A regional delicacy is all the rage, but it's definitely not for the faint-hearted

Rabbits: cute, cuddly ... tasty. Braised rabbit heads, traditionally sold as snacks by street vendors in Sichuan province, are now regarded as delicacies by adventurous, wealthy diners at a number of prestigious Beijing restaurants.

In the Sichuan dialect, the phrase for eating rabbit heads is ken tu tou, but the act of doing so - turning your head, sucking the succulent meat, and the craving that accompanies it - gives the term a different meaning: "To kiss".

On a recent weekday in Beijing's Shuangliu Grandma's Rabbit Head, a well-known restaurant devoted to exotic dishes, young ladies in snappy dress, carefully protected by plastic gloves and aprons, were "kissing" rabbit heads. Every evening, usually after 7 pm, at least 30 enthusiastic bunny eaters sit in the restaurant's lounge waiting to be called to their tables.

As Chinese people become increasingly affluent, the habit of eating rabbit heads, which may seem unpalatable to squeamish Westerners, is not fading, but growing.

Demand outstrips supply

China consumed about 500 million rabbit heads in 2013, with people from Sichuan being the largest consumer group, accounting for 200 to 300 million of them, according to Luo Dong, president of the Chinese Rabbit Industry Association.

In 2013, domestic production of rabbit meat was 660,000 metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 10 percent. But domestic supply falls short of demand.

"About 100 million rabbit heads - one-fifth of the 500 million - are imported," Lou says, although he stresses that the figure was an estimate.

In July, Germany's Rheinische Post reported that France exported 74 tons of rabbit heads to Hong Kong last year, a huge jump from the 2012 figure of just 4 tons, and the export volume to the Chinese mainland rose from 168,000 euros ($225,243) in 2012 to 443,000 euros in 2013.

"Rabbit heads are not only selling like hot cakes in Chengdu (in Sichuan), they have become popular in other regions, such as Beijing, Hebei, and some southern provinces, in recent years," Luo says.

A fist-sized rabbit head costs 8 yuan ($1.29) at Shuangliu Grandma's Rabbit Head, and the restaurant sells about 1,000 heads every day, according to He Yongsheng, the manager.

The heads come in two flavors: "numbingly spicy", and the milder "five ingredients". A diner at the restaurant, a Beijing native who described himself as a New York-based movie director, said: "I like eating rabbit's head because it's such fun. Different parts have a different tastes and textures. The jaw muscles are tender, the palate succulent, the tongue is chewy, and the brain is creamy. Whenever I'm back home, I call my friends to come here. Rabbit head with beer is such a nice meal, and it's great to eat it while having a good chat with my friends."

Another diner says: "There isn't much meat, but the eating process is deliriously satisfying. The more you suck, the tastier they are."

Eating a rabbit head isn't easy, though, and getting the most out of the experience requires a good technique. Manager He offers a few tips.

First, pull open the rabbit's mouth by separating the upper and lower jaws from the skull. Then split the lower jawbone into two to allow access to the cheeks, tongue and chin. Getting at the brain requires a little more effort - gently bite the skull to crack it open and you'll see the brain coming out. To look really professional, be sure to use the bony upper palate to scoop out the eyeballs. According to He, seasoned eaters don't have to use both hands. The job can be managed easily using just one hand while you wield chopsticks in the other. "You can simply pull out the brain from the skull using chopsticks," he said.

Tasty and healthy

Rabbit is not just a tasty dish, it's also a healthy one. Dietitians say domesticated rabbit meat is high in protein, but low in calories and cholesterol compared with pork and chicken. Also, the animals are usually raised without the use of hormones or steroids. "It's tasty and healthy. I believe rabbit will gain wider acceptance as people's knowledge grows," He says, adding that his restaurant has attracted a number of celebrities, including Guo Donglin, a famous crosstalk comedian, plus the movie star Huang Yi, and former Olympic champion diver Tian Liang.

Liu Jie, sales manager of Qingdao Kangda Foods Co, one of China's biggest suppliers of meat, says the company saw rapid growth in orders for rabbit last year, when it sold 10,000 tons of rabbit meat, plus 1,000 tons of heads. Both figures were a rise of about 20 percent from 2012.

Antoine Gautier, founder of Algo Foods, a Paris-based company that supplies frozen meat to markets in Europe, Asia and Africa, says demand from China is growing for exotic meat items - offal, pig ears and feet, and chicken feet.

"We don't trade rabbit meat. Our most popular items for Chinese clients are pig's feet, the demand is even higher than for offal," he says.

dongfangyu@chinadaily.com.cn