Thursday, October 24, 2013

How to find Balut in The Philippines


Lets face it, The Philippines can be quite consistently a disapointing culinary experience .  But there is however the infamous Balut!  Upon arriving in the Philippines I had to get my hands on this strange street food. Balut, an 18 day old hard boiled duck embryo.

When you go around browsing the shops, restaurants, and street food vendors you most likely wont find any signs for balut.  In my case my trip found me in Puerto Princesa and El Nido and after walking around the streets asking the locals, "Whats the deal with the balut scene', here is what I found.

Very simply all you have to do is be in the right place at the right time.  There will either be an old lady with a cart yelling ''balut! balut! balut!'', or in my case in El Nido I saw there were usually three kids carrying a bucket of freshly boiled balut eggs hollering balut in a similar manor. Sometimes you will be able to catch a cart set up in a food market in some towns. 

After you take off the shell there will be some nice spicy vinegar you will want to have with the egg.  I also recommend washing it down with a San Miguel Pilsen to help manage the crazy unique textures and cartilage crunching sounds that one experiences.

Happy Balut searching!

Cheers