Banh Men, Coconut Cookies: Of Taste in which Enhanced Odor is Likened

After getting fingered for taking photos at the Chinese Buffet, we went over to the Chinese Grocery to see if anything new was in stock. I didn’t find anything, but our hero Erik located and purchased these Banh Men, Coconut Cookies.

I wasn’t very excited about the prospect of “Erik Eats” with this product. Half of the surprise is seeing what is inside the container. This container is clear plastic and the somewhat maggot shaped cookies were visibly apparent.

A closer look reveals that the cookies look a lot like maggots!

Here's a close up of a cookie in my hand.

And a photo of a maggot from the internet thanks to the fine folks at

And now a closer look at that cookie in my hand again.

The photo on the front of the container shows that the cookies should be served with pickled fish eggs and goat's milk cottage cheese.

We didn't have any of those other accoutrements, so we moved on to the taste testing. Erik opened the container and OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT STINK!

The stank that belched from the jar is an ungodly combination of bitter vomit and rotting, wet pancake shoes. There is not one ounce of coconut smell. Here are a few photos of folks smelling the Coconut Cookie open container:



Stephanie avoids

Andy is tricked!

Once Erik finally got up the nerve, he ate one of the devil's cookies.

The taste is the exact same as the smell except that the smell wafts away in a few seconds and the thick, smegma paste lingers in one's mouth for minutes. It is horrible and disgusting.

And for fun, Erik stuck a few in my coffee cup and for the life of me I cannot scrub the nastiness of the horrid stink out of my cup.

I'll get him next week when we taste test: Bo Chi Dushu, Fetal Pig Uterus.


Sleepy Scott said...

Just knowing that the Banh maggot larvae are now growing in Erik's intestine will allow me to sleep peacefully.

Thank you again, HolyJuan.

Anonymous said...

I wish to comment, but once again, your greatness leaves me speechless!

Unknown said...

i had to show this to all the girls in my office. we all make gratuitous puke-y noises in your honor.

heather said...

words cannot describe how bad these maggot cookies smelled. but death + swamp ass + electrical fire would be a good start.

Anonymous said...

disgracful and ignorant. have some respect

HolyJuan said...

Hello friend and welcome to my country!

If you want to take a sack of "root beer barrels" or "Neco Wafers" and mock them for their smell or taste, I'm not going to cry, "disgracful and ignorant. have some respect."

Take care!

FlavorBlvd said...

It's a shame that you had such a bad experience with them. I guess you wouldn't want to try them again, but the good ones are actually sweet and coconuty.

HolyJuan said...

Is it possible we had a bad batch or possibly an container past it's expiration date?

DayTrade2Retirement said...

I think you had a bad batch. They do smell great and very tasty. I love how they just melt in your mouth.

Anonymous said...

I believe that "knowledge is power", so please allow me to empower you guys:

1. Banh men literally translates to "yeast cookie", but there's no yeast in these cookies. The main ingredients are tapioca flour, coconut milk and sugar. So they are completely gluten-free and dairy-free. And the coconut milk serves the functions of butter and milk/cream in other cookie recipes.

2. They usually come in a typical variety of colors which represent their flavor: pink = strawberry, white = plain (so strongest coconut taste & smell), green = pandan (the southeast Asian analogy to vanilla), and yellow (what the blogger got) = durian (a spiky fruit w yellow custard texture "meat", sweet creamy taste, and strong smell which can be offensive if you're not used to it).

3. So I don't think the batch was "bad", but rather representative of a fruit that many people love...though as with many Asian food packaging, you don't really get all the info you need if you don't already know what ure buying.

4. As a healthcare provider, I unfortunately have HAD to be far closer to patients' smegma than I ever wanted...and TRUST ME durian and smegma do not smell alike!

5. Just about every culture and every cuisine have food items that have smells, tastes and appearance that are offensive and obnoxious to those who are not accustomed. Think about the smell of many cheeses, and the fact that we pay high prices to eat moldy stinky blue cheese. Have you had your nose close to a jar of pickles as you open it? And the best and most fancy and authentic Caesar salad dressing contains stinky anchovies and raw egg yolks!

I hope all the above help y'all understand banh men better as well as put things in perspective when trying new foods!

Anonymous said...

Well explained. ignorance does not lead to disrespect. if you do not like it do not eat it . They are delicious and I am not Asian,but Brazilian . So, next time think twice before mocking some other countries food .

FireHydrantAdmirer said...

I thought they were being sarcastic?