if your experience has been limited to rehydrated jellyfish served in chinese restos,you probably have no idea how close to the truth your remarks are. in panay, fresh jellyfish is rubbed with pulverized mangrove tree bark, giving it an orange-y color. this is probably to remove the itch, but this is just a guess. it is sold in the market in inch-thick slabs. at home, cut into cubes and dipped in vinegar with lots of ginger. more chewy than gelatin (the outer membrane is in fact tough) with the tang of the sea like seaweed. in the province, i will pop a few pieces into my mouth when the dish is offered by a tuba-drinking host, but otherwise not among the delicacies i miss in the city. actually, not really expensive at all. cheap, very cheap in fact for the following reason. the water leaches out and after a few hours the vendor is left with what looks like two pieces of somewhat thick wet cellophane stuck together. the joke is the jelly fish seller, like the ice seller, has no worries about being stuck with unsold inventory.

In Singapore, we can also get the pre-packed processed jellyfish in most supermarkets. They come in a variety of flavours, but somehow, they never tasted as good as tt of the restuarnts. The texture is the same – springy & cruchy, but the seasonings used r diff.

& hey, ur 2nd pic is taken at UnderWater World, Sentosa Island, Singapore! I’ve been there so many times as a child. There’s 1 species of jellyfish tt’s SO CUTE & tiny.

I would never have touched a jelly fish dish if it were served as the one in your first pic..eek! I like it in long strips thank you. Apparently, there are ‘fake’ jellyfish being served in restos(im not sure how theyre made of) as there are ‘fake’ abalones and birds nest soup. Ive tried those instant jelly fish packs and theyre as crunchy as chiz curls! Me wonders if theyre the real thing….