Faunus ater

Faunus ater is a species of snails found in brackish water.(Source: Wikipedia)

I googled the name and I found out that there are people who grow them in their aquariums.  Some people even posted Youtube videos of the snails in aquarium.

This is Faunus ater. In local dialect, we call this Banisil.  We bought this for Php10 per can at the wet market.

This was my lunch last Thursday. If the French has escargot, I had banisil in coconut cream with ginger. Fancy, huh?

To eat this, you pick a shell and suck the meat inside. Notice the first picture, those were the uncooked snails and the ends had already been cut so it is easier to suck the meat when there is an “exhaust” for the air to escape. The meat comes in two textures. You get to eat the cartilaginous top first and the end which has a sandy texture last. I quickly got full. It can be due to the coconut cream or the tendency to suck air inside instead of the meat.  (Hello, flatulence!)

What did you have for lunch?

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