Fertilized Duck Embryo. Anthony Bourdain, eat your heart out.

My group of friends in New York is so diverse we look like a perpetually hungover Benetton ad. I decided to ask (force) my Pinoy buddy, Chris if he’d be cool with being my cultural ambassador for my Filipino culinary experience. I told him I wanted authentic food and he sent me back a picture of a “Balut” , a fertilized duck embryo, basically saying “Giiiirrrrl are you up for the challenge”. There are things I can’t unsee. This is one of them. That motherfucking half formed duck is winking at me.

According to Thrillist, Filipino food has one of the most unique flavor profiles out there. I like to do a bit of research before going into a restaurant so I’m not a clueless idiot. I was surprised by how much it resembled Latin food (legit – one of their dishes is called “Menudo”) , though I shouldn’t be too surprised considering the Spanish colonization influence is prevalent in everything from people’s names to their cuisine.

We went to Jeepney Gastropub. Initially we had made reservations to their sister restaurant Maharlika, but the place had a burst water pipe, so they promptly accommodated us at this new place.  25% off yo, no complaints. The place had a cool beachy vibe; felt like I was in an island for a second. Hip hop music blaring and a bunch of naked Filipino women on the wall as decor (the jury is still out on whether artsy or tacky).

Boobs everywhere.

Our group of 5 ordered drinks and made the choice to go family style on everything. We had the Longa Donga, yes that’s the name. This delicious hot dog, with blood sausage, garlic crumbs and mayo. Fried Tripe. Bad bad choice. I don’t like tripe in any culture, and not even coated in grease could save this for me. Texture is everything.

Sig Sig Tacos.

Sig Sig Tacos. Which were strictly ok. Not memorable in retrospect despite having an interesting composition made of pig ears and snout. The highlight was probably eating the Balut. Stephan kept trying to talk me out of it, “seriously, you’re not Anthony Bourdain, you don’t have to do this”.  No lie, the Balut is probably the most unappetizing looking thing I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ve had jellyfish and pidgeon. The taste however was surprisingly creamy and pate-like. All in all, it wasn’t that dramatically different from eating a regular UNFERTILIZED hard boiled egg. Pass over the salt and pepper! I thought all about two minutes about the life this young duck would’ve had.  That being said, I don’t think I can have another Balut again, that half formed creature is just too much to look at. Of course, New York has a eating competition devoted to these things.

Pancit Malabon. Pad Thai-esque.

We ordered three main entrees. Pancit Malabon, a noodle dish made with an assortment of seafood. I was a fan. Dinugan a Puto. Fun name. Boneless pork shoulder in beef blood and some other fun things.  One of the hits of the night. The dark savory sauce reminded me of Mexican mole. The Kare Kare Fried Chicken. which was essentially peanut butter with fried chicken on the side. The peanut butter was overwhelming, and really suppressing any other flavor from the dish. For dessert we had a plain ol’ delicious flan and also the Halo-Halo, a traditional Filipino dessert.  This dessert is Pandora’s box.

Halo, Halo – Every bite a surprise

Delicious, but every bite packs a different punch The dessert is comprised of shaved ice, coconut gelatin, candied fruit, coconut milk, Rice Krispees, flan, ube icream, my first born child, etc.

Overall fun times.  This was definitely one  of the most adventurous eating experiences I’ve had in a while. On to the next one.