There are a lot of weird and wonderful creatures served with wine as a “tonic” in China. I had the chance to sample snake head wine in Guilin. It costs RMB 30 (which works out to about RM 15) per glass.
It is not “wine” in the classic sense of the word. There is no fermentation here. The Chinese word “jiu” means alcoholic beverage. These snake heads are actually preserved in some sort of liquid. The snake head is taken out, along with a tablespoon of the liquid inside those jars to produce:
Snake head wine!
It’s topped up with the legendary “kao liang jiu” – very high proof alcohol (in excess of 57% alcohol) and downed in a single shot. You’re not supposed to eat the snake head though – I enquired about the reason behind that and it seems that it’s quite poisonous.
This is the first of many snake posts from Guilin. 
Aiks ! Did you take the drink then ?
urgh i actually dont think i could stomach that!!!!
I have two bottles of those. I still think that it’s gruesome even though I have no problems with snakes.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Sorry for spamming, but…. did you eat the snake head?! T.T
oo cute! Can make a key chain out of it =D
Jess: Yup, of course I did. I am a huge fan of novelty and different things.
Tastes like alcohol though…but no worries, more snake posts coming up – at least 3, spent 1k on a snake in China.
kimberlycun: This is pretty tame…the good one is fresh snake blood from a live snake after its head is chopped off (prob next post) in alcohol, and also the gall. Snake blood is awesome! Doesn’t have the iron taste of human blood…or maybe I was too drunk to remember coz I lost RMB 800 that night. T_T
Michelle Chin: I love snakes as pets, but since they’re reptiles they will never be your friends…unlike dogs and cats.
I paid to have a real snake coz I wanted to video and photo a real snake being killed in front of me.
Vicky: Nope, I just had the skin fron the snake head and the waitress stopped me coz she said it was poisonous. Will post the video soon – classic example of drunk and disorderly. Heh!
I’ve drank throughout the day and combined with the snake blood + alcohol and snake gall + alcohol I wasn’t very sober when I got there.
chrisblitz: Yup, if you’re so inclined…would be better if it was done by a taxidermist instead of a food establishment in China though.
HB, are you in China now? Snake Wine sound so cool to have. Hope some day to try it out too. I still afraid of going to restaurants in China that might serve cats or dogs meats fooling people that it beef. I don’t mind donkey meat like in Japan certain part serve Sakura Sashimi ( Horse Meat) for it lean and tender raw.
OMG…. wrong bed time story dude!!!! now i can’t go to sleep!!
somehow i’m not surprised on what u can do and yet i’m still surprised on what u actually did!!
eelllgghhh eewwwww *disgusting* LOL (sorry!)
Ooh, you’re into reptiles? If you’re looking for a pet I can source just bout any legit / non-endangered species for ya. Just give me a buzz at the e-mail provided if you’re ever interested.
that snake i will nvr eat sumore no meat but if its phyton i will wallop whole poor things…hehe
so what happens to the head afterwards? They pop it back into the jar for the next customer? Eww, drinking piss with secondhand snake head. Some old Chinese man might have licked the snake head before plopping it back into the jar.
Oh ya, you can try suing Maybank for allowing you to withdraw money in a casino while in an incoherent state. They have a duty of care. I am sure you can find an ambulance chasing lawyer in KL
Good to see you had a good time in China.
*puke*
that’s gross.. :S
Michael (MIke): I was in China the week before – just a quick trip to Guilin.
Anyway, I don’t think they will serve cat or dog meat and pretending it’s chicken – you have to pay a premium for exotic animals.
It’s more expensive to serve it as “cat” or “dog” so it doesn’t make financial sense.
shimmers999: Haha! No problem…the other exotic food experiences I’ve had in China is much more adventurous than this. Coming up! =D
dogbone: I’ve had pet snakes before, ball pythons, but they have a tendency to escape.
It’s also quite expensive to have to keep getting new ones so I quit having snakes as pets.
ah nel: I ate an ENTIRE snake in China. Live and prepared before my eyes – from the blood, to the gall, to the skin to the meat.
Best 1k I ever spent.
rocket: Nope, the head is yours. The head comes from customers who order snake. I ordered an entire snake, the head is cut off (and probably used to make snake wine) – the blood is mine, drained into a glass, so is the gall, the skin and all the meat.
Seriously? Haha! I might consider doing that.
liyen: I’ve got better ones coming up!
Drinking snake blood warm from a freshly killed snake (so you know it’s from a snake and not just some blood in a jar), the gall (supposed to be a tonic), skin and meat! =D
waa this one is a bit too weird for comfort. lol
*_* *Stunt*
Oh no did you try the mice wine then?
That’s a bit stiff for a snake, seriously. I heard you can get snake noodles in Hong Kong for only a few bucks, why did this snake cost you so much or did you look like a Japanese tourist with a camera around his neck, ergo rip the living day lights off of him. Or the meal came with a lap dance and she “love you long time” afterwards, ha ha ha
KY: It’s more alcohol than anything, prefer the snake skin and meat.
Jester: There’s mice wine??? I didn’t see!
T_T
I was a bit too drunk that night after the snake blood + alcohol and gall + alcohol and those are very strong spirits.
Nevermind! I try mice wine next time!
rocket: I paid to get a REAL experience.
Those “snake meat” you see might not even be snake meat coz snake is really expensive. Same goes for “snake blood” or any other exotic animal. You just can’t be sure it’s that.
Thus, I paid for the ENTIRE snake, it does cost that much even to locals.
It was killed and prepared before my eyes so I KNOW I’m eating The Real Thing (TM). =D
That’s a bit stiff for a snake, seriously. I heard you can get snake noodles in Hong Kong for only a few bucks, why did this snake cost you so much or did you look like a Japanese tourist with a camera around his neck, ergo rip the living day lights off of him. Or the meal came with a lap dance and she “love you long time” afterwards, ha ha ha
rocket: I paid to get a REAL experience.
Those “snake meat” you see might not even be snake meat coz snake is really expensive. Same goes for “snake blood” or any other exotic animal. You just can’t be sure it’s that.
Thus, I paid for the ENTIRE snake, it does cost that much even to locals.
It was killed and prepared before my eyes so I KNOW I’m eating The Real Thing (TM). =D
Hmmm….when I was a kid, snake use to be cheap. A few bucks and they sliced it open at your table, pour into a cup, top with XO and bottoms up. Was it a very big snake like 15 to 20 foot? I still think you were supposed to get a lap dance but you piked out early.
keep those snake / exotic food posts coming! i’m not game enough for it, but its good to read your take on it
dude, funny thing is i can stomach snake blood and gall, but that severed snake head is just too nasty to look at!!!
I think I would purge when I see that bottle. If I have to drink that, I think I’ll faint. You’re so brave as usual!
rocket: Yeah, snakes are quite expensive ever since people started taking them as pets.
Yup, that’s what I had too – the head was cut off, and the entire snake upended and squeezed from the tail to get the blood into a cup.
No it’s a snake about 6-7 feet, those huge ones are expensive. The price is by the species of the snake.
kampungboycitygal: Thanks Wei Zhi!
I have more of that, including a guinea pig or some kind of mouse…I still haven’t figured out which.
kimberlycun: Heh! I have a video of them cutting the head off my snake too – it’s interesting over there, you choose the snake you want and it’s prepared in front of you to make sure that it’s the snake you ordered! =D
eiling: Heh! Thanks! I want to try exotic new things, it’s just part of my personality.
However, if I have to be perfectly honest, the blood or the gall from the snake made my nose itch for a couple of days. T_T
I nearly spewed just by looking at those pictures. Seriously, don’t you get put off looking at that? Haha.
i am really excited to try this snake head wine if i ever get the chance to go to guilin! now i’d better pencil in some vacation time…
Cecilia: Nope, I get turned on looking at that.
I’m interested in new things, novelty seeking – stuff I haven’t tried before.
tamstar: Yup, Guilin is fun! Be sure to drop by Yangchou too, very chill place as well.
Do try the entire snake too, but it’s quite expensive at about 1k (our money) so gotta find people to share it with.
OMAIGAADDD!! So geli wei.. The look of the snake head in the glass edi I don’t know how to down it. *salute salute*
“This is the first of many snake posts from Guilin. ;)”
annna: Thanks Anna!
Yup, more even gross-er photos and videos to come! =D
Snake being beheaded, guinea pig clubbed to death etc etc.
i hate this post!!! i hate snakes, and u dare to drink and eat its head some more!?!! luckily tat waitress stopped u. else i cant imagine what you’ve turn into. yucks!!
how can you still drink HB, i thought your liver is fucked up already.just concerned for our favorite blogger
snakehead whiskey. well… about the worst I ever seen is cutting the heads of eastern cotton mouths and putting them in a jug of corn licquor. aint doing any thing for the taste, but some persons like to put it in. Kinda like the worm in the teqilla bottle, to me. hopefully, at this point, I know enough to leave it alone. but it has not stoped me yet, God help me, and you would think i would know better by now. guess not, yet. thanks, HB
Have you had monkey brains? If no, here’s how it works. Get a monkey, get a small one that looks like a young child. Walk it to a chair, sit it down, and quickly duct tape it.
Using a sculper, remove the scalp. There will be some screaming and carrying on, just ignore that. That’s part of the novelty. Then grab a claw hammer and give it a good solid whack, that should smash a hole in the skull. Fresh/life brain is a bit like jelly. Tip in some XO and scoop it out with a spoon. Yum.
Before you gets a sudden urge for monkey brains, I was only mucking around.
goolooloo: Well, if you hate snakes you’ll be happy to hear that I just ate one so that’s one less snake you have to be afriad of.
clean: Thanks for the kind comments!
I guess I’m just hedonistic that way. I still drink copious amounts, but I think I’ll start to cut down after my alcohol runs out.
tom: Nice! They do it in the states as well? Yeah, it doesn’t do nothing for taste, it’s more about the purported “medicinal properties”. I don’t believe in that though, for me it’s about the novelty.
rocket: Yeah, I’ve asked around – it’s illegal in China now since their rebranded image for the Olympics. I bet it still can be found in certain provinces, but you’ll have to ask the locals.
I was planning to try that actually, asked the taxi driver, but he said it’s not available in Guilin on account of it being a tourist place.
I have no doubt it would be damn expensive to eat that though.
Mate, mate….come on. Best monkey is in Sarawak. Chinese monkeys are not as good, because of the cold weather, the brain is not as jellied. Next time you go Sibu, just ask for one.
rocket: Sarawak??? But they don’t serve it China style. Never heard of it in Sibu, doubt it available. I know a lot of stuff in Sibu, but monkey brains? Live? Served on table with its head jutting out? A bit tough to find, me thinks.
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