Banana Flower a Bust

I often buy things at the market that I have never tried. Sometimes what I picked up turns out to be good, and sometimes it is just not to my liking. On a recent trip to the Viet Hoa Market I walked out with a banana flower, long beans, and quail eggs. I love the long beans and the quail eggs, but the banana flower is not something I'd put in the basket again. I wanted to love it because it is so pretty, but that somehow was not enough. I read all about them before I cut into it. You can use them in soups, curries, and salads. So I decided to try it raw to get the full flavor. It tastes like those bitter bits of string that live between the banana and the peel. You know what I'm talking about. So until someone changes my mind, banana flower goes on the bad list.

BTW that is a scan of a banana flower that has been cut in half.