A suburb in the Philippine capital of Manila held a feast of fertilized duck eggs on Friday (April 10) in the hope of setting a world record for the largest serving of the local delicacy.
Organizers from Pateros town said more than 500 participants joined the feast and ate a total of 117.5 kilograms of duck embryos, which had been cooked with vinegar and soy sauce by culinary students.
Around 1,000 eggs were prepared for the record attempt.
Fertilized duck egg, known locally as “balut“, is common in Southeast Asia and is seen as an exotic dish. It is cooked by boiling two to three week old duck eggs and eaten with the chick fetus intact.
Pateros town Mayor, Joey Medina, said the record attempt was to highlight the benefits of eating the dish.
“Balut has a lot of calcium, is nutritious, has protein and can strengthen the knees. This world record that we are setting, for the biggest number of balut and the largest feast, is historic for us,” he said.
Tables stretching across the length of the street were prepared for the hundreds of participants who dined on banana leaves using their hands as part of the country’s local custom during festivals.
“It’s really delicious. Usually, I like to eat the regular ones with the eggshells on, but this one is good, too. The serving is not enough, we still want to eat more,” said Ernie Asubrera, one of the participants.
Organizers are hoping to set a new Guinness World record for “The Largest Serving of Balut in Terms of Weight”, which has never been set by any country before. The record is now under review by Guinness officials.
(Reuters)