Balut in Toronto?

[merlot143]

The recent mention of balut on the menu of Charlie's Burgers makes me want to try it. Fetal duck egg is not normally my cuppa tea, but I watched a video of it being eaten in Vietnam, and it seemed like a fun experience. There, they throw all kinds of condiments on it like basil and ginger.
So does anyone know of a place that serves balut in Toronto?
A thought occurred to me: McBalut has a nice ring to it. Maybe the Golden Arches would be open to the suggestion.

[eliisadick]

MmmmmmBalut,...hahahaha brings back fond memories.growing up in the Phil. post supper snack akin to bedtime snack when feeling peckish..Its been like forty years since i last sampled this tasty treat and last month i revisited . . got it from a take-out place in Scarb ,Jocelyns is the place ,next to Remelys, a reliable place familiar to Filipinos in Scarb. had them at home and it was like riding a bike , no matter how much time has past, its like visiting an old friend.Ahhhhhh .crack it open , the balut i mean , haha sip the soup , then peel the rest os the shell and savour the rest . remembering to omit the hard inedible white part next to the yolk ,anyone know what it is ? i hope someday more people learn to treat this egg not as a challenge ala " fear factor" , but to learn to savour its delicious qualities unique in flavour as well in texture .So fellow CHers ,what do you think ? Not so different than your first time caviar- raw oyster - horse tartare or some amuse from Thuet ,cmone get over it ,and dive in I swear you will like it .You buy a dozen , if you absoloutely or even just not enjoy the experience ,, i will take the rest off your hands .hahahahh Hmmmmmmm Balut

[Spice City Toronto]

They have balut at Pilipinas Cusine. It's a Filipino place in St. James Town at 29 Howard St.

www.spicecitytoronto.com

[T.O.chowfan]

almost every filipino food store i've been to will have it available, somtimes already warmed up so you can sit and eat it with any of their other take out foods. you may not see it out, just ask
there are quite a few located along areas along bathurst: st. clair, eglinton, wilson etc...
enjoy! - for anyone still weary, think of it as a whole chicken soup in an egg. i've always found the broth to be the tastiest

[merlot143]

Do they sell the condiments to go with like basil and ginger? Or is it only the duck egg?

[tyatt]

The Vietnamnese Supermarket at the SouthEast corner of Bathurst and Finch carries Balut. Good luck!

[ace123]

It's available in the Chinese supermarket at Kennedy & Denison. It's about $1.29@

[skylineR33]

You can try the Chinese super market in China Town, I got it there many years ago. Use to really like it when I was a kid in HK, but not anymore now. I like to eat it with salt and pepper, and the one which the duck embryo is not that fully developed.

[Non Doctor]

I was intrigued to try it, and the CB one was quite clean and refined according to my friends who have had it in the past.

I liked it... it was... well... it was like a rather gamey egg... with bits... identifiable bits.

An experience for sure... but I would do it again.

My GF couldn't do it... she tried though...

[tjr]

I don't mind balut; it seems like the kind of dish that would send WASPs running in droves though. The bones make it crunchy!

[merlot143]

"...it seems like the kind of dish that would send WASPs running in droves though. The bones make it crunchy!"

Ah! Music to my food-lovin' ears.

[Non Doctor]

No bones in my Balut.

Just a delicious soft almost-formed textural quality.

As I said... quite gamey.

[tjr]

There are no bones in balut. It was a reference to a videogame with an item called "Crunchy Chick" that you can eat; probably not the right target audience!

[skylineR33]

Hi tjr,

I have had balut which has soft bone in it as well as feather, it is when the duck embryo is in the more developed form.

[tjr]

I've never eaten ones with discernible bones before (maybe because they were soft). Did you have it here?

[skylineR33]

Yes, I have had those here very long time ago. Also in HK and Vietnam.

[tjr]

Ah, interesting. I'll be on the lookout for them!

[Sam Fujisaka]

In the Philippines over 15 years I asked fior and ate the 18 day balut - with the embryo almost ready to break out. Even those have no crunchy bones.

[KevinB]

Right you are, my friend. I'm as WASPY as they come, and although my Chinese wife has convinced me to try many things that I wouldn't have dreamed of before we were married, chicken feet and balut are where I draw the line.