I love balut!  It’s popular in Asian countries including Vietnam where balut is called hột vịt lộn.

However, I have to admit that I don’t eat the chick.  I just eat the yellow portion and drink the clear liquid.  Since I don’t eat the chick, I need to eat 2 or 3 of these to satisfy my cravings.  That’s why I like eating at Hoang Yen where this is part of the buffet.  😛

I know a lot of people frown upon eating this delicacy.  Yes Mark I hear yah!  Mark is an officemate and he literally cringed when we offered balut to him yesterday.  Hehehe!  But it’s really good!

In the Philippines, I rarely eat balut and just opt for penoy — which is the fully-cooked unfertilized duck egg —- so no chick here.  As I said, it’s the yellow portion that I like so no chick, so much the better.

In the Philippines, it’s easy to find balut in the evenings.  You usually find vendors at every street corner selling this or you’d hear the seller hollering out in the streets as he pass by your house.  So you’d just have to shout back, “Balut!!!”

Here in Vietnam, at least in Saigon, you can find sellers in the market and some shops selling this.  Yesterday, balut was delivered to our office.  Yes!  To our office!  Imagine that!

Then my officemate proceeded to place each in a small cup and handed out teaspoons to everyone.  In the Philippines, we only have salt to season the balut, but here, they have a mix of salt, pepper, chili, and kumquat (calamansi).  And while eating, they munch on coriander or spicy leaves.

Really interesting dip!  Maybe friends back home should try this one instead of the old boring salt. 😀

That’s how you eat balut in Vietnam!