For me, camel’s lips were the last straw

Sir, Like Sir David Tang, I, too, have been made ill by being fed yak items in Mongolia and Tibet (Agony Uncle, House & Home, May 5). But how to decline, politely?

Before leaving after a stay in Kuwait, my friendly local bank manager asked me: “Have you ever eaten a camel?” Since the answer was negative, he kindly invited me to a farewell dinner in his mansion. To my surprise, a whole camel was then brought in, atop an enormous mound of rice. It tool six strong men to carry the tray, which they set down on the carpet in front of us. Our host then pulled off by hand the camel’s lips, a choice morsel by local standards: but looking too much like a cooked bicycle tyre to be very appetising to me. 

He generously presented this to me. I said that this was too much of an honour for me, and passed it along to the next guest! The mounds of uneaten food left over were distributed to the poor immediately after we finished our best attempt at consuming (at least some of) this rare feast.

Paul Surtees, Hong Kong