Balut

Just today, when I was reading the latest post of My Women Stuff, I was “introduced” to a type of exotic food known as the Philippine's delicacy, Balut. As the post was about ParisB’s experience on trying something out of the ordinary, Your Say: What’s the Strangest Thing You’ve Ever Eaten? , curious as I was, I read on the comments left by the readers on that post about the exotic foods that they have tried.

There are all sorts of foods like monkey brain, deep fried insects, flying fox and etc. Can say that I have heard most of these before through words of mouth and also being a Chinese, these exotic “delicacies” (that’s what they call) common to be heard of. Of course, I have heard of them but not tried any of it before. Will I try if I was given the chance? well… I guess that depends… X)

However, while I was reading the comments, I stumbled upon a delicacy known as Balut… At first I choose to ignore it but after several comments,there was a short discussion on that delicacy, I decided to find out what it is actually. So, I went and consult my know-it-all guru, Google, for the answer. My head was filled with question marks to see images of egg shaped creatures appeared under the Google Image section.

At first, I was puzzled as the images were small and not really clear. After I clicked on one of that image, I was really speechless. The egg shaped creatures are actually half formed foetus of a duck! It’s like the foetus already has a beak of its own, bones were well developed and some even have feathers on it already!!!

 

Balut is eating the egg boiled but instead of getting your usual egg white and egg yolk, you get an unborn duck foetus instead… or in some places, unborn chicken foetus… I tell you, the images themselves spoke more than enough for me in description of the delicacy. As I set my eyes on the image, there was only one word that appeared in my head to describe this. Gruesome! Nothing less.

Imagine a life which was about to form… about to see the world outside it’s shell, was killed even before it has the chance to break free from the darkness to see the light… Yes, it was killed in the darkness without the chance of knowing how the world is like and not even have the chance to open its eyes… Seriously, this is one exotic “delicacy” that I will avoid trying. The thought of it is cruel enough, I don’t think I can even bear to see it let alone to eat it.

Although it might not be a human foetus (touchwood), still it is a foetus nevertheless. An unborn. =/

I won’t be posting pictures of that “delicacy” here as it is too gruesome for me to post it on my blog… >< But if u all wanna know more about it, this blogger gave a very good explanation on the delicacy as well as his experience with it… Balut. The Egg Of Darkness. Pinoy-Pinay. Panorama City, CA.