As I walked into the colorful building, I knew I was in for an unforgettable experience.  It was Ha-Ha's—a popular restaurant in downtown Wuxi.  My friends and I were seated at a large round table near the center of the room.  After patiently waiting for a menu which never came, we realized that the ordering process was a little different here.  After flagging down a waiter, we were lead to a back room.  And there, we were signaled to pick out our food--only it was still alive!!  There were cages and tanks full of turtles, snakes, pheasants, geese, rabbits, and fish.  Being a very adventurous group, a turtle, snake, pheasant, and fish were selected.  I screamed (I really did!) and covered my eyes as our little turtle was taken to the table and decapitated.  Now I once cried when my dad planned to kill a dragonfly for my brothers second grade insect collection (which he ended up letting go because of my hysterias),  so you can imagine how upset I was to see a cute turtle being chopped into pieces!  I ran back to our table, choosing not to watch the rest of the "show". 

The others soon joined me, and we waited for our freshly slaughtered meat to be prepared.  The lively Filipino band performing at the restaurant that night came over to our table and  played American music including the song "Sex bomb", and insisted that we dance with them.  I even got up and danced a little (which I don't do very often because I've been accused of dancing like Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bellaire.)

 And then the waiters began to bring out our food.  The way they were hacking at the turtle earlier, I kind of assumed that I wouldn't even be able to recognize what I was eating.  Not the case.  The turtle had been reassembled and was now sitting in a bowl of broth with big chunks of snake floating around it.  Not the most appetizing entrée.  The pheasant was the next dish to be brought out.  Once again, it was VERY clear what was on the plate—a pile of meat and bones smothered in a spicy orange sauce.  Oh look, there's the head and there are the feet---nails and all.  Yummy. 

I'm the type of person that likes to try most things at least once—just for the experience.  And this was no different. I couldn't bring myself to eat the head of the turtle, so I was left with the leg and foot.  Chewy.  Next was the snake.  Tasted like turkey—at least the nibble that I was able to find among all the skin and bones.  The pheasant was really spicy and quite good, but there isn't much meat on a bird that size.  My favorite was the the fish--the freshest fish I've ever eaten.

I left the restaurant that night still a bit hungry with a half-empty stomach, but full of new memories that will last for years.  And the moral of this story is?…I don't know, you tell me.