BananaQ Business Buzz Magazine. This was the first issue, the October 2009 issue. The magazine and separate articles are available for download.
Got Balls? Have a Balut!
YOU ARE INVITED! Let your friends know!
This is not a joke
Scroll down to the bottom for the 2nd pic, but be warned.
BananaQ Balut tastes better than it looks.
This is a one-time event!
BananaQ Balut, BananaQ.com and East Hollywood Inc. are sponsoring Balut Blast at Wild Pug (4810 N. Broadway, Chicago) NEXT WEEK April 21, Tuesday, from 2-4 p.m. ONLY. You may have to miss work for this.
Do not call Wild Pug about this event. BananaQ.com and East Hollywood Inc. are hosting and coordinating this event. We are grateful to Wild Pug for allowing us to do this there. Everyone over 21 is invited (gay, straight, men & women).
BananaQ and East Hollywood Inc. are proposing for Chicago to become the FIRST city to serve BananaQ Balut in bars and nightclubs. This MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN, so the event on April 21, may be the first and last time you will be able to taste balut. If it happens, it could be months before a bar sells one. By the time BananaQ Balut is sold by the bars, it can cost up to $12 to $15 each, especially if it is a hotel bar or nightclub.
FOR THE PUBLIC, ON APRIL 21, we have up to 1000 FREE BananaQ Balut, depending on how many the American duck farms will able to send us for that event. We will serve them on a first come, first served basis.
Balut is the duck egg that has been incubated approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the number of days it takes for the chick to develop. This duck egg is cooked, and has been featured in shows like Fear Factor, Survivor, Ultimate Fighter 8, Amazing Race Asia, Bizarre Foods (Andrew Zimmern), No Reservation (Anthony Bourdain) and others. Balut is served in bars and clubs in Asia because of its out-of-hand eating, but the American shows feature it because of its seemingly gross appearance. Please read more at bananaq.com. Google it, and watch some videos on YouTube.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
IF YOU WANT YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS TO COME AND TASTE BANANAQ BALUT PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS:
1. You must email bananaqbalut@yahoo.com . The subject line, please enter "Public Invitation", "Public Invitation - I will bring a Camcorder or Camera", "Public Invitation - I have a Podcast, Blog, YouTube or Website and will bring a Camcorder etc."
2. On the body of the email, you must tell us:
(a) You intend to be at the event on April 21, your full name, and the full names of up to 2 friends you want to bring.
(b) You must tell us that you will not hold anyone but yourself and your friends liable for what you will eat and drink at the event.
(c) You must state that you are all over 21 years old.
(d) You must state that you and your friends are NOT allergic to eating duck, chicken or any type of fowl.
(e) Include a link to your blog or website. If you intend to blog about the event, let us know how. If you intend to bring a camcorder, camera (with pics and video) or voice recorder, let us know.
3. You will receive an email from us by Sunday or Monday. You will know if you made it to the list or not.
The eggs will be shipped to us by Sunday. We will know by then how many can be served to the public. We want everyone invited and waiting in line to eat a balut. We will let you know if you and your friends can or cannot come. If we tell you that you can come, there is a 100% chance you will be able to eat one, unless an accident (eggs break, etc) happens.
To increase your chances of getting in, please email us as soon as possible. Mention your friends' names.
Tell your friends to email us as well, mentioning your name as well. We will do our best to have you all together when lining up and eating the balut.
4. Print out the email you get from us, and bring it to the event, to help speed things up a bit. We will still have you on our list if you forget.
5. Bring proof that you are over 21 years old (I.D. with date of birth). Dress warmly and bring an umbrella. Don't forget to bring your camera, camcorder, or voice recorder.
6. Be in line by 1:30 p.m. or 1 p.m. We hope to serve BananaQ Balut, either in the line or inside the bar by 2 p.m., but you will have to wait, if we are waiting for someone from the media to show up.
7. Remember that Wild Pug opens to the public at 4 p.m. However, our event is at 2 p.m. They are hoping that you would buy a drink.
IF YOU WANT US TO COME TO YOUR BAR, YOU ARE FROM OUT OF TOWN, YOU HAVE SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS, ETC., LET US KNOW. WE WANT TO DO THIS EVENT AGAIN.
IMPORTANT NOTE: THE BALUT IS FREE, THE DRINKS AT WILD PUG ARE NOT. You can taste the balut and leave. You cannot bring any other type of food or beverage to the event. You can stay at Wild Pug until it opens to the public. You can buy drinks at the bar and more food (Crew is next door, and they will bring food from Crew upon request). We will serve FREE bottled water and FREE BananaQ Balut until we run out, after which you have to buy at the bar.
You can forward this email to your friends and contacts , but make sure you email us first! It is first email received, first served basis. We prefer that you bring a recording device versus none, but even if you do not, we will still serve you. We have, however, reserved a large number of eggs for people who have blogs, websites, podcasts and upload to YouTube and other similar sites.
If you cannot make it to the event, send us your email and we will let you know if and when this event repeats in the future. On the subject line, please say "Invite me to a future Balut Tasting Event"
PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER IF YOU ARE NOT FROM THE MEDIA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Val Zubiri
bananaqbalut@yahoo.com
312-523-8052
Got Balls? Try Balut!
Chicago – April 14, 2009
On April 21, 2009, Chicago bar owners will experience an event that should provide fodder not only for back bar shelving but also for Bucket List debates in months to come. That's when Val Zubiri of BananaQ.com will be hosting the “Got Balls? Try Balut! Blast” – a party to sample the dubious pleasures of balut (pronounced "bah-LOOT"), a boiled, fertilized duck egg with a not-quite-developed embryo inside. The popular street-vendor snack will be served as it is in Asia – warm in its cracked open shell, eaten by hand, garnished with a pinch of salt and accompanied by a cold beer – at the new Wild Pug bar at 4810 N. Broadway Ave. in Chicago.
Zubiri believes that the egg's out-of-hand eating convenience and its affinity for beer make the snack a plausible bar food staple. The fact that it's rumored to be an aphrodisiac probably won't hurt either, although it's a stretch to believe that “Hey baby, can I buy you a balut?” will lure most hotties.
More likely, the gross-out factor will be the real draw of balut, making it a natural penalty for losers of dice games and sports bets, birthday boys coming of age, and bachelors and bachelorettes celebrating their last hurrah.
Although considered a delicacy in Asian countries, the appearance of the balut is enough to scare off all but the most daring drinkers. In fact, the reality show “Fear Factor” often challenges contestants with balut and the food has been a component on episodes of “Survivor,” “The Ultimate Fighter 8” and “The Amazing Race Asia 2.”
In the Philippines, the perfect balut is 17 days old, at which point it is said to be "balut sa puti" (“wrapped in white”). The chick inside is not old enough to show its beak, feathers or claws and the bones are undeveloped. The eggs are savored for their balance of textures and flavors: the broth surrounding the embryo is first sipped from the egg, then the shell is peeled and the yolk and young chick inside are eaten. Travel Channel's “Bizarre Foods” show host Andrew Zimmern proclaimed18-day-old balut one of the strangest foods he'd ever eaten, but said it was far better tasting than he had expected.
As Zimmern's tagline is: “If it looks good, eat it,” we can only assume that the lights were dimmed in that particular episode. Just, mercifully, as they are in bars.
1. The great-tasting, slow-cooked, safe-to-eat BananaQ Balut are FREE
2. Bottled water is free until we run out
3. Drinks and other food from the bar are not
4. The Tasting is at 2 p.m.
5. The place opens to the public at 4 p.m.
6. We will provide FREE BananaQ Balut until we run out
7. Bar Owners, the Media and Reservations for balut will get prioritized, so please call
If you want to come, please let us know. Bar owners who come who do not want to try a balut can bring one or two willing victims.
Call Val 312-523-8052 to reserve. If you cannot reach us by phone, email us at bananaqbalut@yahoo.com
THIS IS STAGE ONE
Stage 1 Find out if Chicagoans would eat balut.
Stage 2 If and when Chicago bars begin offer BananaQ Balut, that would be Stage 2.
WHY BALUT?
To those who have not tried it:It's something to eat on a dare.
To those who have tried it:It's still something to eat on a dare.
WHAT IS BALUT?
Balut ("bah-loot") is duck egg that has been incubated about halfway the number of days for normal incubation, for the chick to fully develop and hatch. However, if you can imagine cell division, the growth of the chick is exponential. The chick is actually much smaller than half.
BananaQ Balut comes from American duck farms and is sent to Chicago via air freight for freshness.
Balut is a Filipino word, but other Asian countries such as Vietnam and Laos eat balut and have different words for it.
It is an ethnic food, like sushi, except that BananaQ Balut is cooked, slow-cooked in fact, and safe to eat. BananaQ Balut also follows a secret recipe. You must not be allergic to duck to eat it.
Balut can be addictive. If you tried one, you'll want it again. You'll be back to the bar looking for it. You will have to try it to find out.
HOW TO EAT A BALUT
Eat balut while it is hot.
Crack the egg at the flatter end, like you would crack a soft-boiled egg. There is a small amount of broth you can sip.
Continue to peel the top half of the egg. Balut has three layers: The top is the duck partially hidden in egg white, the middle is the yellow yolk, and the bottom is the egg white. Some ducks are dark, while some are white.
Salt the top portion, close your eyes, and with one bite, eat the duck, either separately or with a bit of the egg yolk. Then finish the yolk. The egg white is a little hard, but it is edible.
WHY BARS ARE THE BEST PLACES FOR BALUT
Balut in the Philippines is sold at night, either by vendors or in bars and nightclubs. A lot of Filipinos don't want to see the chick so bars and the night help.
Balut is cooked in batches in the afternoon. Vendors usually sell them after dinnertime.
Filipinos like to eat balut with an alcoholic drink.
Balut is believed to be an aphrodisiac.
WHY BANANAQ BALUT?
1. Food Safety. BananaQ will make sure that the eggs come safe from the farm, cooked right, and delivered on time. The bars are instructed to discard unsold BananaQ Balut.
2. More Food Safety. The bars are instructed to discard the day's unsold BananaQ Balut.
3. More Food Safety. We cannot guarantee balut prepared by others.
4. Recipe. BananaQ Balut is cooked with spices, not just boiled in water.
