Restaurant offers tarts topped with beetles that look like cockroaches
While finding insects in your food is often a cause for concern, one restaurant in China is making it a feature after making tarts topped with “water cockroaches”.
The Guangdong-based restaurant made waves on social media after photos of their unique snack went viral.
Photos show massive bugs, complete with their wings spread, lying on top of the iconic Cantonese staple.
Source: QQ
The restaurant in Foshan introduced the dessert in early October, selling it for RMB28 (S$5) for three pieces.
Diving beetles used in traditional Chinese medicine
According to The Standard, the insects are diving beetles, which have long been part of southern Chinese cuisine.
Diving beetles are also an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
It is believed to be good for your skin and kidneys, help improve blood circulation, and strengthen muscles and bones.
Source: QQ
To prepare the dessert, the cooks first deodorise the beetles thoroughly to get rid of their swampy smell.
They then fry them at a controlled temperature to ensure the bugs are crispy while leaving their wings intact for both flavour and visual effect.
Restaurant sells 20 tarts per day
The said visual effect has indeed done wonders for its notoriety. Customers travel far and wide for a chance to try the unique snack.
The restaurant says it consistently sells about 20 orders of these unique tarts a day.
Its creator says eating the dessert feels just like your classic tart experience, but with a crispy potato chip on top.
Following Cantonese eating customs, diners typically peel away the hard outer shell of the bug’s wings before consuming the whole insect along with the tart.
Source: Threads
Meanwhile, netizens’ responses to the unique dessert have been mixed, with some saying they could not stomach the visuals while others expressed curiosity.
The viral diving beetle egg tarts came after the popularity of extra-long egg tarts in China in September.
Also read: Museum in China offers cockroach coffee, netizens wonder if it’s safe to drink
Museum in China offers cockroach coffee, netizens wonder if it’s safe to drink
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Featured image adapted from QQ and Threads.
