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Tuna Fish Ice Cream: Interview with Phil Goldman

Phil Goldman: On a quest for Tuna Fish Ice Cream…

When Phil Goldman turned 30, he hit the road armed with a credo: Taste the tuna fish ice cream.

As he travelled throughout Asia, Phil worked a diverse range of jobs – from playing jungle guide in Thailand, to posing as a nude model. Why? To taste the tuna fish ice cream of course!

TravelBlogs caught up with Phil to learn what this fuss about tuna fish ice cream is all about.

For those who haven’t read your blog, can you explain the meaning behind your credo: Taste the Tuna Fish Ice Cream.

It means that whenever I run across anything so incongruous, so out of the ordinary, I have to try it. Not necessarily eat the whole thing, but take a taste, just to see what it’s like. And it doesn’t have to be just food. Any strange life experience might qualify.

What’s the most bizarre thing you’ve tasted so far?

Well, it wasn’t bizarre in taste, but the visual always stuck me. It was in a small, small town during a festival in Northeast Thailand. They slaughtered the one cow they had and chopped up every part of it into small pieces (including entrails), mixed it with chili peppers and served up raw with sticky rice. You could have a choice – with or with fresh blood. Naturally, my credo demanded the fresh blood. I’ll never forget the way it looked, raw meat in my fingers, blood dripping down my wrist. It actually was pretty tasty. I had three bites before I started thinking about the bacterial possibilities.

Do you think this willingness to experience “tuna fish ice cream” has helped you discover cultures in a way that other travellers may not be able to?

…whenever I run across anything so incongruous, so out of the ordinary, I have to try it.

I think so, but I don’t think I can express it in a way that doesn’t make me sound like a pretentious git.

Just to get away from the metaphor for a minute… Have you ever tasted tuna fish ice cream?

Unfortunately, no. I heard about it from a friend on the other end of the country. It’s just that when he told me about it, and then told me he never tried it, it unlocked something in me. I knew would have had to try it, to try anything that sounded so weird.

I did try cucumber ice cream, though. Surprisingly refreshing.

Do you actively search for these kinds of experiences, or do you find they just happen naturally when you’re travelling?

I started out actively searching, but after a while, it built its own kind of momentum. It started seeking me out, sometimes when I didn’t want it to. I do think, though, that when you’re travelling, given that you could be in a culture that sells stir-fried locusts (quite tasty, actually) on the streets, it’s likely to happen pretty often.

This search for the bizarre and unusual seems especially suited to travel. What do you when you’re at home?

Frequent the Asian Markets.

The stories on your blog are from a trip to Asia you made when you turned thirty. Are you planning any future trips?

At the moment, no. I have certain, shall we say, familial responsibilities, which, as it turns out, offer a whole new kind of Tuna Fish Ice Cream.

Phil writes about his adventures at his blog, Taste the Tuna Fish Ice Cream!.

Subscribe to TravelBlogs Posted by Eric Daams on June 24th, 2008 in Interviews.
Tags: Asia, bizarre, Thailand