We Ate Balut — The Absolute Strangest Food You Can Find In New York City

Maharlika is a restaurant in Manhattan's East Village that sells one of the strangest foods you can buy in New York City.

It's called balut, and it's basically a hard boiled egg with a fertilized duck embryo inside. In other words, there's a partially formed duck fetus in the egg.

While it might seem strange to most, balut is actually a common dish in the Philippines and parts of Southeast Asia. The second annual balut eating contest also takes place on Saturday, August 3 in Manhattan's Lower East Side with last year's winner downing 18 eggs in 5 minutes.