BUGS ANYONE?

Yes, I ordered this when we were in Panyu with Dora's tutors from school for a weekend frolic. With poetic license these babies are officially called 'Dragon Fleas' but on the street it is 'Water Cockroaches' because they do like alike and it does not get any more descriptive. Believe it or not 50+ years ago when I was in primary school they were a popular snack, along with cicadas and silk worms. I remember when Dragon Fleas were in season (summer months I think) my sister and I would catch them in the garden at our old home, at night. All we needed was a pail of water, put under any street light, and Dragon Flies would literally dive into them. Once we collected enough our cook would rinse and deep fried them in hot oil. Voila! My late father used to nibble on them, like peanuts. It took skills to eat them. You open the hard outer shells first like a set of doors, then carefully tear off the beautifully flimsy layer inside that looks like dragonfly wings, before you get to what is essentially the stomach, which you suck out. There is a unique taste, one that jolts back memory of my childhood as soon as it hits my tougue. At this famous Panyu seafood restaurant in Guangdong Province they were fried with garlic, chili and even garnished with cilandro. This little heap was about HK$70 or almost US$10 and they were good, even though I was the only one indulging. Bugs, anyone?