A nice little garnish of ants?

[MsAmerica]

(No relation to the Chinese offering Ants Climbing a Tree.)

Michelin-starred Seoul restaurant fined for using ants as garnish
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c639m42y43v4o

Michelin-starred Seoul restaurant fined for serving dessert topped with ants
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/16/michelin-starred-seoul-restaurant-evett-fined-dessert-ants

South Korean restaurant owner avoids jail time in ‘ants on a plate’ accusation
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/23/travel/south-korea-restaurant-ant-dessert-jail-intl-hnk

The article said ‘Ants are used as an ingredient in the US and Europe…’ and that the ants had been imported including from America. I’ve never heard of ants being used in either - have you?

I’ve had ants on a dessert on a tasting menu in Yorkshire a few years ago!

Not US or Europe, but my sibling lives in Australia and they love this cheese: https://www.woodsidecheesewrights.com/products/anthill?srsltid=AU7gw4UGg3Exy6u4_IRAjMqDmEN66VEHN3wBuwEoLgN2lCFiFD83Dtt1

I ate ants' eggs in Mexico. My Mexican friend took me to the restaurant to try them because they were a famed delicacy. Absolutely delicious.
OK not US or Europe, but just to say that they can be a legitimate food source.

I most certainly have not! Maybe I should be scrutinizing the dishes more carefully when I'm in a Chinese restaurant!

But maybe they will slyly call it something else - like in the movie "King Rat" when they serve rats but call it mouse-deer.

Okay, but do you think the ants themselves were delicious (I flinch even to type the words), or do you think the deliciousness came from the flavorings of spices and such?

Oh, sure they're legitimate. Who knows what we'll be eating if the predicted global food shortage comes to pass?