- Cardi B tried the popular Filipino dish “Balut Egg” on TikTok.
- Despite not enjoying the taste, fans praised her for her respectful response.
- Her reaction was compared to a recent Jollibee review by Benny Blanco.
Cardi B isn't a fan of balut eggs (at least not yet), but her reaction to trying them has earned her some praise for being “polite.”
Balut eggs are fertilized duck eggs that are popular in Asia, especially the Philippines. It is a popular food for TikTokers.
Wearing a burnt orange updo and stunning blue eyeshadow, Cardi B showed off her bowl of balut eggs in a TikTok post on Wednesday.
“Okay, let's try it and rate it from 1 to 10,” Cardi B said as the camera dramatically zoomed in on her face. The distinctive catchphrase and edit are credited to food content creator Keith She Lee, who has become famous on TikTok for his quirky, wholesome food reviews of small businesses.
Cardi B tried it with lemon and salt. And let's just say she absolutely didn't like it.
“I think I overcooked the duck,” she said, popping a cooked egg yolk into her mouth. She immediately spat it out.
Cardi B explained that the duck tasted like raw chicken, but she liked the liquid inside the egg. But she said she would try again if it was made by a professional.
“I'm not even going to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10,” Cardi B said. “I’ll just say it’s not for me, but I’m so glad I tried it.”
Commenters noted Cardi B's openness to trying the dish and compared her reaction to music producer Benny Blanco's review of Jollibee, a popular Filipino fast food chain. Blanco's review was criticized because he was repeatedly filmed munching on food.
“Did you see Benny Blanco? If you don't like it, there's no need to disrespect it. Cardi B literally just said, 'It's not for me.'” She thought she got the dish wrong. So I didn't even rate it,” one commenter said.
“I'm Filipino and I can't help but love how brave and respectful you are,” said another.
Representatives for Cardi B and Blanco did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI outside of normal business hours.
Asian cultures often face stereotypes surrounding food. In particular, the presentation of oriental cuisine became the focus of James Corden's “Late Show,” which featured a segment called “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts.”
The segment, which asks celebrities to reveal the truth or eat food deemed disgusting, featured Asian food being described as “disgusting” or “horrible.” Activists eventually launched a campaign to remove the segment and change the food options. Corden removed Asian food options in 2021.
“What I'm saying is that James Corden is a white man who actively uses ingredients from Asian culture, profits from it, and presents it in a very negative light.” Kim Saira, one of the activists, told The New York Times. “Even if you hate food, there are ways to respect it.”
This stereotype lives on in the form of taste tests on TikTok, where many creators share videos gushing about Asian cuisine, racking up millions of likes.
“It's definitely rooted in racism and Sinophobia,” Robert Jisung Ku, author of “Eating Asian America: A Food Research Reader,” told the Daily Dot.
People thought that what made Cardi B's review different from the dozens of videos of influencers reviewing Asian food was that she didn't call balut eggs disgusting. Instead, she just said it wasn't for her and went back to what she did best: moving money.
