Tasting Tamilok

We went to Palawan a couple of months ago when my sister and brother came to the Philippines because i was graduating from college and as a part of their vacation my sister treated us to a 5day getaway to Palawan. I have read and heard about this exotic food called "tamilok" before and now that we were going. I was finally gonna get to taste it..In the morning in our mangrove tour in sabang our tourist actually explained to us more about "tamilok" and she even got out the boat to search for some in a couple of wood piles, because thats were they feed and live in.

Heres a picture of them chopping the wood into half with an axe to see if theres a tamilok inside. If your ever in Sabang do go check out the Mangrove Tour and the best time to go is early morning, theres tons to see.

And what is tamilok? we'll this is what it looks like. no it's not a worm but more of a elongated saltwater clam without the shell.

Nobody dared to taste dis one coz we were all freaked out..but later on back at the place we ate lunch at sumone was selling a cup of them for 100pesos..so as daredevils we ordered a cup and our driver prepared it for us..He did not cook it but just  put some calamansi on it and diced onions and hot chili peppers...

what did it taste like? well before i even tasted they said it taste just like oysters so i was like oh dis is not gonna be so bad after all but when i tasted one long piece.. lets just say my mouth had a hard time taking it in but i did.. i don't know but it has a texture of grains probably because it feeds off woods but it did not taste like oysters..i could not judge a food with just a taste so i took down another long piece and after that second piece you know what, it really didn't have a taste, it was like eating something transparent and slimy..I thought it was tasteless.

but as for me I would never try tamilok again..I think i'll just stick with oysters if they say it taste the same.

What is Balut??

Filipinos love Balut.. Its the Ultimate street food.. If your ever in the Philippines dont miss out to try it..so what is balut really??

Well "balut" is a fertilized duck embryo that is boiled alive and eaten in the shell. it is best eaten while its still hot and goes great with a pinch of salt.. Some ppl would put vinegar in it but i prefer mine with a lil bit of salt not to destroy that great taste. Its totally safe you guys and it may seem scary but it is delicious. Some have said its an aphrodisiac but it is considered a high-protein snack.

This picture right here is the perfect balut to eat because as you can see the chick is tiny and its still furless. When buying balut from a street vendor ask for the egg with a small chick because i dunno how they can tell  but they do know and its the best kind and not scary to eat and it doesnt hav fur, the chick will jus slide down your throat perfectly and deliciously.. The cost of a balut as of now  is 14pesos (08/09/11)..