PETALING JAYA, July 6 -- Would you eat crickets?

I would, having first tasted them in Bangkok as a street food. Known locally as jing reed, deep-fried crickets are a north-eastern Thai delicacy.

But perhaps that is more of a tourist's dare.

Weightlifters and athletes may have tried them in the form of protein powder and power bars; when author Tim Ferriss recommended Exo cricket protein bars on his popular podcast, the company ran out of their stock almost overnight.

But what about pure, unabashed whole crickets? As snacks, the way you'd munch on a potato chip or a crunchy vadai?

If this seems harder to stomach, perhaps it is understandable given a natural fear of the unknown.

PJ-born Kevin Wu is the founder of Ento, a Malaysian sta...