Adventurefood: What's the Buzz?

My family loves to try new and unusual foods. Our must recent challenge was presented to me by a student and fellow-foodie in Tokyo, and just in time for Halloween:

BUGS

I've been wanting to try some of these edible insects that I've been reading about for ages, but they weren't showing up prominently in Tokyo. But Nong Inlay, a Myanmar restaurant in Takadanobaba (between Ikebukuro & Shinjuku) has added a special addition to their regular menu featuring three bug-dishes a frog dish.

Clockwise from top left: kaiko (silkworm), kaeru (frog), takemushi (bamboo worm), kourogi (cricket).

The proprietors are earnest, and request that you eat what you order -- don't order it, take selfies, then throw it away -- don't waste the food, whether or not you consider it to be "food." I mean, if you really don't like it, they won't force-feed you. They just expect folks to take this seriously, and rightly so. Edible insects have the potential to solve a large chunk of world hunger problems.

The frog wasn't anything new to us, and crickets and beetles seemed a bit of a gamble for a first time. So we played it "safe" and ordered a plate of fried silkworms (we felt confident we'd be able to finish them). We ordered several other conventional dishes along with that including a delicious green tea salad, sauteed furikake, garbanzo bean tofu, an some noodles in a chicken broth. We weren't sure how our son would deal with Myanmar food, but anyone can eat chicken noodle soup.

C'mon! Just get over the stigma and give it an honest try. Land bugs aren't so different from sea critters like shrimp, crab, lobster and octopus. If you saw any of those creeping around the garden, they'd probably go on your squish-it list also.

first bite

second bite

tasty and approachable noodles

How many teenagers would actively petition to go eat something this weird? The trick to raising adventurous eaters is to be adventurous yourself. I know plenty of parents who try to force unfamiliar foods on their kids, chanting, "how do you know you don't like it if you don't try it" but would never venture anything like this. Constantly pursue new culinary challenges yourself with gusto and passion, and your kids are bound to follow suit.

My wife and I'd tried a Myanmar place in Tokyo years ago, and it was so awful that we crossed if off our list until now. But because of the food we had here, Myanmar food is back on our long-list of alternative foods.

Between the three of us we finished off the dishes, and begged for more furikake to take home (it was that good). We discussed the silkworms. My wife and son found them palatable, but bland and overpowered by the oil and spices. I thought they had a nice, starchy quality; somewhere between popcorn and potatoes. I thought they'd make a much better salad topping. Either way, not good enough to eat again, at least not at 900 yen a plate, but definitely a fun family food fling. The story and pictures were worth every yen of it, and like with any challenge it had a great bonding effect. It's another weird afternoon we'll never forget. 

Nong Inlay is in a old little cluster of restaurants and coffee shops across the street from Takadanobaba station. If you're driving, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding some coin parking around there. They're open for lunch and dinner and usually half-full of friendly Myanmarese families.

The staff don't speak much English that I could hear. The menus are in Japanese but well-illustrated with photographs so you can point and choose. If you're worried about spiciness, you can point and ask "karai?" meaning, "is this spicy?" Asking, "kodomo wa" means "what would you suggest for kids?" And after you're done, there are plenty of interesting shops nearby where you can walk-off those bug-calories.

Nong Inlay
03-5273-5774

Put that phone number into your GPS or Google map and you'll get good directions.