There are several such videos online if you choose to seek them out. The apparent point of the practice, supposedly restricted to certain parts of China, is to demonstrate the freshness of the fish--and supposedly it does make a vast difference, just as it would with sushi or other meats. Allegedly the fish is indeed thoroughly deceased by the time it reaches the plate, and the movements are apparently simply spasms similar to what happens when a human body undergoes rigor mortis. Not that I condone the practice, but......

A lot of the comments accompanying the article make sense. Eating any flesh is essentially "inhumane." Our cooking it is essentially cruel. Would you have been happier had the fish been killed by being immersed in hot oil...or just more insulated from reality? Our own cultural mores make this video repulsive (and I admit to my own revulsion). I am hardly a vegetarian (and am usually infuriated by the antics of PETA) -- just throwing out some "food" for thought.

I totally agree. But I still can't bring myself to watch the video. EL

I don't think this guy necessarily invented the trick; some 5 years ago Inaki Aizpitarte of La Famille then, now Le Chateaubriand, sent me out a shrimp, live at the head, burnt at the tail. I don't think it's disgusting to eat oysters or clams. So.

Quickly and humanely killing an animal before cooking it is one thing, but cooking it so half of it is alive is another thing.

I must thank you for helping me stay on the "no meat this week" tangent i've been on. Freshness is glorious, torment is not.

I have read about -- but never seen -- a live lobster sashimi served at Bethany Seafood Restaurant in Ellicott City.

See this Yelp review: http://www.yelp.com/biz/bethany-seafood-ellicott-city#hrid:4IuFvHB752Ush3wRfcewQw

I'm a carnivore, but what sort of sickness would make people want to cook and/or eat an animal that has had its suffering prolonged?

I remember reading in Jacques Pepins biography that he was very impressed with this delicacy when on a tour of China with several other chefs. The technique of pulling something like this off is intimidating. I would definetly try it if I had the chance, but then again I don't really consider fish anything other than swimming vegetables.

Speaking of odd foods, has anyone else heard of Bishop's Nose?

I'm not so interested in the preparation, but rather the etymology of the term, "Bishop's Nose".

Trouble, there are several different names for that part of the bird known as the pygostyle. The earliest known term, "Parson's nose", apparently dates from ca. 1400 AD in England, but alternate terms could be used depending on one's religious prejudices, such as "Pope's nose" or "Sultan's nose".

Trouble, there are several different names for that part of the bird known as the pygostyle. The earliest known term, "Parson's nose", apparently dates from ca. 1400 AD in England, but alternate terms could be used depending on one's religious prejudices, such as "Pope's nose" or "Sultan's nose".

Ask and ye shall recieve. I'm going to have to look for some greater verification than Wikipedia, but that certainly gives me a direction to point my (throat clears) nose.