Reporter Dane Ambler tries local Korean food, Beondegi, which is Silkworm Pupae at Big House on Upper Queen street.
It looks like a dish straight out of Fear Factor, but beondegi - or silkworm pupae - is now being served at a Korean restaurant on Queen St.
Silkworm pupae are traditionally served as a snack, sold from street vendors in Korea.
But owners of Big House Korean Restaurant said they decided to put them on the menu because they were a "good match" with soju, popularly regarded ad the Korean vodka.
It started to serve steaming pots of silkworm pupae since changing its operations to a restaurant and bar earlier this year.
"Some people may find the dish disgusting or gross, but it is a very popular Korean bar snack that goes very well with soju," said co-owner Vivian Lee.
Although canned beondegi can be found in local Korean supermarkets and convenience stores, it is not common in restaurants.
Diane Lee, president of the Korea-New Zealand Cultural Association, said the dish was available in just one other restaurant besides Big House in Auckland.
Diners have the option of having the silkworm pupae, which looks like large, striped, deflated beans, in a spicy stew or as a soup.
The boiled larvae is served in a stone pot with an earthy broth, with chilli peppers and spring onions.
"It is good to have more restaurants serving authentic Korean food, but I am not sure about beondegi," Lee said.
"New Zealand has an annual wild food festival, so perhaps this could become popular as a type of fun challenge food."
Beondegi chef Karl Kim, 53, said the silkworm larvae were are high in protein, and can be consumed either by sucking it out of the shell or whole.
Big House Head Chef, Karl Kim with his Beondegi dish made with Silkworm pupae that he cooked up for The New Zealand Herald to try on Friday 07 July 2017. Photo / Nick Reed
"We use to eat it as a source for protein especially after the Korean War, but it has now become a delicacy," Kim said.
"I get customers, some even tourists from Africa, coming in and requesting for beondegi." Trying beondegi for the first time, Massey University student Dane Ambler, 26, said the first thing he noticed was the slightly pungent smell.
"The dish gave off a 'muddy' sort of aroma," Ambler said.
"The pupae didn't have much of a taste but the texture was definitely interesting."
Ambler said there was nothing in Western food that he could compare it to, except maybe marzipan.
"If I went back I wouldn't order the dish again," Ambler added.
