A restaurant in Guangdong, China, attracted attention when selling egg tarts topped with deep-fried water bugs, shaped like giant cockroaches. The dish costs about more than 100,000 VND for 3 dishes, making many people curious, but many diners also express their concerns.

A restaurant in Shunde, Guangdong province, China, is attracting attention on social networks with an egg tart with a special topping: deep-fried water bugs, keeping their shape and wings intact, looking like giant cockroaches.

The dish called "water cockroach egg tart" was introduced in early October, quickly becoming a topic of discussion on Chinese social media platforms. The combination of a familiar dessert and whole insects makes many people curious, but also creates many mixed reactions.

Egg tart topped with whole water beetles Shunde is a locality famous for its Cantonese cuisine and recognized by UNESCO as a Creative City in the field of cuisine. The fact that a restaurant here introduced a cake with an unusual shape made the product even more attractive.

Each cake includes 3 pieces, priced at 28 yuan, equivalent to about 110,000 VND. The special point lies in the insects placed on the cake. Each egg tart is covered with a water beetle that is large compared to the cake, creating the feeling of a cockroach lying on the crispy golden crust.

However, the restaurant owner named Pan affirmed that these insects are not cockroaches as many people mistakenly think. According to him, this is a type of aquatic beetle belonging to the group of diving beetles, which can be used as food and is believed to have nutritional and medicinal value.

The process of preparing food requires meticulousness. Pan said he first deodorizes the bugs, then fries them at carefully controlled temperatures until they reach the desired crispiness.

Notably, the insect's wings are kept intact instead of being removed before processing. This method not only creates a special visual effect but also contributes to the flavor of the dish.

The finished product is described as a combination of sweet and salty. The layer of crispy fried beetles on top is like a layer of French fries placed on top of an egg tart.

Although the appearance makes many people shy, the cake still attracts diners who want to experience new flavors.

Pan said some customers have traveled from Guangzhou and Hong Kong to the restaurant to enjoy the food. Every day, he sells about 20 parts. This figure shows that the product has generated some interest from people who want to try unusual dishes. However, the consumption also comes with mixed reactions on social networks.

Many Chinese users said they couldn't get over the feeling of embarrassment when seeing whole insects on the top of cakes. “I can't even bear to look at it, let alone eat it,” one person commented. Another person frankly objected: "Water cockroaches are still cockroaches. I will never accept them as food."

Meanwhile, another opinion said that this person had never tried the dish but knew that water beetles were used in macrobiotic methods of traditional Chinese medicine. This person also commented that the insect needs very clean water to reproduce, and is increasingly rare and expensive.

Mixed opinions show that the appearance of the dish can become a major barrier for some diners, even when the ingredients are introduced as edible.

Despite facing many negative comments, Pan said he will continue to sell the products. The restaurant owner also plans to develop more creative dishes associated with macrobiotic concepts, instead of stopping at the egg tart topped with water beetles.

Why does the dish remind of cockroaches? One reason the product caught on was the image of large, winged cockroaches that are associated with Guangdong. People in other areas of China often make fun of this feature when referring to the locality.

However, the water beetles used in the cake and the cockroaches are different groups of insects. Just because they have a similar appearance to the observer does not mean they are the same species.

For the egg tart topped with water beetles, the immediate appeal comes from the unusual shape and the curiosity of diners. While some people are willing to come to experience it, others still keep their distance because of the unpleasant feeling of seeing whole insects on desserts.

Although the public's reaction is not uniform, the restaurant owner said he will continue to develop new dishes. The egg tart topped with water beetles is therefore still a notable product in Thuan Duc, where traditional cuisine and unusual experiments appear in dining life.