Tarantula Doughnut Tapas Are The Height Of Elegance In Cambodia

When it's time to decide what you're going to have for your evening meal, you might ultimately settle on a heaping plate of spaghetti and meatballs, some delicious, nutritious grilled chicken and veggies, or a towering stack of breakfast-for-dinner pancakes. But have you ever considered including insects in your dinner plans?

The idea of including insects in haute cuisine might be surprising to some. However, it should be noted that insects are eaten by around two billion people worldwide, as National Geographic explains. Some have suggested that crickets are the future, as they are an excellent protein source whose production is environmentally sustainable.

Nevertheless, many of us would balk to see a tarantula near our oven, let alone in it. However, if you ever find yourself in Siem Reap, Cambodia, there's a restaurant that can craft you an eight-legged entrée so delicious it'll make you think twice about the entire practice of eating insects, per The Jakarta Post.

Travel writer David Leiter tells us that the Bugs Cafe was founded by a French expatriate and a local Cambodian chef, and that it features an impressive menu of insect tapas, like feta and tarantula samosas, as well as a Bug Mac, which is exactly what it sounds like (via The World Travel Guy). However, it is undoubtedly the tarantula tempura that is the star of the show at the Bugs Cafe. David Blouzard, the restaurant's French founder, told Entomology Today that it's his favorite item on the menu, and that its taste is reminiscent of soft-shell crab.

According to the Insider Food Youtube channel, the first step in preparing this arachnid appetizer is to thoroughly wash the spiders, which strips them of the toxins on their exterior. Then, it's just a matter of breading the bug and frying it in a pot full of hot oil.

The World Travel Guy tried the tarantula tempura donuts, which he said were served with a trio of sauces – sweet chili, mango chutney, and homemade mayo. He felt that the breading covered up the flavor of the tarantula, resulting in a unique and ultimately enjoyable flavor.

According to Fine Dining Lovers, eating insects is incredibly common in Cambodia. The practice may have risen to popularity when the country faced widespread starvation under the militant reign of the Khmer Rouge. This could be why the Bugs Cafe is committed to sustainability, and each year takes time off from catching tarantulas during the insect's mating season, per the Insider Food Youtube channel.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey has sampled fried spider in Cambodia, and he found that the bilious body of the insect was too bitter to swallow, per the  Food Network UK Youtube channel. If only he'd been able to try the Bug Cafe's tarantula tempura.

Unfortunately, if you're in Cambodia and looking for a tasty tarantula, you won't be able to get one at the Bug Cafe. Likely forced to close by the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, their last Facebook post came in October of 2020 where they celebrated their loyal customers with a last dance celebration, though they claimed that the closure would be temporary. The World Travel Guy confirmed this in an update to his article about the Bugs Cafe.