whatta treat...

Let’s talk about something new today…something delicious-oh!
Whoopsie!!! I’ve been longing to eat this yummy local delicacy for quite a long time already and the “crave” came to an end last night, after my tiring work, whoa! Right after I got off from jeepney, I saw an old lady holding a rattan basket covered with white thick cloth (Alright, if you’re a true-blooded pinoy, you might already have guessed what I trying to say here). After seeing that lady, thoughts of the past came in. The delicacy bracketed with my happy childhood experiences; after a stroll at the park, my sister would usually buy this before going home and sumptuous pigging out would over and done with at home. I also dwell upon this delicacy during the midnight summer talks at the foyer with my cousins. Whenever we hear this reverberating call of the vendor, it would only mean one thing, close to midnight and time to close up.

The ahoy – Balooooot…baloooot…balooot in a squeaky tone, falsete el voz!

Yep, buddies I am talking about BALUT, a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It was few years ago when my palate had a taste of it and it is coupled with my down memory lane of tender age. Anyhoo, here’s what happened. I walked past the balut vendor though I really had the urge to buy and it took me two blocks away to turn over and retrace steps. “Manang yun maliit lang yun sisiw ha” and then I paid 15 pesos. I was sniggering walking home with the warm balut on my hand. “Yipee, I’ll be able to taste you again”. I was really excited to wolf down the balut - to devour the sabaw (amniotic fluid) and have a taste for once again the protein-rich egg yolk. I never thought of eating the sisiw (embryo) because I always imagined the beak and claws scratching my throat and of course the queer feeling of the downy feather.

And then, when I cracked up the shell (I was in suspense to gulp up the sabaw), I saw teenie-weenie blood vessels and some sort of coagulated blood, “gulp, gulp”. But I continued (still got the nerve to open it up), and then I saw the horrible embryo inside and KABLAM, it just grossed me out. The scene on my nursing bio-lab flashed in, the horror sight of the fetuses floating inside the glass canisters. Sheesh, I had the feeling of throwing up and it made me wonder on how did I able to rejoice in with this chiller when I was as still a kid.

Haiz! It’s really ExOtIc!
Urgghs! It's NO, no no!

Hmmm…How about one-day old chick? I’ll give it a try next time.


n.b. photo credit: google.com