If This Is the Future Of Food

I'm an American in Hong Kong. The many vacation days of the Chinese New Year this year have stretched into an endless loop of clashing drum music, red decorations, and existential boredom.

Hong Kong is small, we don't have family in the city, and we've run out of things to do. We should have booked a one-week trip abroad like everyone else.

“I know,” my wife says. “Let's cross the border into China!”

A day trip to China - what could possibly go wrong?

Being erroneously arrested by China's notorious police system, and thrown into a jail cell for weeks?

No problem. That would be good material for Medium, and a nice break from the tedium of my office job.

A Short Journey

The following morning, after a short one-hour train ride, we arrive at the border.

We fix frowns on our faces to match those of a great nation's immigration control agency (they smile in New Zealand), and quickly pass through the border checkpoint and into this country of 1.4 billion people.

A culinary odyssey awaits!

In a nearby food market, we scan the variety of gastronomic treasures on display: grilled beef, lamb, roasted chicken, shrimp, octopus. Hawkers beckon us into the many food stalls.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, something else captures our attention. A large crowd surrounding a single booth.

People are swarming around the insects.

Talk about a role reversal!

I push in to take photos.

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Man vs. Insect

Mealworms and crickets - just like Bear Grylls.

Would I try them?

For survival, or to look cool on reality survival TV.

Heck yeah! ✅

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Look at the legs on that!

Centipedes and silver-worms!

Would I indulge?

You are what you eat. Why would I want to sprout new appendages?

Even for Bear Grylls, they were “off the menu”.

No.❌

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Where are the frogs?

Scorpions.

Bear Grylls gave it a go.

Their venom gives me pause. I avoid all poisons, except tequila.

Hard No. ❌❌

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A Moveable Feast

This vista had me contemplating a transition into becoming an angry Facebook vegan.

“Insect lives cut short by humanity's insatiable demand for protein!”

I muse, envisioning my narration for a 3-hour Netflix miniseries exposing the bug trade.

“I'm hungry,” my wife interrupts, her back turned to the insect smorgasbord and looking elsewhere.

Isn't the best compliment for an exotic food, “it tastes like chicken”?

With this in mind, we steer past the insects, the frogs, and the snakes, and head over to a stand selling the original recipe.

The grilled chicken was amazing!

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Please share any of your experiences eating bugs, frogs, or anything else unusual, in the comment section. Thanks for reading!

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12 Celebrities Who Ate Insects:

Will Smith: Ate a watermelon filled with ants on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Angelina Jolie: Ate a spider during a TV show appearance in Cambodia and tried various local insects.

Nicole Kidman: Tried fried crickets on a TV show as part of a challenge.

Zac Efron: Ate live worms on “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” during a wilderness adventure.

Margot Robbie: Ate a fried scorpion as part of a challenge during a TV interview.

Andrew Zimmerman: Tried a wide range of unusual foods, including insects, on his show “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman.”

James Franco: Ate crickets and worms during a TV show interview as part of a challenge.

Jake Gyllenhaal: Ate live worms on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” as part of a game.

Chris Pratt: Ate worms and grasshoppers during a TV interview as part of a fun challenge.

Shailene Woodley: Ate mealworms and grasshoppers during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Chris Hemsworth: Ate a variety of insects, including a live grub, on the show “Running Wild with Bear Grylls.”

Anna Kendrick: Ate a gourmet insect dish on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and shared her experience of trying crickets.

Gordon Ramsay: Ate a tarantula burger on his show “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted,” where he explores different cuisines around the world, including insect delicacies.