Basashi: Thinly sliced raw horse meat sashimi. Sweet, beef-like flavour. A taboo for the horsey set. [Image via Japantoday.com]

Gyu Tongue Chazuke: This unusual cut of beef is extremely, um, beefy in taste. One might not even realize anything is out of the ordinary except for a slight chewiness. The setup for this dish is very cute with a tiny teapot filled with soup for you to pour over the rice, which is served along with the grilled beef tongue.

Grilled Veal Tongue & Roasted Veal Sweetbreads: For a non-Asian and more European approach to unusual cuts, Wildebeest is one of the few who dare to have offal on their menu. Pair with one of Josh Pape's dynamite cocktail creations to add necessary Dutch courage.

Snake Soup: Snake is usually served in late fall and winter at most high-end Chinese restaurant since the Chinese believe it has a medicinal property to help warm the body. Traditionally served in a thicker soup, the snake meat is shredded and ends up looking -and tasting- like chicken. Also keep an eye out for other snake dishes such as snake stew served in a clay pot (a.k.a. snake hot pot but not the kind from Landmark Hot Pot House) on the specials menu. However, since it’s a seasonal item, it is best to call ahead to make sure the restaurant is serving snake for the season.

Fire Exploded Kidneys: Head to Burnaby for this Sichuan classic - cross-hatch sliced kidneys fried with spicy chilis in a very hot wok. 

Pan Fried Duck Chin in Maggie Soy Sauce: Ducks have chins? It is the lower part of the duck’s bill that’s attached to the neck that’s being served so I guess that’s a chin. This dish is found on the dinner & late night menu; it’s mostly bone with just a small amount of meat - a lot of work for little pay off, kind of like chicken feet at dim sum. But you do get to suck on the spicy sauce.

Roasted Squab: Squab served at Chinese restaurants is actually young domesticated pigeon. With its crispy skin and juicy meat, roasted squab looks like a mini-chicken but its meat is more similar to duck. If this seems tame, one can increase the “fear factor” quotient by sucking on the roasted squab head, which is traditionally served as a garnish. [Image via Veronica/Flickr]

Chicken Balls: Not your father's Chicken Balls. These are not the deepfried sweet and sour take-out classic. These are actually testicles served hot-pot style with sides of other assorted meats and vegetables.

Pig Uteri & Other Pig Offal: Yes, uteri is the plural form of uterus and a special item on Landmark’s hotpot menu. If uterus is just Too Much Weird, then one can instead go for pig stomach & pepper soup as their hotpot base, and try pig’s skin, kidney and liver instead. What? That's not weirder, is it? [Image via Alpha/Flickr]

Duck Tongue: Did you know duck tongue has bones? You would think that they could do more than just quack with that kind of articulation. Simmered in a soy sauce and rice wine braise until tender so the meat and cartilage separate easily from the bones, the tongues become little ducky flavour bombs in your mouth. Don't worry about being discreet as you spit the bones out onto a side plate hopefully stripped clean of all the meat. [Image via watchfreeks.com]

Ostrich Congee: Congee Noodle House's popular 'da lang' (late night menu) is a treasure trove of interesting small unusual dishes. The Ostrich Congee consists of thickly sliced ostrich breast meat (tasting of a cross between chicken and beef) in a bowl of creamy congee. Order it with some Chinese donuts for dipping. [Image via Yelp]

Salade De Gesiers: The French enjoy offal too and what’s more French than confit? This salad features Confit duck gizzards. [Image via Amy Ross/Flickr]

Beef Tendon Salad: Sichuan cuisine is known for its array of cold meat dishes that start every grand meal. Thinly sliced beef tendons -which provide more texture than flavour - become a carrier for a chili-oil and cilantro dressing.  [Image via YVRBro/Flickr]

Sweetbreads Served With Toasted Oats: one of chef David Gunawan's stellar creations, sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas) teamed with oats.

Chicken Liver, Gizzard & Heart Yakitori & Deep Fried Chicken Gizzard: Japanese meat on a stick is great way to try chicken offal unadulterated. If the yakitori is too scary, the deep fried chicken gizzard is another way to go. These crispy nuggets will more or less look and taste like a Japanese version of the popular mainstream popcorn chicken.