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This story has legs: Cambodia 'bug cafe' serves up insect tapas

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Joe Freeman, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/afp/11/29/bug-mac.jpg"/><figcaption>This photo taken on October 24, 2019 shows a &quot;bug mac&quot; with a patty of pureed ant, bee, silkworm and cricket topped with a slice of cheese and pickle prepared on a tray at the Bugs Cafe restaurant in Siem Reap province. Ant spring rolls, silkworm taro croquettes and a &quot;bug mac&quot; -- Cambodia&#x27;s first insect tapas restaurant is mixing cocktail culture with creepy crawler fare. Tang Chhin Sothy, AFP</figcaption></figure></div>SIEM REAP, Cambodia – Ant spring rolls, silkworm taro croquettes and a &quot;bug mac&quot; -- Cambodia&#x27;s first insect tapas restaurant is mixing cocktail culture with creepy crawler fare.At the busy &quot;Bugs Cafe&quot; in the tourist town of Siem Reap, chef Seiha Soeun stands over a sizzling wok in the kitchen tossing in crickets, grasshoppers, tarantulas and scorpions.Sold at street vendors or in Instagram-friendly tourist spots, insects aren&#x27;t new to Cambodian palates.But they are usually served one way: fried, with dipping sauce, and maybe a cold beer.&quot;We have a different kind of menu,&quot; Seiha said, adding that he practiced making the &quot;bug mac&quot; -- a patty of pureed ant, bee, silkworm and cricket topped with a slice of cheese and pickle -- many times to get it just right.On a recent evening at the restaurant, French co-founder Davy Blouzard greeted curious diners and explained the menu.&quot;We want to show that it&#x27;s possible to make quality food with insects,&quot; he said.There is sweet potato cream with bee larvae, silkworm and mango flambe, and even a cricket cheesecake dessert.Insects are eaten by two billion people worldwide, according to the UN&#x27;s Food and Agriculture Organization.Besides being a cheap source of protein, insect cuisine is also a possible answer to rising concern over the environmental impact of livestock farming.As dinner orders picked up, tourists from as far afield as Britain, Poland and Malaysia all happily -- if a little squeamishly -- crunched away.Servers worked the room wearing shirts emblazoned with the words &quot;I HATE INSECTS&quot;, with the &quot;H&quot; crossed out.British backpacker Joshua Bean, 23, said he knew he had to visit the cafe after seeing an ad for the unusual eatery at his hostel.He didn&#x27;t flinch at the &quot;juicy&quot; silkworms and an assortment of other insects piled up on his plate.&quot;It&#x27;s not the kind of thing you get back home,&quot; he said.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia – Ant spring rolls, silkworm taro croquettes and a "bug mac" -- Cambodia's first insect tapas restaurant is mixing cocktail culture with creepy crawler fare.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia – Ant spring rolls, silkworm taro croquettes and a "bug mac" -- Cambodia's first insect tapas restaurant is mixing cocktail culture with creepy crawler fare.

This story has legs: Cambodia 'bug cafe' serves up insect tapas

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This story has legs: Cambodia 'bug cafe' serves up insect tapas

Joe Freeman,

Agence France-Presse

Published Nov 29, 2019 11:55 AM PHT

Read More:

Cambodia

food

insects

bugs

restaurant

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