Well, on Monday night, I tried balut for the first time. Balut is a Filipino delicacy, that is made up of a fertilized duck egg, that is boiled and eaten at different stages of development. Kind of crazy that I've been in the Philippines for over a year and a half and haven't eaten it yet. I've watched people eat it, but was waiting for the time when someone would insist that I eat it, and there was no getting around it. This was one of those times. It was in the kitchen of the Antipolo clinic, and a friend named Thyra, who is helping out for a month, had an extra balut that she pulled out and insisted that I eat. So I figured I'd better....I couldn't look at it though. I thought if I did I might gag and not make it much farther. So that taste is not too bad...a little like chicken soup. You eat it with salt and vinegar. I didn't experience any cruncy bones...so I'm thinking it was an earlier egg. I didn't get a picture of the occasion, but I did find a couple of old pictures of friends eating it.
I felt pretty good once I had finished it. And Thyra called me a "true missionary". =)

Mike contemplates the balut egg...
Putting on the salt....
I'd say it's an experience that is not forgotten....

Oh yes, and they only sell balut at night...usually after about 10pm. And there are Filipinos who love it, and some who won't eat it.