I was reading Amy Tan's "The Hundred Secret Senses" which piqued my curiosity about Thousand Year duck eggs. I asked a coworker from China if she knew what they were, or if she'd ever tried them. She said that she had, but that in her hometown they were called "pine eggs" since there were pine needles mixed with the mud the eggs were packed in.
A few days later, she comes into work smiling and says "I have something for you!" We go to the coffee room and she takes out this brown ball of dirt. God only knows where she found it. She proceeds to bang it on the inside of the garbage can to break all the mud away.
When she broke the shell of the egg it let of a very strong reek of sulfur. Worse again when she cut up the egg to share with everyone. I was rapidly losing my nerve looking at the dark brown jellied white and gooey grey yolk, but I knew I had to try it or risk hurting her feelings. (After all, she brought it in just for me)
The flavour was surprisingly bland. It tasted just like a fresh boiled egg, if it was a little smellier. The brown gel had the same texture as boiled egg white. The yolk was a little creamier than egg yolk oughta be, but it was still palatable. I think more than a few coworkers thought I was completely mad.