Earlier this week, I was fortunate to get an email with those three little words that make my heart leap with joy and anticipation: “Food Festival Invitation.”

Woo hoo! I quickly skimmed over the list of local restaurants scheduled to participate in the cooking competition, but the words “free public sampling of dishes” were all I needed to mark my calendar.

One line in the invitation particularly caught my attention. Turns out this event was part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Edible Insect Promotion Program. I guess I didn’t realize that ALL the free samples would contain insects.

Tony and I arrived at the convention center with our friend Nikki (the new VIS counselor) shortly after the event’s 4:00 start time on Saturday. Unfortunately, the hungry throngs had already snatched up all the paper plates and gorged on most of the samples. Chefs frantically tried to whip up new batches of their larvae eggrolls, cricket fried rice and sushi, insect laap, grub tacos, and other delicacies.

I struggled to snap a few photos in the jostling crowd.

Here, a judge tastes one of the entries.

Cooks prepare some cricket fried rice.

If you want to make it at home, don’t forget your bucket-o-crickets.

Don’t you think the tomato rosette lends a touch of elegance?

Mmmm … nothin’ like a big pile of slimy larvae on a rainy day.

When I saw our lovely Lao friends, Addie and Lae, relishing a selection of invertebrate treats, well, there was no avoiding it. I was just going to have to eat some bugs. People all over the world eat insects every day as a cheap source of protein, so it seems ridiculous and immature to make a spectacle out of it … and yet …

Lae encouraged me to try the cricket canape offered by one of our favorite restaurants, Lao Garden. The cricket sat on a little bed of grassy bits, and the cook poured a spoonful of sauce overtop.

After a few moments of requisite drama, I popped the snack into my mouth. The sweet-and-tangy flavor was surprisingly pleasing, and I have to admit enjoying the crickety crunch.

Lae preferred the cricket sushi.

Next up: grubs. Addie called them “baby bees” and tried to convince me that they tasted like potatoes.

For some reason, I was way less eager to sample the grubs.

Potatoes? Whatevs. Grubs taste just exactly like what you think they’re gonna taste like. I don’t recommend them plain. I wish I’d tried the grub taco instead, but they were all gone before I had a chance.

Final verdict: China’s sea cucumber continues to hold the coveted title, “Nastiest Creature I’ve Consumed,” but that grub offered up some stiff competition. As for the cricket, saep lai lai!