Balut - Delicious Delicacy or Disgusting Duck?

Responses to some of the comments on my Balut photo album:

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Brave? I wish I had a video - James ate his with ease, instantly recognising that this was "simply" a test of mental strength. It took me 5-10 minutes of staring at mine and making funny noises before I could bring myself to eat it. The funny thing is, I've eaten this stuff once before so I already knew how it tasted... but the little baby ducky looked so sad, so forlorn, so... dead.

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It tasted quite nice - like the yolk part of a hard boiled egg, only softer and creamier. I know... just the word "creamy" in relation to an embryo is making some of you grimace. In fact, it even tasted healthy, especially after having eaten out so much and feeling like I've had at least 2 years' worth of my fried food allowance in the space of 2 weeks!

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But... who came up with the idea in the first place? Does anyone know? Did someone hard boil an egg only to crack it open to discover it had an embryo in it, but then being Asian didn't want to waste good food so they ate it anyway? This question shall be added to my list of food questions (e.g. who thought of putting chicken together with avocado?) until I find an answer.

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Regarding the Fear Factor comment - somehow I don't think Balut is anywhere near as bad as drinking an entire raw Ostrich egg (or some other large bird - it looked like about 2 litres of the stuff!). Did you happen to see that episode? I also think I'd much rather eat Balut than live worms... or coackroches. Ugh.

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Filipinos - you will be pleased to know that your national delicacy does have international fame. Balut-eating was featured as a challenge in one season of Survivor, although I forget which one. And they didn't just eat one, they ate up to four or more... the person who ate the most won.

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Stay tuned for a Balut-eating tutorial video... coming soon to a Multiply site near you!