Kore wa nan des ka? (What is this?)

In the interests of being culturally enlightened, I bought this vegetable at the supermarket.

This is what it looked like inside. The outer green section was watery and
crunchy, a bit like the white flesh of a watermelon just before you get to the pink bit. The inner white section was slightly spongy, like raw zucchini. The seeds reminded me a lot of pumpkin seeds. I had no idea if you were meant to eat it raw or cooked, but I figured I'd try raw first and if that was horrible, cook it to see if it improved. The verdict? Scroll down.

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Pah! Amazing Cassia sucked on it as long as she did (long enough to get this photo and that was it). About the bitterest thing I've ever tasted.

The inevitable conclusion. And no, cooking didn't improve it.

Curiously enough, we found it at the smorgasbord restaurant we went to last week, cleverly disguised as a tempura (deep fried in light batter) vegetable. It was still revolting.

And it's called a goya, by the way. Apparently it's an acquired taste.