About 5 miles east of Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the perfect place to sample a local delicacy – snake. The Vietnamese locals that live in Le Mat snake village have been hunting and catching snakes for generations. If you meet one of them who has been at it for a long time they will have stories of being bitten or they may even be missing a finger or two.
The town is now filled with snake restaurants catering to both Vietnamese locals and foreigners. Restaurants cook snake flesh steamed or fried with lemongrass and chili and serve it with a rice wine mixed with snake blood.
With their meat served up in a wide array of dishes and blood added to rice wine, snakes make a reputedly satisfying – and nourishing – meal in Vietnam.
Caught in the jungles of the north of the country, snake flesh is traditionally believed to help with cooling overheated body temperatures, relieving headaches, and easing digestion.
It is a popular place for tourists to go and dare each other to take shots of rice wine mixed with snake blood. But it’s also a popular place for Vietnamese people to go as they believe that snake is the ultimate aphrodisiac and should be eaten by men to increase their strength and virility. So if they want to make some babies, dining on a snake is a good way to get started.
You’ll start your meal (well, it’s really more of an experience) by selecting the type of snake that you’d like to eat. You’ll generally be offered the option to check out the merchandise before you buy it.
So they’ll either show you your live snake (if you’ve made a reservation) or they’ll take you to the basement so you can see what snakes are available for consumption.
The smaller snakes are cheaper and less expensive and the price goes up as the snake size increases.
The price that you’ll pay to eat snake in Vietnam will depend on the type and size of the snake you want to eat. A bamboo snake will run you about $50/kg, mountain snake is around $60/kg, and cobra is the most expensive at $70/kg. That price is inclusive and not charged per person.
Plan on ordering about 1/2 kg of snake per person. The more people you can round up the bigger, more impressive snake you can buy.
But you won’t just get the snake. That cost covers 10+ different delicious dishes that are prepared using all parts of the snake – including the bones and organs. You’ll also get all the rice wine and beer you can drink. Bottled water, coffee, and tea are also included in the price.
The restaurant staff will begin by holding your live snake out for you to behold – one person on each end. Then, faster than you can say “WAIT!” they’ll whip the snake around and slam it onto the ground, killing it instantly. If you want to catch this on video, be prepared because it happens really fast.
Then they will remove the heart and start draining the blood. The heart will be mixed with rice wine and then offered to whoever in your group is gutsy enough to drink it.
This is the part of the snake that supposedly is the most virility-producing and generally goes to a man rather than a woman (but not in our case!). Don’t try to chew it, just take it down like a shot.
The blood and bile of the snake will also be mixed with rice wine for you to sample during your meal.
