I am not sure what my fascination is with eating bizarre foods, but prior to heading to Thailand there were a couple things that I knew for sure, one was that I would be riding in a tuk tuk and another was that I would absolutely, positively be eating insects. Rumor had it that this could be done at Chiang Mai’s famous Sunday Market.
Guess who’s going to a market?
At about 4 o’clock Peter & I walked out the front door of our hotel, the 3 Sis, and the Chiang Mai’s Sunday Night Walking Market was just a few steps ahead, on the blocked off street. This market is the grand daddy of all the ones in the city, known to showcase the art, craftsmanship and food culture of Northern Thailand.
So, there were a lot more things to do besides just eating insects.
We had arrived early enough for the booths to still be in setup phase and not many people shopping…yet.
There was an initial sensory overload, with colorful booths on each side of you. Shopping was quite difficult for my indecisive self, because I didn’t want to buy anything before I had first explored the entire market. Though I did spot some large beach bags, silver hair clips and wooden coffee cups with saucers, that were on my radar for the second go around. But, by the time I got through browsing the seemingly endless length of the streets, and was ready to make some purchases, the prime opportunity had passed.
The road was wall-to-wall people.
I did wind up squeezing through the crowd to purchase a half dozen of unique smelling soaps including a Citronella one that I hoped would ward off the pesky Chiang Mai mosquitoes. FYI: That didn’t work.
What wasn’t overcrowded was the bee-bee gun shooting station. Why not? Never having had the opportunity to shoot a bee-bee gun before, I stepped right up to see if I could hit the bulls-eye. Nope.
As we walked away from our shooting experience, I saw them.
Insects, discreetly lying on a table.
You could hear chattering from the dozen of gawkers surrounding the booth, “eww”, “you try it”, “gross, I’m not eating insects”. Most of the people actually purchasing the insects were not locals, they were adventurous tourists looking for a new experience, much like myself.
All sorts of varieties of edible bugs were there; crickets, cicada, mealworms and whirligig beetles. How do I choose?
I opted for the insect sampler pack for 20 baht ($0.65 usd), a little of each. I like variety.
I ate a small mealworm first, which tasted like a salty, uncheesed cheese puff. Acceptable. Feeling confident, I grabbed a big cricket. As I bit into it I ended up being more freaked out about eating the crunchy leg than the actual bland taste. And as I chewed more of the body, it only got worse.
Done. Bugs aren’t tasty.
At least I made a couple of checks off my Bucket List of 23 Edible Bugs Around the World. It’s all about moderation, when it comes to my bug eating adventures.
I needed something to wash down my crunchy cricket. I think a leg was stuck in my throat. So, I ordered an intriguing drink that was being sold all over the market, but I had yet to try, a Grass Jelly Milo.
Grass Jelly is a jiggly jelly-like dessert that is used in making Bubble Tea and Milo is a chocolate and malt powder. Shake, stir and a Grass Jelly Milo is born.
It did the trick. No legs in my throat anymore.
Because we couldn’t survive on eating insects alone, there was other interesting street food to be had. Who could resist a waffle with shredded pork and mayonnaise? Apparently me.
What I couldn’t resist was a Pandan leaf flavored cotton candy cone and a bamboo cup filled with fresh coconut juice.
Is eating insects on your bucket list?
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More About Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai Bucket List: 30 Things to Do in Thailand’s Best Northern City
Thailand’s Wat Rong Khun: The White Temple in Chiang Rai
Thailand Elephant Sanctuary: 5 of the Best Rescues in or Near Chiang Mai
Wat Chedi Luang: A Thai Temple in Chiang Mai’s City Center
Traveling by Tuk Tuk in Chiang Mai & Other Transporation
Learn to Make Handicraft Umbrellas in Chiang Mai
Get a Thai Massage in Thailand
Volunteer with Elephants at a Rescue in Thailand
As you know, I tried this too when I went to Archipelago in London http://emmasbucketlist.com/2012/09/26/archipelago-eating-insects-and-drinking-python-infused-absinthe/
Not quite as cool as eating them in Thailand… Do you think you could ever eat a tarantula? This is a video of Gordon Ramsey trying one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9Z_UndhO2ME
I’m not sure I could be brave enough to bring myself to try one…
I remember that story about you eating insects! If it was deep fried, I’m sure i’d eat a tarantula. How about you?
I ate a few scorpions in Beijing. They were sauteed with garlic butter. Tasty!
I wouldn’t have taken you for a Scorpian kind of guy ;) But, now I know where to go to try some!
I don’t think I could eat a tarantula, no. I really don’t like spiders! I have a severe phobia of them, though I was brave enough to hold a rose tarantula once!
No interest in eating insects — makes me shiver to even read your words O:-)
But eating pandan flavored cotton candy? Absolutely.
I had been to Bangkok recently, and eating insects was on the agenda, but I never got to actually eating it. I tried a lot of street food though. Its good you at least gave it a try.
Though I did eat bugs, I didn’t get to eat enough street food!
We’re going to Beijing this summer and I’ve dared my husband to try insects or a scorpion like Luke Day described in these comments. My husband keeps applying to be on “Survivor,” so I told him he needs to be able to do this. But I’ll be VERY surprised if he does.
We’ll soon see… :)
Love it! I always make my husband eat weird stuff and he always says he hates it, but I think he is secretly happy that I make him try something new. Good luck with your hubby eating a bug!
I would totally eat an insect!
Then will you create a recipe for your blog using bugs? :)
Great food! But grubs??? I can’t try to eat them. Thanks for sharing
[…] to any brave sole who would take a drink. I was a brave sole. Even braver after the experience of eating insects and a preserved century egg at Chiang Mai’s Somphet Market days earlier. May as well keep […]
[…] photos of all the informational placards to read at a later time, if ever. But, after eating bugs at Chiang Mai’s Sunday Night Walking market and being bitten by a dozen mosquitos, I figured it might be a good idea to go to an insect […]
Don’t know if I could psych myself up into trying bugs. I am still working on some fish and sea food. :-)
Baby steps… :)
Beetles and the rest may certainly be an acquired taste. You were very adventurous to try it out.