Many Vietnamese do not dare to eat rat meat for fear of being dirty and unhygienic. However, Brandon Hurley traveled all the way to Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) to eat the famous Western dish.

Falling in love with Vietnam after a trip, Brandon Hurley (American) came to Vietnam to live by teaching English.

In his spare time, he often goes around shooting videos to share a foreigner’s perspective on Vietnamese cuisine, people and culture . He took the Vietnamese name Phuc Map and was loved by many online communities.

Brandon’s Youtube channel currently has nearly 500,000 subscribers. Through hundreds of videos, Brandon recounted his experiences in many famous tourist destinations of Vietnam such as Hanoi, Phu Quoc (Kien Giang).

He also shared interesting feelings when going to Cai Rang floating market (Can Tho), Sa Dec (Dong Thap), Ben Tre, Vung Tau, Mui Ne (Binh Thuan), Da Nang, Hoi An (Quang Nam), Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak)…

Brandon Hurley travels to many regions to experience Vietnamese cuisine.

Sharing with Dan Tri, Brandon said, he has tasted many famous dishes such as pho, bun cha, Quang noodles, grilled chicken with rice lam… The American man especially loves beef noodle soup and spends a lot of time. looking for delicious pho restaurants to shoot introductory videos.

In addition to the dishes that cannot be missed when coming to Vietnam, Brandon also many times enjoys the top “horror” dishes, not all Vietnamese or foreign tourists dare to try such as coconut worms, duck eggs. , shrimp paste, snake… Most recently, rat meat.

An American man came to Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) to eat hamster meat.

Brandon said, many people who hear about rats stay away because they think that rats are very dirty, often eat garbage, live in unclean places. However, the mouse meat that he chose was a field mouse in Cao Lanh (Dong Thap). This is considered a famous specialty of this western land.

“Living in Vietnam, I have planned to eat “horror” dishes and rat meat is one of them. In Ho Chi Minh City, there are many shops that advertise selling hamsters, but I don’t dare to eat because I fear it is Eight years ago, while attending a TV show, I was suddenly offered a plate of rat meat. Although I was very confused, I clicked my tongue to try it because I was sitting in front of the camera at the time, I did not. What other options do you have?” Brandon said.

Not long ago, Brandon had the opportunity to come to Cao Lanh to play, so he decided to eat rat meat again with an active and comfortable attitude to feel the full flavor of this specialty.

The rat meat restaurant that this American man visited has a quite diverse menu including grilled rat, fried mouse, fried rat with palanquin, kebab… The average price is from 30,000-60,000 VND/head.($1=24,000 VND)

A field mouse after processing costs about 30,000 VND. (Photo: Phuc Mat Vlog).

Brandon decided to order 2 grilled rats. A few minutes later, the waiter brought up two processed mice, cut into pieces, removed the head and tail, and served with some herbs and mannequins.

“I find rat meat soft, chewy and quite similar to chicken and quail meat. I think this is quite a delicious dish and I don’t regret this experience. If there is a good hamster meat restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, surely I will definitely visit often,” Brandon shared his excitement after enjoying Western specialties.

The grilled rat part that Brandon enjoyed.

According to Brandon, many people see animals such as mice, spiders, and bugs that are often afraid and do not dare to eat. Some people even consider it an unclean dish.

However, according to him, each person should boldly ignore the initial feeling of fear or bad impression about some animals in order to accept and appreciate the culture and specialties of the country where they set foot. The reason is because, every country, every culture in the world has special points about cuisine.

Interesting expressions of American tourists when enjoying Western specialties. (Photo: Phuc Mat Vlog).

“In the US, I can eat a lot of animal meat, but I can’t eat rat meat. Previously, during a visit to a village in Cambodia, I tasted a dish made from spiders. This dish is quite delicious and close to the heart. similar to french fries. However, not many Americans dare to try this dish, “Brandon shared.

Talking about the secret to the stomach not “shocked” when tasting strange foods, Brandon said he often takes digestive enzymes for a few days in a row. Sometimes he takes a few extra sips of wine. 

Photo: Internet (vinlove.net)