Nagaland's Hornbill Festival is one such celebration where the state's colours, cultures, and communities come alive with a vibrant mix of music, food and traditional performances. This 10-day event, which takes place at Kisama Heritage Village, about 12 km from Nagaland's capital, Kohima, kicks off on December 1 and continues till December 10. Apart from the one-of-a-kind jubilations, it is the festival's unique food scene that deserves special mention. UK-based travel vlogger Alex Wanders recently shared his experience of the unconventional food menu in one of the restaurants at the Hornbill Festival.
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In the video shared on Instagram, Alex Wanders said, "I'm at the Hornbill Festival in India. This restaurant has one of the craziest menus I've ever seen in my entire life." Next, he moved the camera to show viewers the elaborate menu featuring 22 distinct items. The list featured a mix of Indian classics and niche delicacies. Dishes included BBQ pork, pork innards, pork with anishi, pork with axone, butter chicken with rice or paratha, dal makhani with rice or paratha, chicken liver gizzard, dry roasted fish, fish pongsen, prawn tempura and more. What caught the vlogger's attention were items like snail, silkworm, grasshopper, spider, Venison (deer meat), porcupine meat, game bird (meat) and palm civet cat meat.
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Here's how people reacted in the comments section:
“Just FYI, civet cat is the wild cat you get only in the jungle. not the ones you see domesticated at homes. Just to clarify, as this video can be misleading. Nagas were hunters and ate what they hunted in the jungles,” wrote one user.
“Try the silkworm, it's crunchy like popcorn,” suggested another.
“Better than eating plain veggies,” noted a non-veg lover.
“I'm a Naga, and I don't eat all those insects and worms, but I respect people's food. Different cultures, different food,” commented an individual.
“The NE of India is a very different part of India, it's the same country but still so different, that's the beauty of this country, the unity in diversity,” pointed out one person.
“Jungle meat, like porcupine and civet cat, tastes different from usual meat,” stated someone else.
So far, the video has received over 2.1 million views.