Fish heads, fish heads, roly, poly, fish heads

A few weeks back a friend came for a visit to bestow my balcony with some greenery and a grill. Snazzed up balcony + grill = time to barbecue with friends. Since this is Taiwan, I thought I'd offer some seafood options for the make-your-own-kebob shin-dig and I headed to the grocery store to pick up some squid and shrimp.

Now normally at the grocery store as I pass by the meat and fish departments on my way to produce, my eyes are greeted by a variety of fresh fish and seafood. However, on the day I need to buy things, all I can find are fish and fish heads. That's right, fish heads on ice, fish heads on trays wrapped in plastic, big ones, small ones, fish heads, fish heads, fish heads! For about $5 or $6 US, you could be the proud owner of a fish head.

Needless to say, 5 stores later I finally found what I was after and headed home for a fish head free barbecue. Of course as I headed back to the grocery store this week and once again passed through the fish department, I couldn't help but notice they were once again fully stocked with fresh squid and shrimp. Why is it that my endeavors in cooking rarely require a trip to fewer than 3 stores to obtain necessary ingredients? Grrrr...

P.S. While you may fish heads at the super market please note that roly poly fish heads are never seen drinking cappuchino in Italian restraunts with Oriental women.....yeah....