Might I Offer You a Spot of Grubs, My Dear?
After more than a year here in Vietnam, such sights have become somewhat commonplace. Nonetheless, I can’t help but smile and share a typical view of the streeteats that abound amid my neighborhood here in Dalat.
And btw, if you’re wondering – nope, I have NOT sampled the plump, juicy morsels in the above pic.
But I DID once try SILKWORMS, along with MOPANE WORMS in South Africa (a quest which curiously, eventually took me to the very BEST restaurant in all of South Africa).
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
Yeah, I’m not sure I could pop one of those in my mouth, definitely a matter of what you are culturally used to for sure. Fuzzy spiders, uhhh thats a nooo…Would try most any seafood food though! Great shot, I love to see food from all places!
i don’t think i could eat any type of worm
Yup, I hear you Hogga – worms surely aren’t at the top of my list of favorite bedtime snacks, either.
Still… I think it’s mostly a matter of what we’re culturally used to. I mean, escargot (snails) are a delicacy in France. And I oh so fondly remember a street cart in Morocco that sold them alongside a bowl of delicious snail broth – I’d pluck the tasty morsels from their shells with the point of a safety pin and pop them into my mouth – yum!
And most all of us enjoy lobster, shrimp, and/or crayfish – all of which arguably are pretty creepy-looking creatures, no? And don’t even get me started on slurping fresh oysters on the half-shell (my absolute FAVORITE food!) Shoot, folks pay upwards of a buck apiece at fashionable “oyster bars” in NYC and Seattle.
So though I’d not go out of my way to tuck into a plate of… rodent or other creepy tidbit, I will at least try a smidge of whatever’s placed in front of me while traveling among foreign lands. I mean – “When in Rome…” as they say!
I think what’s in the photo are silk worm cocoons. They’re sold in my local supermarket right next to the “regular” proteins… But if they eat mulberry leaves and mulberries are delicious, then they might be quite tasty (altho I have yet to test out that theory…)
Yes, I agree, in the big pic above – probably silk worms, James. But not with cocoons (i.e. the silk casing spun by the larvae inside). As linked to my other post on Thailand, I’ve eaten silkworm larvae in a rural silk-weaving village there, but those were white/boiled, and these look fried/grilled.
So they sell them in supermarkets in HCMC, eh? No doubt chock full of protein, but not a snack I’d crave while watching early episodes of Sex and the City on hulu. 😉
And you say mulberry leaves are tasty too? Never tried those, but only mulberry wine.
Nope, never tried mulberry leaves (altho I hear they make a good tea), but I’ve bought 3kg crates of fresh mulberries in HCMC for like USD 2 / kilo. They take some preparing but are delicious as an ice cream topping!
Being an arachnaphobe (did I get that right? afraid of spiders…) I think the only good spider is a dead spider. But I sure as heck wouldn’t eat one. I’m with Gail – I’ll take the vegies. But the photos are great!
–Ronni B.
I’m with you there Ronni. I can cope with worms, snakes, maybe even one of those fertilized duck eggs (balut) that are so popular here in Asia. But spiders? Um, not gonna happen.
I love to taste those exotic treats.
I haven’t tried once but would love to.
Yes Althea, I’ll try most anything you put in front of me. But… I think even I’d have to draw the line at hairy tarantulas. Unless… maybe if it was stuffed with peanut butter and smothered in CHOCOLATE!
Still…
yikes, pretty display but, err, hum….I’ll just take the vegies and shell fish.
Yup, I’m with ya there Sis – I’ll stick with the veggies and seafood (especially the squid pictured above on the left.) Grubs and tarantula’s? Uh, not so much. 😉
I tried a few of those street snacks in Cambodia. Our tour guide said her favorite was the tarantulas. – Mike
Seriously, Anonymous. I consider myself quite the adventuresome eater (see silk/mopane worms above), but I must say… I’m afraid even I’d hafta draw the line on eating hairy SPIDERS – eeeeuwwww!