These little guys (well, not so little when you have to put them in your mouth - chew and swallow!) are all over the place in Korea - there are ladies boiling vats of them in the markets - cans of them in the convenience store - and a few of them even made it into Heaven . . .
Here's our friend, Jon Wick, climbing the 'Stairway to Heaven'. When we asked some locals where the fun was at, they told us to go to Heaven. Turns out its the name of a 'happening' bar in town.
We thought we'd have some beer and be on our merry way. . . but that's never the case in Korea.
We ordered a pitcher of beer and a plate of chicken - two minutes later they came out with a barrage of appetizers. Peanuts, seaweed, banana chips, spring rolls, veggies, seafood, ice cream and, last but not least . . .
Bundaegi!!
I don't know why we did it - curiosity, I suppose - but it was before any significant consumption of beer so we were of sound mind. We stared at them for a while - poked - prodded. I went first. "It tastes like it smells" said Fraser some time before we left for Korea(why didn't I listen?) It was quite pungently flavored - tasted exactly like baby insects do. I bit down - CRUNCH - and then - SQUIRT - and then - crunch crunch crunch and it was over. Quickly swallowed and downed some beer. Other than the bits stuck in my teeth, I had conquered the Bundaegi!!!
(here's a pic I found on another website - so you can see the size of these snacks)
Well, our friends Jon and Cassie were able to eat one with gusto and that left only one person - SHAWNA!!! She was a bit apprehensive but peer pressure prevailed so she took the plunge.
He never knew what hit him~
Needless to say, I don't think Shawna (or any of us) will be picking up any more Bundaegi for a snack any time soon.
Soon, our delicious, Korean-fried chicken came to the table and we forgot all about the insects we just ate. . .
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