Trying out Exotic food at Balaw- Balaw

I’ve been reading a lot of articles about Balaw-balaw and I’m quite curious about their specialties. It was after our long road to Morong when I finally get to meet and greet the restaurant.

After parking our bikes in the vicinity, we called the waiter and asked for the menu. It took us around five minutes to decide what specialty to try since we are not so keen on trying out of this world eats. We initially agreed to try “nilasing na palaka” and “kamaro.” The nilasing na palaka was available however the kamaro was not so we changed it to “uok” tempura.

When our orders were served we initially geared for the “nilasing na palaka” since we knew that the frog meat tastes like chicken meat.

Frog meat

The “uok” was a different story. Initially no one wanted to try the dish but Paul braved himself and took the first bite.

I laughed when I saw Paul’s facial expression. Based from his reaction, it was not so bad but I knew it was not good either.

Uok shell

When it was my turn to eat the “uok” I took the smallest and soaked it in the vinegar together with some siling labuyo. I was skeptical at first but I think the vinegar worked its way to the worm. I just had a taste of the creature at the end part. Verdict? It was like chewing a wood. The worm’s earthy taste was because of its habitat. “Uok” worms live in coconut trees so I think it got its flavor from that.

Will I eat exotic food again? Hmm. Maybe. It depends how they prepared it and who cooked it. =)

Till next time. ^_^