Snake Meat

A group of about 11 of us went to have snake meat for lunch. There was no special occassion but someone decided to organize a snake meat lunch. Since I came to Vietnam, I've been asked many times whether I've eaten snakes. Eating snakes is not such a gross idea because some restaurants in Arizona serve rattlesnakes for appetizers. But, this seems to be a delicacy here in Vietnam.
We took a taxi about 45 minutes to the outskirt of Hanoi. This area has many restaurants serving snake meat.


Entrance to the restaurant, which is reached through some narrow streets and alleys.







A view of the courtyard of the bustling restaurant.









Members of the staff preparing the snakes for cooking.






We had a 12-course meal but not all were snake dishes. Here are 3 snake dishes, cooked in different ways. It came to about 250,000 dongs each, or about $12.50.








One of the dishes, which includes the skin. It's kind of chewy.








A dish of snake hearts, which no one ate.
Thank God.