Snake Village: The Craziest Thing To Eat in Hanoi

Snake Village, or Le Mat, is a must-visit for the adventurous eater

Warning: This post contains photos of blood and guts – do not continue if this disturbs you or if you have any problem with snakes or them being eaten

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Louise and I went to Vietnam knowing the food would be amazing.  We were also intrigued at the chance to eat some adventurous meals like snake.  Louise had done some research and chose a restaurant a little outside the city of Hanoi, in the village of Le Mat, which is known for featuring snake on every menu.

We arrived at the snake village by cab.  As soon as we were dropped off at the restaurant we were met at the door by a man.  As he was showing us to our seat we walked past some cages where they held the main dish.  They also had some other exotic main courses in cages, like turtle, porcupine and lizard.

We noticed the host showing us to our seat had one hand that he couldn’t use very well.  We were told he had been bit by one of the cobras which mutilated his hand.  Talk about a dangerous work environment.

After being seated, they brought out a cobra for our approval, as if were like a live lobster at a seafood restaurant. The cobra was about $125 which was more than we were expecting to spend on our lunch, so we decided to pick a bamboo snake which was a little less expensive, around $75.

When we finally gave them the okay for the bamboo snake, they actually killed it right in front of us.  Well, a good five feet away, in case it got loose or something.

They drained the blood and put it into some alcohol.  And they cut out the heart and served it right to me. Supposedly it’ll make a man “strong” like an aphrodisiac.

The heart was still beating on the small little dish when they gave me a shot and told me to put it right in it like a worm in tequila.  It didn’t have any taste, and the blood didn’t dilute the shot.  But it was quite an experience.

They also served the snake bile in a shot.  Now that was interesting as it made the shot a greenish blue tint, and also gave it a little bitter taste.  This was all before the meal even began.

Now that the snake had been killed and cleaned, they started bringing out dish after dish after dish.  Our first course was a snake soup.  The snake didn’t really have a taste, it was more a texture.  Kind of like a fish, but a little more chewy.  The bones were small and soft so you could chew through them easily.

After the soup they brought out snake wrapped in grape leaves, stir-fried snake and veggies, and deep fried snake skin.  Snake meat really takes on the flavours of whatever it is cooked with, so if you didn’t know it was snake you might not know the difference.

The deep fried snake skin was probably my favourite as it was super crispy and salty like a potato chip. (If you know me, I’m a huge chip guy). We weren’t even finished with our first four dishes when they brought out the deep fried snake and snake flakes with crackers. These two were delicious, as is anything deep fried or served with saltines.  The seventh and eighth dishes were deep fried snake spring rolls, rice, and a jello-like dish with snake in it.  Lots of the dishes seemed like common Vietnamese food, only replaced with snake meat.

The tenth and final dish was another snake soup which was  just as delicious as the first one.  We were already pretty full, but after our ten course meal, both Louise and I could barely move.  I think I over ate and we both sat in the hotel room for the rest of the afternoon laying in bed, trying to rest our stomachs.  Definitely a good thing we didn’t order that cobra afterall.

If you are up for a an exotic food adventure, we would definitely recommend this experience!  Where and when else would you get to eat a 10 course snake feast?

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We carried this pocketbook around with us in Hanoi and it was quite useful!

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