Not-so-creepy crawlies? Singapore diners welcome insects as food

The Star

The House of Seafood restaurant, known for its iconic chilli crab, is among a growing list of food establishments in Singapore looking to put insects on their menu after a recent government approval marked them as safe for human consumption.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Fancy salad garnished with black field crickets or satay chicken skewers with some extra protein.

00:08This Singapore restaurant is putting insects on their menu. It's among a growing list of

00:13food establishments looking to do so, after a recent government approval marked insects

00:19as safe for human consumption.

00:23So how do insects taste? A table of four was invited to the House of Seafood restaurant

00:29before the official launch of the menu.

00:31It's just like the texture of you're eating dry shrimp. If you think dry shrimp is bad,

00:35then it is. If you eat it with your eyes closed, you can tell it's a cricket.

00:41In terms of taste, meat tastes better, but I'm willing to try eating it occasionally

00:45because it's a novelty to me.

00:47Singapore approved 16 species of insects for consumption, including crickets and grasshoppers.

00:55They have been proven to be a rich source of fat, protein, vitamins, fibre and minerals,

01:01according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

01:05Food security researcher Paul Teng calls the latest policy a step in the right direction.

01:12Countries like Thailand, Cambodia and Laos have had many, many generations of consumers

01:17eating insects. So there's no yuck factor anymore. It's part of their normal diet. Now

01:22we need to build it in Singapore because we don't have a history of eating insects.

01:27At House of Seafood, founder Francis Ng says the initial response from customers has been

01:32positive. The restaurant can officially launch the menu for sale when importers get paperwork

01:38from the Singapore Food Agency. Currently importing from Thailand, he hopes to farm

01:43his own edible insects in the future.

01:46Vertical farming for these insects is good, especially organic. Whatever I left in my

01:51restaurant, vegetables, I can leave it to them. That would be the best way. I know what

01:55the insect is eating. I hope this can be a halal segment also. But now I haven't halal

02:01yet. Because the insect, what they're eating, they still don't know.

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