Dumaguete City Philippines.
This is a Filipino egg. (Imagine Pastor Sinon's deep, solemn voice resonating inside your head).
©@tF2008.5 All rights reserved.
It is called a 'balot'. (Many spelt it 'balut' but my understanding from a real Filipino is 'balot' is the correct spelling.) It is a fertilized duck's egg with an unhatched 16-day-old duckling inside, which is boiled and eaten in the shell.
All first-time visiTORs to the Philippines are encouraged to try this wonderful delicacy at least once.
Kevin and Xiuying... the two of you are first-timers, right?
Errrrr.... y...e...s....
And you, Deb?
No, no, no, no, no, I've been here a dozen times before, PasTOR!
And you tried the balot already huh, Deb? Deb? Why are you standing so far away?
Taking pics, from a safe distance.
And so... Pastor Sinon started his comprehensive lesson for the two first-timers on 'how to eat a Filipino egg'. First, make a hole off the top of the egg, sprinkle in some salt, and suck the soup out.
Here's a demonstration... and Pastor Mike looked on with horror. Americans love their eggs cooked in a variety of ways, but this particular version must surely make them wish they were somewhere else!
(Back to the Filipino pastor) Trust me, it is very nutritious.
Now you try it, Kevin. Here, take this one. It's just an egg. 
No, I'm not joking. You too, Xiuying.
Peel off some more of the shell and start eating the insides. If you find the head or the beak, it's ok, just eat it all up.
The Filipino egg frequently appeared on the menu in several episodes of Fear Factor, and it also featured as one of the road blocks in the recent Amazing Race Asia Edition. After you eat this, you're ready to try the balot with the 21-day-old chick inside. You'll find all the organs perfectly formed, and the bones are firm and crunchy, and the feathers can be eaten as well, and... hey, where are you going??
And er... just in case you're not sufficiently freaked out yet, here are two graphic pics borrowed from Wikipedia. A partially shelled balot (left), and a 15-day-old balot fully extracted from the egg (right).
Egg
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Wed Feb 20, 10:08:00 AM
So guess what you will have to clean off your screen this week! That is the most disgusting thing I've heard lately. LOL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 10:47:00 AM
YUK! I am not an egg fan and now YUK! LOL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 11:10:00 AM
"E" is for EEEEWWWWW! LOL!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eating an egg like that is a very brave thing to do.
Wed Feb 20, 11:13:00 AM
Oh I'm afraid I don't care how nutritious that is I won't be eating one. That's why I'd never survive on survivor...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 11:46:00 AM
I don't think so. Not for me. Yuk!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 11:53:00 AM
NOT. IN. THIS. LIFETIME.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------but I LOVE how you wrote this....you are very creative.....and I could have NEVER been on Fear Factor....although I had a morbid fascination of watching it and going eeeewwww!!! Drove my husband crazy! Good E.
Wed Feb 20, 12:02:00 PM
@Neva, I had to use these pics after our unusual experience that evening in the Philippines. Well, so far no takers... where are the Filipinos? They'll jump at it, I know. After all, it's Just An Egg! LOL
BTW, how come nobody's asked me whether I'd had it b4?
Wed Feb 20, 12:40:00 PM
oh my goodness! let me think about this...um NO NO NO NO NO NO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LOL *gag*
Wed Feb 20, 12:46:00 PM
I only have one word...EWWWWWWW
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry I could not eat that. but it made a really great post for the letter E!
Wed Feb 20, 12:50:00 PM
Deb,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I think nobody asked if you had tried this b/4 because of the facial expressions on your face! LOL!
I don't think I would want to
try it either.
I am getting so many surprises
this week with this week's letter E.
Have a Blessed Happy Fun
Creative Healthy Year!!!
Wed Feb 20, 12:52:00 PM
I am a Filipino:) And seriously, I have never eaten a "BALOT"{that's what we call} in my life!!! LOL And btw, not every Filipinos will jump at that! :D
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 12:55:00 PM
I had to hold my hand over my mouth while reading your story. . . egads! I hope that is the worst subject I am going to find for this week. Great choice for e tho.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 01:02:00 PM
OH MY GOSH! I think i have lost my dinner for sure. That is so disgusting, But i know that your culture does not have a problem with this sort of stuff.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 01:06:00 PM
I'm a filipina but I never ate Balut in my whole life. I ate the one with no chick on it..we call it Pinoy. It's a good delicatessen some filipino said but I can never dare to eat one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 03:52:00 PM
@jccleofe & yen, I only know two Filipina friends who wouldn't touch the balot, but all the rest don't mind at all, especially when they have us foreigners in their midst to torment. :) I've heard that those who like the taste but cant stand the sight of it will eat it in the dark.
Ah well, still no takers yet. And I have the ABC Wed fear factor award to give away.
Wed Feb 20, 04:09:00 PM
EEEK, I don't think I can do it. I just don't think I can get over how it looks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks for dropping by my blog and your comments are appreciated.
Wed Feb 20, 04:10:00 PM
No thanks! ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 04:26:00 PM
Eggs are not good for those who have too much cholesterol ;)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 05:42:00 PM
That was disgusting,oh my....Never in my lifetime,usj---But still,a great E-post:o)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 06:07:00 PM
It is probably as well I've already had my (very-lightly)-fried egg already this morning. What puts me off the idea of your egg is the sprinkle of salt - I add salt to nothing these days - and I probably eat more eggs than I should as cholesterol is a slight concern.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 07:23:00 PM
Hi
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is a good choice of E for EGG with ABCwednesday
Greetings and hav a great aBC day
JoAnn from Holland
Wed Feb 20, 08:57:00 PM
No thanks! I could never do things like that!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 09:02:00 PM
EEEEEEEEEwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.. good pix, clever quips but I'll pass on sampling
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 09:25:00 PM
@ackworth born, you don't have to add salt, Gerald, but the taste will be even more unimaginable! As for the cholesterol, it's all in the yolk, so I s'pposed if you avoid that and just eat the little duckling, that'll be all right...
Wed Feb 20, 10:15:00 PM
Oh gross! That is horrid. Urgh, urggh, urgh!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Did you?!!!
Wed Feb 20, 10:48:00 PM
I think I'll stay with "ordinary eggs, thank you :-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wed Feb 20, 11:54:00 PM
No thanks, that looks disgusting! I'm sure not going to eat eggs for a while.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thu Feb 21, 12:00:00 AM
Err. That's okay. Soem exotic experiences I can pass on.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thu Feb 21, 01:41:00 AM
Thank you for telling us all about the Filipino egg.I do think that I would have to pass on it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thu Feb 21, 01:42:00 AM
I'll pass on the egg thanks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Runs odd to have a good wretch!)
pasta Bake tonight...so much safer! LOL!
Thu Feb 21, 01:46:00 AM
Oh my god- No thank you!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------But I smile... Good E
Thu Feb 21, 02:22:00 AM
ohhhhh.... couldn't do it.....!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thu Feb 21, 03:12:00 AM
I could not eat those! I used to keep ducks, and I love them. Poor wee babies!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yuk!
Thu Feb 21, 03:28:00 AM
I'll pass, but I loved learning something new. Always good to learn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thu Feb 21, 12:10:00 PM
these eggs, I am afraid they are hard for me to eat...so strange they look.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thu Feb 21, 05:48:00 PM
Pleasant arrangement of texts and photos as a comic strip , but an unpleasant recipe !
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Miss Yves
Thu Feb 21, 07:39:00 PM
No thanks! But then there's probably some foods that we take for granted that would be shocking to people in the Philippines...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sat Feb 23, 11:57:00 PM
I'd try anything once, but would make sure I had a bucket close by. LOL. Keep on sharing your world with the rest of us. By learning about our differences we draw closer as a whole. Many blessings!
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