Yucky or Yummy? WEIRDEST foods from around the globe

Just imagine, you step into an upmarket restaurant in an alien country, and a suave waiter proposes in his composed voice, “Welcome sir. Would like to have our signature cobra meat burger with some fried tarantulas?” And as you try and regain consciousness, the waiter concludes, “and to sum it up, we highly recommend our chef’s special dessert -- chocolate cupcake made up of mealworms!”

Think this is unbelievable? You have a lot to explore and get flabbergasted (or disgusted)!

We present some of the most extreme foods from across the globe. Bon appétit!

Opening photograph: A woman chews a cooked tarantula at the 110th Explorers Club Annual Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

The club, which promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air and space featured catering by chef and exotic creator Gene Rurka during its March 2014 event. Chef Rurka prepared a variety of dishes featuring an array of insects, wildlife, animal body parts and invasive species.

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A student cook holds a bowl as he prepares a Tjap Choi, a traditional Chinese dish made of mealworms and locusts, at the Cooking school at the University of Wageningen in Netherlands.

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A chef prepares a cobra meat burger at a Chinese restaurant in the ancient Indonesian city of Yogyakarta.

Snake hunters catch about 1,000 cobras from Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java provinces each week to harvest their meat for burgers, priced at 10,000 rupiah ($1.15 or Rs 70) each, as well as satay and other dishes.

Some customers said they believe cobra meat can cure skin diseases and asthma, and increase sexual virility.

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A person uses a mobile phone to take photos of whole-cooked alligators at the 110th Explorers Club Annual Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

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A woman tastes a chocolate cupcake made of mealworms and topped with a locust at the Cooking school at the University of Wageningen, Netherlands.

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A man eats a part of an Uromastyx lizard, also known as a dabb lizard, in a desert near Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The lizards, which are considered a delicacy in some parts of the Middle East, are caught in the spring season using hooks and sniffer dogs as well as bare hands.

The lizards can be grilled or eaten raw, and according to popular belief, their blood is used to strengthen the body and treat diseases.

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A boy displays boiled rats for sale on the main highway in Malawi's capital Lilongwe.

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Dog meat or "Dan go gi" in North Korean expression, is placed on a table at a famous restaurant in Pyongyang.

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Snake meat is seen in a bowl of soup served at a shop in Hong Kong.

There are scores of people in Hong Kong who have through generations tamed snakes to make soup out of them, a traditional cuisine believed to be good for the health.

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A typical dish in ant sauce is seen in the restaurant Color de Hormiga in Barichara, Colombia.

Every year during the April-June season thousands of Colombian farmers and inhabitants of Santander province collect ants culonas (Atta Laevigata) as part of a traditional ritual in the region. The ants, named “Culonas” for their big size, are cooked and sold as exotic, specialised food.

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Mealworm quiches are seen at the Rijn IJssel school for chefs in Wageningen, Netherlands.

“All you need to do to save the rainforest, improve your diet, better your health, cut global carbon emissions and slash your food budget is eat bugs. Mealworm quiche, grasshopper springrolls and cuisine made from other creepy crawlies is the answer to the global food crisis, shrinking land and water resources and climate-changing carbon emissions”, Dutch scientist Arnold van Huis says.

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Goat penises are prepared in the kitchen before the 110th Explorers Club Annual Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.