main course.
Their names range from the poetic Dragon's Well to the rather more horrific Penis Flower, other entries on the menu include a Turtle and Stag Penis Pot or Kidney-Stimulating Dick Delicacies.
Prices are steep for China, starting with 235 yuan (34 dollars) per platter with particularly splendid seal specimens costing up to 10 times as much.
"But you can also order individual pieces," the waitress said. The most expensive set meal sets a group of adventurous gourmets back a whopping 99,888 yuan. "But you get eight platters with all sorts of different penises and testicles," He explains.
While Western visitors may feel revolted by the specialities, chef Zhang Guoyi sees nothing unusual in his job. But the 40-year-old admits: "It was strange when I first tried it myself."
After three years in Guolizhang's kitchen, Zhang has prepared the members of uncounted animal species and meanwhile regards his job with a dash of very male humour: "Donkeys got the biggest and snakes the smallest," he says.
He Chunmei meanwhile slips several of the virile pieces of meat into the boiling soup in which a turtle shell floats, stirring the white broth with a big spoon. The dishes are prepared directly at the table. Five minutes and the stag organs are well done.
"The soup is good for the kidneys and stimulates blood production."
With the Turtle and Stag Penis pot, the waitress recommends a strong schnapps mixed with the liquid from the interior of stags' antlers.
However, a group of Western males remain rather hesitant when the main course is finally being served. "The penis is done," He announces, thereby declaring the meal ready.
This is the moment of truth for the foreign patrons. "We were keen to try, after all," one says as He puts a grey phallus on his plate.
Displaying courage, he picks it up with a pair of chopsticks and and sticks it into his mouth. "Real nice," he says, but can't help making a disgusted face when chewing on the penis. He starts to choke and pleadingly looks at his co-diners. "Spitting it out now would be impolite," he decides, boldly chewing on.
He swallows, washes everything down with a big mouthful of tea, he urges the others: "Now it's your turn!"
