Saturday, August 25, 2012

New York City's First Ever Balut (Fertilized Duck Egg) Eating Contest Hosted by Maharlika at Dekalb Market in Brooklyn


New York City's first ever balut eating contest was held earlier today at Dekalb Market in Brooklyn. Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is a street food delicacy in the Philippines and other Asian countries, but always on any Westerner's list of "extreme foods." Ten persons from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut participated to see how many balut they can suck down in a five-minute span. The participants were allowed to bring their own condiments to eat with balut. Wayne Algenio from Queens chowed down 18 eggs and became the first Maharlika Balut Eating Champion. The event was organized by Nicole Ponseca, owner of Maharlika, a Filipino restaurant in the East Village that bills itself as "Filipino moderno". Dekalb Market is located at 138 Willoughby Street in downtown Brooklyn. Maharlika is located at 111 First Avenue and 7th Street in Manhattan's East Village.

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